From the Ashes
by erttheking
Summary: Even after seeing their world burned, Humanity was able to stand up again, and push beyond their pre-war status and reach the heavens. But how will a hardened Humanity handle life among the stars? And how will others react to this aggressive newcomer?
1. What Doesn't Kill You

Chapter 1

What Doesn't Kill You Only Makes You Stronger

Author's Note: Well, here it is, my new story, From the Ashes. This chapter isn't really going to have much of anything, just a timeline explaining things. I'm going to take a couple of liberties mainly so that I can have a story where Humanity actually has some power. It's nothing too serious, mainly they just take a lot longer to make contact with the Council, so they have more time to repopulate and actually qualify as a galactic power, mainly because a weak Humanity is BORING to read and write about. Also thanks to the Fallout wiki for info on the timeline. Also for the record, for the Council's timeline, it is them make contact with Humanity in this story at the same time that they did with humanity in the original Mass Effect, in other words the Migrant Fleet has been flying around for 300 years and not 800. Just wanna make that clear. Let's go. Also I think I mentioned that it is a pain in the rear trying to shoehorn the Reapers into every crossover fic, so I decided to take care of them with the first timeline post, ok? Cool.

EDIT: I know that I said that I wouldn't be releasing this until New Origins was finished, but frankly it's almost done and after reading the reviews of that last chapter of New Origins...I figured you guys deserved a treat for being the best fan base an author could hope for. Now I will be holding off on releasing further chapters until New Origins is finished after this (at least at the moment) so consider this a preview for what is to come.

EDIT 2: Changed some of the years around, the First Contact War takes place much later on.

50,000 years ago: After much painstaking work, the Prothean team from Illos, manages to salvage enough parts from the Citadel to finish a makeshift starship and several nuclear warheads. Boarding the ship, they activated the Citadel and traveled into Dark Space, and used the nuclear warheads to destroy all of the Reapers while they hibernated, at the cost of their own lives. The only Reaper not present in Dark Space, Sovereign, feels the neural shocks created by the destruction of its entire kind all at once. The strain was so great that the machine's mind was destroyed, leaving it a lifeless, but still functional, husk.

_War...war never changes._

August 14, 1945: V-P Day, the Japanese surrender to the Allies, marking the end of the second World War.

_The bloodiest war of its time, World War II ended with the first use of atomic weapons against a hostile nation. Hundreds of thousands died, some instantly, some slowly as a result of radiation sickness. Used in the hopes of ending the war quickly, in would in turn set off an arms race that would last over a century, marking the start of the Cold War._

1969: America is divided into 13 commonwealths in an attempt to better regulate the population by region.

_Instead of moving forward as man had done in the past, Humanity's mindset stopped developing, remaining the same. Blinded by nationalism the way a fanatic is blinded by unquestioning faith. Never asking, never rationalizing, simply doing what he is told without question. No matter the consequences._

April, 2052: The Resource Wars begin. Conflict breaks out between Middle Eastern nations and members of the European commonwealth who are dependent on their supplies of oil. The conflict would last for years to come and would reduce both sides to ruins.

July 27, 2052: The United Nations is officially disbanded.

2066: China invades Alaska, war begins with the United States and the People's Republic.

2069: The United States forcefully draws Canadian resources to assist in the war with China, straining them to the breaking point. Canadian protests fall on deaf ears.

2072: The combined American need for resources and the attempted sabotage of an Alaskan oil pipeline results in Canada being forcibly annexed by the United States.

2074: America launches an invasion of China, its limited resources becoming even more strained.

January 10, 2077: America reclaims Alaska

_Humanity fought among itself as its oil fields dried up, desperately scrabbling for the remaining scraps that were left, even though they were only furthering their own destruction. Until one day...when it just became too much._

October 23, 2077: Nuclear missiles are launched by countless nations, including the United States of America, The People's Republic of China and the USSR. The Great War begins. It ended two hours later, but the effects would last for centuries.

_Nuclear fire consumed the world. Even today no one is sure exactly how many people died in the atomic holocaust. Radiation and acid rain claimed the lives of countless people and species. Mutated creatures prowled the surface, preying on anything that crossed their paths, until most herbivores were all but extinct. However, Humanity lived on, some of them taking shelter in natural formations, some deep underground in massive bunkers known as Vaults, and some simply being fortunate enough to have survived the wave of radiation. However, despite the total destruction of all nations, new ones sprouted up, and conflict followed Humanity even into the wastes._

December 5, 2161: An individual known to history as the Vault Dweller is sent out from Vault 13 to find a replacement water chip.

2162: The Vault Dweller retrieves the water chip, but encounters a mutant that calls himself the Master, who is raising an army of genetically engineered Humans known as Super Mutants to retake the wastes and rebuild it under his rule. However, his goal includes Humanity's extinction and Super Mutants becoming the new dominate species of the planet. The Vault Dweller defeats the Master and his army scatters without his leadership. The Dweller then returns to Vault 13. He is denied access by the overseer and is exiled for his contact with the outside world. Furious, many of the inhabitants follow him.

July 2165: The Vault Dweller and his followers found the village of Arroyo.

October 2, 2188: The Vault Dweller's daughter is born.

2189: The New California Republic is formed, as are the Followers of the Apocalypse.

May 2241: Vault 13 receives a signal ordering their inhabitants to leave. A couple of days later, the doors open to reveal two squads of Enclave, remnants of the US government, soldiers waiting for them. Several are killed and the rest are captured. In the village of Arroyo, the grandson of the Vault Dweller, the Chosen One, leaves in search of a Garden of Eden Creation Kit (GECK) in order to save his failing village.

2242: The Chosen One succeeds in finding a GECK, but in his absence, Arroyo is attacked by the Enclave and its inhabitants abducted, intended to be used along with the inhabitants of Vault 13 in experiments to complete the Enclave's biological weapons. The Chosen One attacks the Enclave's oil rig and destroys it, rescuing the people of Vault 13 and Arroyo. Together and with the assistance of the GECK, they create a prosperous community.

2247: Three members of the Followers of the Apocalypse are captured by a tribe known as the Blackfoot for ransom. One of them uses his knowledge of warfare and tactics to train the tribals in fighting their enemies, earning their respect and leadership of the tribe. The Follower takes the name Caesar and uses the tribe to conquer neighboring tribes, adding their ranks to his own with every victory, eventually uniting dozens of tribes by force and destroying their identities. Caesar's Legion is born.

July 13, 2258: The Lone Wanderer is born, but his mother does not survive the experience.

2274: The NCR expands to the Mojave Wasteland, encountering Mr. House, the ruler of New Vegas who recruits three tribes as allies to form New Vegas. The New Vegas treaty is signed, 5% of the power generated by Hoover Dam is sent to New Vegas while the rest is sent back to California.

2277: The Lone Wanderer's father leaves Vault 101, forcing his son to flee for his own safety. The 19 year old travels the Capital Wasteland searching for his father, only to see him killed by the Enclave, who had fled to the east coast after their defeat at the hands of the Chosen One. The Lone Wanderer retrieves a GECK from Vault 87, assists a faction known as the Brotherhood of Steel, a group whose ancestors were US army deserters, in finishing the life work of his father, Protect Purity, and defeats the Enclave. He also assists a woman known as Moria Brown in writing the Wasteland Survival Guide, a book that is applauded as brilliantly researched and written. Despite the Lone Wanderer only doing research, the young woman states that he was the main author.

On the opposite side of the remains of America, the New California and Caesar's Legion clash in the Mojave Wasteland. The Legion attempted to take Hoover Dam, but the NCR was able to trick them into charging into Boulder City, which was rigged with explosives. The resulting explosion dealt heavy losses to the Legion, forcing them to retreat to the other side of the Colorado River, where they spent years regrouping. Angered at the failure of his men, Caesar orders his Legate to be covered it pitch, set on fire, and thrown into the Great Canyon.

2278: The NCR launches an invasion of Bitter Springs in response to the abduction and execution of soldiers. Due to a miscommunication, a group of First Recon snipers fire on a group of children, women and elderly. This is later recalled as the Bitter Springs Massacre.

2281: Conflict breaks out again between the NCR and Caesar's Legion again. Mr. House also hired a Courier to deliver a data chip disguised as an ordinary poker chip to him, but the Courier is intercepted and shot in the head twice before she is left for dead in a shallow grave. Over the weeks she makes a full recovery and sets out to hunt down the man that nearly killed her, who turns out to be the leader of the Tops, Benny. She cornered him in his private suite, disarmed him and then shot him five times in the chest with his own handgun. Upon learning of the true nature of the chip, she chose not to deliver it to Mr. House, and when the NCR, whom she had been helping ever since she set out to search for Benny, asked her to kill Mr. House, she did. The Courier latter helped the NCR win the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, where she killed the current Legate, Lanius in one on one combat, and then Caesar himself, breaking the back of the Legion and forcing them out of the Mojave.

2283: The east coast Brotherhood of Steel signs a treaty with settlements that it has established friendly ties with thanks to Project Purity. The Washington Confederacy is born. It begins to spread outward, towards the north and the west using technology salvaged from the Enclave and a massive robot known as Liberty Prime to eliminate all hostile forces with ease.

2286: The NCR pushes eastward, driving the Legion further back. Disorganized with the loss of their leader, the Legion was forced to abandon many strongholds that it had once held and flee to the uncharted lands in the east, raiding small tribes for supplies. However, before long they encountered the rapidly growing Confederacy and were forced to combat their highly trained troops and advanced technology. Eventually, the Legion was trapped in Tennessee, with the Confederacy on one end and the NCR on the other.

The Courier and the Lone Wanderer were both sent on missions to eliminate the remaining leaders of the Legion in the ruins of Nashvile. This mission proved to be a total success. While there, they encountered each other and mistook each other for enemies. They fought for hours, first using firearms, but then when their ammunition ran out they fought with knives and eventually in hand to hand when their knives broke. After a long and brutal battle in which neither combatant could gain the advantage, they both collapsed, too exhausted to even sit up. With nothing else to do, the two began to talk, learning much about each other and the factions that they were a part of, becoming friendly and realizing their misunderstanding. Eventually NCR and Confederate forces are sent to retrieve them, and make contact with each other for the first time. They later sent negotiation parties to meet each other, forming an alliance.

2289: The last remnants of the Legion are crushed. The NCR and the Confederacy sign the Treaty of Nashvile, which establishes the boarders of both nations, dividing the former United States of America in half.

2290: The Lone Wanderer and the Courier are wed.

_As the years continued to pass, the people of America continued to rebuild. Industry and agriculture were reborn, while lacking the same scale as the Prewar world, it was more than enough to sustain the continent's now smaller population. However, they were not the only ones who had formed their own nations._

2294: A small fleet of ships, a couple of them military, dock on the east coast. All of them carry emissaries from nations in Europe and Asia. Accompanying each of the emissaries were individuals that were much like the Lone Wanderer and the Courier, talented and powerful people that had shaped the fate of their nations and defeated great enemies. The Liberator originated from the Russian Union, the Champion from the Royal British Empire, the Holy One from the Vatican, the Warrior from the Chinese Alliance and the Defender from the Japanese Federation.

2305: A collaborated population count between the nations revealed that the world's population had begun to grow again. While currently low enough to be sustained by post-war Earth's limited resources, many are worried that history will repeat itself if precautions are not taken. The NCR founds and spearheads an operation known as Project Exodus. Using technology taken from Mr. House along with the most advance technology that the nations had along with all of the resources that they could spare, the nations begin construction on a colony ship, indenting for it to be the first of many. The goal of project Exodus is to colonize Mars and establish a heavy industry settlement to provide Earth with resources.

2310: While delivering barrels filled with the strain of FEV that the NCR had started to produce to help develop the population of friendly Super Mutants, a truck breaks down near a Deathclaw nest, exposing several eggs. The eggs were taken for study, but when they hatch, the Deathclaws showed signs of increased intelligence and even the ability to speak. Bounties were put out for undamaged Deathclaw eggs in order to further this study.

2379: The colony ship, after many years of hard world, scavenging, manufacturing and endless funding, is completed and launched. Military and civilian personal from all of the nations are given seats on it. Later on in the year, the ship lands successfully and unloaded its already manufactured infrastructure, as well as a terraforming generator. Project Exodus is declared to be a complete success.

2387: The city of New Lowell is founded on Mars.

_In a different time, the new nations of the world might have clutched at each other's throats, scrabbling over what little scraps Earth had left to offer. Instead, they worked together to create a brighter future for all of Humanity, believing that future to be on the surface of Mars, but they were misinformed. Not because they were wrong, but because they had no idea how right they were._

2392: While digging an iron mine, several Martian settlers uncover a cache of technology. Alien technology. Reports of this sends officials and scientists back on Earth scurrying, formulated countless theories and explanations. When the relics are shipped back to Earth, they are studied by top scientists, revealing massive stores of data and the name of the creators of the relics, the Protheans.

2409: Countless technological advancements originate from the discovery of the relics, some of them completely replacing Human technology, such as ballistic firearms, computers, starship engines and power sources, some of them hybridizing with currently existing technology, such as robotics and power armor, while a few aspects of Human technology were left untouched, mainly energy weapons with the exception of their power sources. But all of them pale in comparison to the discover made at the edge of the Solar System thanks to the advanced starships Humanity is now capable of building. A Mass Relay, a device that will allow them to travel across the stars. However, many are paranoid. Despite there being no sign of them, many wonder why the Protheans had a base on Mars, which would be perfect for observing Earth. A large amount of people believe that the Protheans may be hostile and will wipe out Humanity when the realize how advanced they have become. The new nations of Earth decide to unite under a single government as they expand beyond their home system. This government is known only as the Coalition. Mars is also named the capital of the Coalition as terraforming and colonization continues on its surface at an accelerated rate.

_Humanity united, a feat no one had thought possible. In many ways, the nuclear holocaust had broken the shackles of nationality that had held then back for so long. With only a few flags to divide them, a dying homeworld, and a massive gaping unknown standing before them, their differences were forgotten as they stood together, pushing forward in a way that the people of the 20th and 21st centuries had failed to do._

_And for a time, they knew peace and prosperity. For centuries as the Coalition spread across space, careful not to spread themselves too thin, colonizing tightly clustered planets when they could. With peace, Humanity also developed tolerance, for the Coalition could not be considered a true Human government._

_Necro-Humans, or Ghouls, mutants who had been exposed to radiation, made up a significant portion of the population as did Meta-Humans, or Super Mutants, the FEV having been refined to the point where there was no longer a death rate for those exposed to it and to where the intelligence of the average Meta-Human was on par with a Standard-Human. Both of these populations are rather small compared to Standard-Humans, but they are still a significant part of the Coalition and their populations are sustained by people who are voluntarily exposed to FEV for Meta-Humans, or artificial wombs for both. Even the population of intelligence Deathclaws was on the rise, working their ways into all aspects of Coalition life._

_However, while the Coalition did enjoy peace for a time, they would find that the galaxy was similar to the Earth they had left behind in many ways. All aspects of life that they had experienced on it, still existed in the new front_ier.

October 24, 2715: The Coalition discovers the 314 Relay.

_Among them was war..._

October 26, 2715: A Turian patrol fleet encounters several Coalition ships attempting to activate the 314 Relay. The Turians open fire, prompting the present Coalition military vessels to return fire. Three Turian and five Coalition ships are destroyed before the Coalition forces were forced to retreat to the nearby colony of Shanxi.

_And war..._

October 29, 2715: The Turian Hierarchy launches an invasion of Shanxi. The First Contact War begins.

_War never changes._

__XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

The Coalition: The Coalition is the government body that rules over most of Humanity, Necro-Human, Meta-Humans, and intelligent Deathclaws, the only exceptions being zones of Earth that have not been annexed, due to high hazard rates and focus slowly but surely being lost on Earth and redirected to Mars and other colonized worlds. Technically the Coalition is an alliance forged between the new nations of Earth, but as the years passed and more and more resources were poured into making Humanity stronger, the lines between nations began to fade, and when the first shots were traded with the Turians in the First Contact War, they disappeared all together.

The main body of the Coalition government is it's Parliament, elected representatives that pass laws that affect the entire Coalition, while individual cities are ruled by elected governors and a board of advisers. It is worth noting that the original name of the Coalition was supposed to be the Coalition of Man, but it was scrapped due to the growing Deathclaw population.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Well, that's the first chapter of From the Ashes, I hope that you enjoyed it, because when the next one starts we're getting right into the First Contact War, that's right we're skipping the obligatory "finding the relay" and "first shots" chapters, we all know how they end anyway.

EDIT: This website lists Marauder Shields as a Mass Effect character?...hehe


	2. Touchdown

Chapter 2

Touchdown

Author's Note: You know what? I changed my mind. People are so eager for this that I decided not to torture them anymore. I'll be actively working on this story, along with New Origins, releasing new chapters as I go.

Like I said in the last chapter, anyone who has read a Mass Effect crossover fic has read the "Humanity discovers the mass relay" and "first shots are fired" the crossover can be Halo, Command and Conquer or even Warhammer 40k and it would always be the same (although in 40k the Turians would go down without a fight) so I don't see any need to write them, it's not like the scene where they meet the Council for the first time, interesting stuff can actually happen there. Also a couple of people voiced concern of me offing the Reapers in the first chapter. My reasoning for this is the same reason that Master Chief wasn't in New Origins, I feel like it conflicts with my writing style and limits my options. I didn't feel like weaving ANOTHER complex network of deciet and strategy by the Reapers, also I really explored it to its full extent in New Origins and I want to try something new this time around. Don't worry, I have the conflict for this story planned out and I beleive that it will be very intriging and well written, maybe even a little bit suspensful and mysterious. Anyway, as you will see in this chapter, I don't think I should start off this fic with another one of my OCs, I think that I'll start off with a couple of characters that you should know already.

EDIT: BTW I fiddled around with the timeline last chapter, the First Contact War now takes place much later. Check it out if you want more info.

XXXXX

General Desolas Arterius of the Turian Hierarchy allowed himself a sneer. He was standing on the bridge of the dreadnought Vigilant looking at the viewscreen in front of him as a dozen technicians worked at various consoles around him. He stared at the viewscreen in front of him which showed a planet that was being orbited by a dozen warships, frigates and cruisers by the look of them, all of them in battle formation.

He had twenty ships in total at his command, all of which had just exited out of FTL at the coordinates that they had received. Mere days ago, a Turian patrol fleet had discovered an unknown race attempting to activate the 314 Relay. The alien vessels had been able to destroy a handful of their own and actually forced them to return to friendly territory to regroup. He had been given command of a small armada to deal with this new race and to seize control of this colony, the nearest one to the relay, where the alien ships had fled to.

"Sir," a navigator said from his terminal, "the alien vessels are charging their weapons and have raised their kinetic barriers. Our ships will be in range to fire in five minutes. They have made no attempts to raise communications."

"I'm not surprised, most likely they aren't even advanced enough to have translators anyway," he snarled.

"Sir...should we even be doing this?" the navigator asked, turning in his seat to look at Desolas.

"I beg your pardon Ensign?" the General asked, putting emphasis on the Navigator's rank.

"Sir...we're attacking a race for breaking a law they don't even know exists," the navigator said hesitantly, fear present in his voice, "if we attempted to contact them and explain that what happened back at the 314 Relay was simply a misunderstanding then maybe we could forge a truce with these aliens and take an envoy to the Citadel to-"

"Ensign," Desolas said, cutting him off, "did you refer to the actions that the Hierarchy forces took back at the 314 Relay to be a misunderstanding? Are you implying that the Captains there did not throughly think their actions through?"

"No sir, I just-"

"And if you believe that what the men did and died for back there was a blunder, by extension you are questioning my judgement here for attacking this planet. Is that what you are doing?"

"No, I just-"

"I can't help but wonder exactly how much you have been spending among other species, because you are certainly not behaving like a Turian. When something presents itself as a threat, an unmistakable threat, the galaxy relies on us to deal with it. These aliens are clumsy, careless creatures, who tried to activate a Mass Relay, despite not having any idea where it went, or what was on the other side. This isn't a matter of Council law, it's a matter of common sense. Now then are you going to do your duty or do I have to relieve you?"

Almost shrinking away, the navigator turned back to his terminal without another work, raising his talons as he began to type again. "I'm glad that we understand each other," Desolas said "leave trying to make friends with anything that posses intelligence to the Asari. Now then, order all forward ships to target their cruisers from a distance, all secondary ships are to hold fire until they attempt to move their frigates into knife fight range. Once they do, they are weapons free."

"Understood," said a second navigator. "I am picking up a high amount of communication between the ships in orbit and the alien forces on the planet's surface. From what I can make out they have a rather large amount of ground forces that are digging in. There are easily tens of thousands of soldiers present, possibly more."

"Are they?" Desolas said, sounding interested, "I must say I'm surprised, this colony appears to be rather small, I was expecting nothing more than a token garrison." He frowned, "It could very well mean that we have discovered a race as militaristic as ourselves or, Spirits help us, the Krogan."

"Should I give the order to bombard all military locations once the enemy fleet is eliminated?"

"No, if they are that many in number then no doubt they will have access to heavy armor and aircraft. What is more, ten thousand men are much harder to eliminate that a few hundred. We will be unable to track all of them from orbit should they flee into the surrounding wilderness, and if they do they will counterattack when we set foot on the planet to occupy the colony. I want to deal with this threat in its infancy. Give the order, we are to punch a hole in the enemy's defense and then launch our entire invasion force and take the colony."

"What if the aliens bombard the colony from orbit to kill our men?"

"The colony is comprised of a single city, they would not dare destroy the only value that this planet has to them," Desolas replied. "I will be taking part in the ground offensive, I lead my men from the front." He turned and faced the exit "You have the bridge," he said before leaving. As he walked down a corridor to the elevator, he spotted a Turian in combat armor with his back to the wall. "Saren, what are you doing here?" Desolas asked, sounding annoyed.

"I was just about to ask you what your orders were," Saren said, a grin covering his face, "but I happened to overhear you. So, we're going with a full out ground assault?"

"Yes," Desolas grunted, "and you will be making up the rear unit, I want you guarding our HQ."

"It's against Hierarchy law to show special attention to family you know," Saren pointed out as he fell into step with his older brother, "also I don't appreciate being stuck with a nice and safe position far away from the front lines. I'm a soldier, just like you."

"You're naive if you honestly believe that's why I'm putting you there," Desolas said as they reached the elevator, pushing the button and causing the door to open as he continued to talk. "You've only been an active member of the military for a single year, you're only seventeen years old. Our enemy is unknown, the few bodies that we were able to recover from the earlier skirmish were unidentifiable and we did not have time to analyze them properly. The veteran soldiers will go in first while the inexperienced ones stay in back to provide support fire and backup."

"Inexperienced soldiers...exactly how many inexperienced soldiers do we have?" Saren asked as the elevator doors closed and it began to descend.

"To be honest, a few more than I would have preferred. This task force was cobbled together in a hurry, High Command wanted to launch an attack on these aliens as fast as they could, meaning some less than stellar soldiers got mixed into the throng."

"We're fighting an enemy we know nothing about and they gave you platoons of rookie soldiers? That's just plain idiotic."

The ghost of a smile spread across Desolas' face. "Are you telling me that you should not be taking part in this mission then?" he asked teasingly.

"I'm not a normal grunt," Saren said defensively, "how many other Turians are put on active duty at my age?"

"More than you think," Desolas said teasingly.

"Out of all of them how many are recommended for Spectre training?" Saren growled. "So, what is the battle plan?

"The most common tactic employed by defensive land forces in battles where orbital ordinance is involved is to hide out in nearby forests, caves and wherever else shelter can be found. Our main goal is to take the city, but while doing so we must also destroy the top of their chain of command, for if they retreat but maintain order they can organize a counterattack, even after we weaken their forces. We will identify the enemy's main HQ and cripple them in one fell swoop. Afterwards we will spread out and eliminate any pockets of enemy resistance."

The elevator slowed to a halt and slid open, revealing the dreadnought's hanger. Dozens of dropships were being loaded with troops, weapons, and supplies. Light scouting vehicles were being prepared on other ships for low orbital drops onto the planets surface. "We deploy in three minutes!" Desolas shouted to the various Turians that filled the hanger, prompting them to double their pace. "Get to your unit, I'll see if I can find any use for it once we deploy," he said to Saren.

"Yes sir," Saren said, taking a combat helmet off of his back and sliding it over his head before heading to one of the drop ships.

"Oh, and by the way Saren," he said to his younger brother, prompting him to turn around. "Spectre training huh? For the record, I'd think you'd be a good one."

Saren smiled. "Thank you brother."

XXXXX

Brigadier General Williams had been asleep when the alarm. He had received reports that Coalition forces had encountered aliens at the Shanxi Relay and had been ordered to prepare for a possible attack, putting the entire colony on red alert. Vertibirds were on standby, gun emplacements had been set up, and local militias had been organized. The Coalition had rather light gun control laws, allowing citizens to own even automatic weapons and combat armor, only drawing the line at energy weapons and power armor, so their forces could be bolstered by civilians providing support, but hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

Throwing his covers back, he sprung out of the small cot that he was sleeping in, still wearing his combat armor and uniform over it. The uniform was a dark navy blue dress uniform, the standard issue uniform for all light infantry on Shanxi. His hands flying to make sure that his submachine gun and officer's longsword was still in place, he bolted through the command center that he was in, eventually dashing into a war room, where five other officers, two of them Necro-Humans, were gathered around a holographic map of Shanxi.

"What's the situation?" Willans asked, screeching to a halt and panting heavily.

"Nearly twenty five alien ships entered the system a few minutes ago," one of the officers reported, "scans match the ones that were encountered at the relay. They've deployed dropships which are entering the atmosphere as we speak. What is more sir, reports confirm that the aliens have a dreadnaught."

Williams swore under his breath, "Where's Vice-Admiral Marcus? I thought that he had been deployed to reinforce our position here. We're right next to where we were attacked for the first time by an unknown species!"

"He was sir, but mobilization took time and even then there is quite a distance that he has to travel. He will not arrive until later today."

"Great," Williams hissed through grit teeth, "I guess we just need to hold out until then, outnumbered and outgunned. Where are the dropships landing?"

"On the outskirts of the city, it appears that they also deployed a mobile command center that is acting as their hub of operations."

"All right, we'll have to leave the battle in space to Commodore Geary and Admiral Marcus once the son of a bitch feels courteous enough to show up! As of the moment, we have two objectives, holding the city and taking out the enemy's HQ, but the second one will have to wait. Send out a priority signal to all Coalition forces, I want lines of defense formed to halt the alien offensive, give them any intelligence that our birds and satellites can get. I don't want any alien forces reaching the main residential areas, have all infantry hold down choke points and give Deathclaws the order to flank and ambush were possible. If all else fails, tell them to do whatever they can to stop those bastards in their tracks! We were given the job of defending this city and so help me God we're going to do it!"

"Yes sir!" all of the officers said before four of them began to relay the information immediately, while one of the Necro-Humans continued to study the map. "They're moving slowly," she remarked, looking up at Williams, "They may be cautious about fighting an enemy that they do not understand yet. If we're lucky enough we may have enough time to dig in and-" the officer was cut off as an explosion rocked the base, causing them all to stumble.

"What the Hell was that?" Williams shouted.

"Missile!" the officer shouted, her eyes scanning the map. "Three alien gunships are advancing on us rapidly! They look like scouts!"

"Radio the vertibirds, tell them that we've got bogies back at the base and-"

"There's no need sir, they're already on their way." This was very true, even as the officer spoke, two vertibirds sped towards the alien gunships, which had began to fall back after their strafing run. Each vertibird fired a burst of gatling laser at the alien dropships hitting two of them. The kinetic barriers offered no resistance to the lasers and they impacted on the hull of the gunships. One had its entire left wing burned off and began to spiral downward where it crashed, while the other had the majority of its forward armor melted off.

Two missiles flew from each alien gunship and smashed into the same vertibird. The VTOL lurched violently as its kinetic barriers fell and its engine began to smoke. Undeterred, both vertibirds fired another burst of focused light at the gunships. One hit the damaged dropship in the area where its armor had been weakened, while the other one was hit in the engine. Both of them exploded in a ball of fire.

"All alien gunships neutralized," the officer reported, looking up at Williams, "it seemed like they weren't expecting us to use energy weapons, they went down without a fight."

"Then we shouldn't hesitate to use that to our advantage, send the word out to everyone, heavy infantry up front, have light infantry provide supporting fire. We need-" he was cut off as a voice split his ears.

"This is vertibird g-87, a hostile gunship that crashed was carrying a full load of troopers and they are now on the ground, I repeat, there is a squad of hostiles on the ground near HQ!" the voice of a pilot roared over the COM lines. Before he could give an order, the wall on the far side of the war room was torn apart by an explosion, allowing sunlight to leak in. Straining his eyes, he saw four figures charge through the hole, weapons blazing.

Two of the officers were killed within seconds as the other ones drew pistols and submachine guns, returning fire at the alien forces. Williams himself aimed his submachine gun at the front most alien, firing three bursts and causing the creature to fall to the ground.

Williams flinched as a bullet tore through the head of another officer right next to him, his kinetic barriers having been dropped by a barrage of bullets to the chest. A streak of bullets flew past the General as he dove behind the holographic display, the remaining two Necro-Human officers taking cover behind a nearby table. The female one leaned up over the table, taking aim at one of the three aliens, but was only able to get a single shot off from her pistol before a hail of bullets from all of them forced her down.

One of the aliens gestured to the other two and they slowly began to advance, weapons at the ready. Williams was racking his brains for a plan when a green cylinder flew threw the air and landed in front of the aliens. They spotted it and attempted to dive out of the way, but they were to late. The cylinder exploded in a blinding ball of green energy, tearing through the kinetic barriers of all three of the aliens, reducing one to a green pile of goo and causing the lifeless body of a second to hit the wall. The surviving one hissed in pain as burns tore through his body. He attempted to get to his feet, but as he did he saw the barrel of a shotgun leveled in front of his face. That was the last thing that he saw before a dozen pellets tore into his mind.

Glancing out from behind cover, Williams saw a man in pitch black combat armor with a brown dust coat. The man's face was covered by a gas mask with glowing red optics and a helmet on his head, it having been riveted to the gas mask. Williams instantly recognized the man as a Coalition Ranger, and was even able to recognize the specific person. "Thanks Charon," Williams said, as he and the other officers got up from behind cover, "bit of a sticky situation there."

"Don't mention it," the Necro-Human said, removing his gas mask and revealing his bright, red, mutated face. "Just doing my job sir." He gave a dry chuckle, "I did think that that job was just to patrol underdeveloped colonies and weed out trouble makers though, wasn't expecting aliens." He glanced at one of the creatures, noting that it had a scaly hide and a pair of mandibles, as well as tattoo markings on its face. "So...you think that these are Protheans?"

"Hard to say," Williams remarked, "though I don't think so. These don't really strike me as a 50,000 year old empire, if they were, they would've been able to spare a bigger fleet. One thing's for certain though, whatever these things are, they mean business. They're no amateurs, these four were expertly trained, damn good shots and lightening reflexes. They're professionals."

"Then I guess we should stop standing around and actually get some work done huh?" Charon asked, a small dry grin flitting onto his face. "If the kid were here he'd would be out there fighting right now. I think that we should do the same."

Williams was about to answer when a red light flashed on the holographic table. "The aliens are starting to push into the city!" the Necro-Human officer reported as she stood over the table, "our forward most defensive lines are already starting to buckle!"

"Son of a-radio everyone in the area, tell them to reinforce our defenders! Charon, you're with me, we're going to give them support!" The Ranger nodded as he slid his helmet back on before following Williams to the exit.

XXXXX

1st Lieutenant Hannah Shepard felt her stomach lurch as a solid metal slug from an alien vessel smashed into the cruiser that she was on, the _Blazing Sunrise_. Recovering her balance, her fingers flew over the terminal in front of her, causing the ship to veer to the left. "Status report!" the Captain of the vessel shouted.

Hannah's head snapped to look at the superior officer. The Lieutenant had light brown hair that was tied up in a bun and she was wearing the same navy blue dress uniform that the light infantry of Shanxi wore. "Shields are weakening, they're barely holding at 67%. Another hit or two and we're goners!" Hannah shouted. As if to emphasize her point, a round tore through the empty void of space and smashed into a nearby cruiser, reducing it to a ball of fire.

"Damn it!" the Captain swore, "how are we supposed to fight these ones of bitches when they have a dreadnaught and we don't have any of our specialist ships?"

"Ma'am, I'm reading a pack of alien frigates closing in on our position, three to be exact. It looks like they're going to try and finish us off."

"Cocky sons of bitches aren't they?" the Captain growled. "Target the lead ship with everything that we've got, that includes GUARDIAN lasers and disruptor torpedoes, but hold fire."

"Ma'am? You...you want us to hold fire?"

The Captain nodded grimly. "We're in a bad place here Lieutenant, if we fire now we might do some damage but they'll break off their attack and then they'll be out of range of our torpedoes. We need to let them get closer before we open fire. Wait until they're in knife fight range."

"Ma'am, this ship has already taken a beating, I'm not sure how much more abuse that we can take!"

"I know Lieutenant, but we don't have a whole lot of choice here. We need to actually do some damage to these sons of bitches if we're going to have a ghost of a chance of lasting until reinforcements arrive."

Hannah was about to open her mouth, but instead turned back to her console, hastily typing in commands. "Everything is primed and ready, and the frigates are almost in knife fight range...scratch that they're in range now, they're firing-" Hannah was cut off as the cruiser rocked again as it was bombarded by GUARDIAN lasers and slugs. The mass accelerators of frigates were nowhere near as powerful as the ones that cruisers possessed, in fact in a one on one fight a cruiser would almost always beat a frigate, but there was strength in numbers.

"Shields down to 12%!" Hannah shouted as the three frigates spun and began to head back towards the rest of the alien fleet.

"Target the center one! Everything!" No sooner had the Captain spoken then the main cannon of the _Blazing Sunrise_ shuddered, sending a massive slug at the center ship, following it up with a volley of lasers and a disruptor torpedo. The frigate was still close enough so that the torpedo only had a small amount of distance to travel, and with its defenses weakened by the earlier assault, the projectile detonated on its hull was enough to engulf the enemy starship in fire."

"Well...that's all I got," the Captain growled, "those damn things will round about and finish us off and I'm not so sure that we'll be lucky to get another one. Anyone got any ideas?"

"Captain," Hannah said slowly, "I think I may have one. This ship has a nuclear missile on board right?"

"It's standard issue for anything heavier than a frigate why do you ask? Shooting at those bastards won't work, either they'll be too far away and they'll be able to pick it off with a well placed laser, or it'll be too close and we'll blow ourselves up."

"But they don't know that we have one," Hannah pointed out. "And they're going to have to come back into close range to finish us off. If we detonate the nuke at just the right time we can take both of those ships out."

"And we all die in the process?"

"No, I can wire the detonator on the nuke to my omni-tool. We can use the escape pods to get down to the planet's surface and get out of harms way. I can detonate the thing from a distance and take out both frigates."

"Are you suggesting that we scuttle this ship?"

"Ma'am...its going down no matter what we do," Hannah said softly.

A second of silence passed before the Captain slowly lifted her hand to her COM unit. "All hands this is the Captain...abandon ship. Get to your designated escape pods, leave everything behind." Lowering her hand, she looked at Hannah. "I hope that this works."

Out in the vacuum of space, the frigates spun again and began to speed back to the _Blazing Sunrise. _As they neared, their scanners picked up several escape pods being launched, heading towards the planet's surface. They ignored them, it was more than likely that non-essential personal were being evacuated to minimize casualties.

They closed on the ship, their weapons locking on, when all of a sudden the _Blazing Sunrise_ exploded violently. The force of the nuclear explosion tore away at the alien vessels, their kinetic barriers failing to protect them from the overwhelming force of the explosion and the radiation. The hull of the ships were stripped away like flesh from bone, leaving two lifeless husks floating above Shanxi

From her escape pod, Hannah looked up at the disabled vessels. "All hands lost, definitely," she muttered, a small smile on her face. "That's defiantly a victory, even if it is a tiny one." Even as she continued to smile, she reached down to her side for her submachine gun. Every last person in the Coalition armed forces, no matter their position, had training in combat. Just because their ship had been destroyed, the crew of the Blazing Sunrise were not done fighting. They would move to the ground and assist in the fighting there.

As she grabbed the weapon, she accidentally knocked a photograph out of her pocket. Bending down to pick it up, she caught a glimpse of it in the light generated by the escape pod. It was of her, sitting right next to a rather wiry man with dark black hair. Both of them were bouncing a baby on their knees and waving to the camera, the expression caused by the babies' squeals of joy captured by the picture. "Albert...John...Jane," Hannah whispered sadly, tracing her finger over the faces of her husband and twin children. As she did, something tensed inside of her, caused her to grit her teeth. "I'll be home soon," she whispered in a determined voice, slipping the photo back into her pocket and flipping the safety off of her SMG as the pod continued to fall to the surface of the planet.

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Coalition Light Infantry: The light infantry makes up the backbone of the Coalition's military force. Comprised of standard and Necro-Humans, light infantry are all issued top of the line firearms and a lightweight suit of combat armor with kinetic barriers. However, unlike most galactic armies, apart from the armor, the light infantry does not have a universal uniform. In order to create a feeling of uniqueness and to feel that they were more than a universal army answering to an all powerful government with no individuality of their own, the forces of separate planets, and in some cases separate continents and cities, added to their armor, or even began to wear their own unique uniforms over it. Examples include dust coats, suits and ties, winter combat gear, and many others.

This has become an internal part of the Coalition military. When a person is put on active duty for the first time, they are issued the uniform of the planet/city/regiment, and keep that uniform for the rest of their service, baring that it becomes too badly damage. If this is the case, said trooper will have his uniform replaced by the uniform of the unit that he is in. This leads to much diversity in the Coalition military. It is also worth noting that most uniforms prefer to cover the face in some way, weather it be via helmet, face wrappings, or bandanna.

Coalition Officers: Officers in the Coalition are ranked in the same manner that many Pre-War militaries did, using the ranks Lieutenant, Major, Captain, Colonel, etc. What is very different is that the Coalition's fighting style has been very heavily based off of centuries of fighting on post-war Earth. In other words, officers are commonly in the thick of battle alongside their men. They are, however, promoted on leadership ability and not combat skill. While on average officers have higher skill levels than front line soldiers due to longer service records, some officers fall below average while some front line soldiers are more deadly than most officers. It is worth noting that most officers prefer submachine guns as weapons, although they have been known to use other types of firearms.

Coalition Rangers: The evolution of the NCR Rangers, the Coalition Rangers are the Coalition's finest Special Operations division. In many ways it is the fully realized form of its predecessor. It follows the same recruitment and training process of its NCR, particularly talented Standard, Necro and Meta-Humans and Deathclaws and recruited into the program and given several years of intense training. Where it differs is that the Coalition Rangers receive far superior weaponry. Their armor is equipped with the strongest kinetic barriers that the Coalition can manufacture for combat armor, their standard issue guns are of the highest quality and cost hundreds of thousands of credits each, and they are given access to experimental weapons and equipment. They are considered some of the deadliest soldiers in the Coalition, and are deployed to handle situations that are considered too dangerous for normal soldiers.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Before anyone says anything about Saren, when the First Contact War rolled around he was only seventeen and he had only been in the military for that long, so if he took part in that war, that's how old and experienced he was. Also before anyone comments on Saren's character, this isn't Spectre Saren who lost his brother to the Humans, this is 17 years old Saren. Keep that in mind

Also the Coalition light infantry were heavily based off of (read ripped off) the 40k Imperial Guard. The point of them is to convey the sheer diversity and crazy outfit vibes that Fallout gave out and because in New Origins it kind of bugged me that all of the Humans wore either green Marine armor or black ODST armor. Not a lot creativity or flexibility, and I wanted to expand a bit.

BTW, to anyone who didn't catch it, I am hosting open party custom games on Halo Reach tomorrow (May 22nd) at 5:00 PM EST because...well my readers are awesome. My gamertag is macdonald210, bring your favorite custom games and maps and let's have a grand old time...no seriously, unless you want to be bored out of your mind bring your own games and maps, mine suck. See you then.


	3. Heavy Weapons

Chapter 3

Heavy Weapons

Author's Note: Well know that New Origins is finally over I can get going on From the Ashes. The last chapter got pretty well received, now let's press on.

XXXXX

Williams instinctively ducked his head slightly as a few shots flew over him. Both he and Charon were in a park at the center of the city, taking cover behind a fountain that was shooting jets of sparkling water into the air, even as soldiers all over the park fired at aliens. Williams did a quick scan of the area. There seemed to be a couple dozen light infantrymen scattered throughout the park, trading fire with aliens, who were dug in on the far side. Things didn't seem to be going very well for the Coalition, more than a couple lifeless bodies were lying on the ground, pools of bright crimson blood still forming around them.

"Hey!" Williams shouted, slowly working his way towards a soldier who was ducking behind a shattered statue. "General Williams! Status report!"

"We got hit about five minutes ago, we think this is the alien's main spearhead!" the soldier shouted, poking his rifle out over the statue and blind firing a couple of shots. "These bastards are pushing real damn hard, we're doing our best to hold them here, but we're getting reports from all over the city of skirmish fighting. We think that they're trying to hit us everywhere at once."

"So why focus so many men here?" Charon asked, pulling a plasma grenade from his belt and throwing it as hard as he could over the fountain. There was a deafening bang and a cry of agony and it was safe to say that the grenade had killed at least one alien.

"It's the most direct route to our main HQ," Williams said, understanding flooding his face. "They must be trying to cut directly through the city to hit us there."

"And the skirmishers?" Charon asked.

"Divide and conquer, either we take forces away from our defenses here to deal with them and their main force has an easier time breaking through, or we focus more men here and their scouts can wreck havoc across the city."

"These guys don't screw around."

"Are there any reinforcements in the area?" Williams asked, looking at the soldier again.

"Not sure!" he shouted, "I've been radioing in non-stop. I caught a transmission from a heavy trooper squad a couple of minutes ago. Said that they were on their way but I lost contact. I'm not sure if they even still-" the soldier was cut off as a rocket smashed into the statue that he was taking cover behind. The force of the explosion shattered the flimsy cover and threw the soldier back into the ground, his neck broken.

"Son of a bitch," Williams hissed popping up from behind the fountain and spraying shots at the aliens. Charon stood up at the same time, firing three blasts from his shotgun. Between the two of them, they were actually able to bring down an alien soldier that had stuck its head out for too long, but within seconds a tide of bullets forced them to take cover again.

"If you've got any clever last second ideas, now would be a good time!" Charon shouted.

"I'm thinking!" Williams snapped, attempting to rise up and fire again, only to have burst of bullets keep him down. "Fuck!" he swore. He had ordered that the vertibirds remain back at HQ in case the aliens attempted to make another raid. He was beginning to sorely regret that decision, a gunship flying overhead and raining death down on the solid line of aliens in front of him would be a sight for sore eyes.

Just as Williams was beginning to panic, a shriek reached his ears. "ERAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Snapping his neck to look at the source of the noise, he saw a massive Meta-Human charging into the park from the right, holding a gatling laser in his hands. Letting out another roar, the Meta-Human opened fire on the surprised aliens from the right. The lasers phased through their kinetic barriers as if they didn't even exist, impacting on their armor and flesh, burning and melting away everything that they hit. Within seconds, a dozen aliens collapsed to the ground, massive burns covering them and a couple even reduced to ashes.

Before the aliens could recover from the assault, a dozen other soldiers appeared behind the Meta-Human, a couple of them also Meta-Humans but the majority of them were Standard and Necro-Humans in power armor. They all raised their weapons and opened fire on the aliens. A few of them had gatling guns but most of them were using laser and plasma rifles, which completely devastated the aliens, littering the ground with their corpses.

After thirty seconds of this, the aliens completely abandoned their positions, running as fast as they possibly could away from the Coalition defensive positions. The light infantry men stood up and fired a volley after them as the reinforcements kept up their assault. The combined assault managed to bring down a few more troopers before they vanished from sight into the labyrinth of buildings that began at the edge of the park.

"NEXT TIME, PUT UP A FIGHT!" the massive Meta-Human roared in the direction that the aliens had fled.

"Coalition heavy infantry," Williams said, standing up alongside Charon, "never thought I'd be so happy to see them." A smile spread across his face as he looked at the reinforcements. The massive Meta-Human, who Williams now noticed had yellow skin as opposed to the green or blue skin that he usually saw on Meta-Humans, turned and began to walk towards them.

"I am pleased to see that you are all right," he said, stopping in front of Charon and Williams, the gray metallic armor that covered all of his body from the neck down. "It sounded bad on the radio, I feared the worse."

Charon chuckled. "We're not going to die that easily Fawkes. You, the kid and I have got into plenty of situations a lot harrier than that."

Fawkes let out a low rumbling laugh. "You are right friend, and he would always look danger in the face with a smile." He turned his head to look at Williams. "General, my squad is at your command. Give us an order, and we will obey."

"Ok," Williams said, looking at the bodies that covered the park, Coalition and alien. "We managed to catch them off guard, our energy weapons really did a number on them. Now's the perfect opportunity to strike back, now that their main force has been shattered. If we wait too long though, they'll get a chance to regroup."

He put his hand to his ear. "Williams to HQ, come in HQ."

"Yes sir?" a raspy female voice said over the COM lines.

"Do we have any mechanized infantry units anywhere near the enemy's base of operations?"

"Three sentry bots were patrolling the area then they dropped in. They have not been detected yet."

"Good, I want them to make a scouting run on the enemy base. I want a live feed of everything being sent back to you, and afterwards I want a full report of what we're up against. Order those machines to keep their distance though, I'd prefer it if these bastards didn't know that we were spying on them. They are only allowed to open fire if they are fired upon."

"Understood," the woman said as the line was disconnected.

"So what's the plan?" Charon asked.

"We've got them on the run, we need to hit fast and hard," Williams replied, looking at the Necro-Human. "If we take all of the men that we have here and have other soldiers scattered throughout the city link up with us, call in a couple of gunships, then we just might have enough muscle to take them out and kick their scaly asses off of our planet."

"I like this plan," Fawkes said, "let us show them how foolish they were to pick a fight with the Coalition."

"Got it," Williams said as he put his hand to his COM unit, preparing to call for reinforcements.

XXXXX

Hannah grit her teeth as her escape pod smashed into the soil of Shanxi, rattling her teeth as it did. Groaning slightly she pressed a button, causing the door to the pod to slide open. From what she could see, she was on the outskirts of the city, a couple of farms weren't that far away and she seemed to have just missed landing on the road leading towards the nearby urban jungle.

Climbing out of the pod, she hit the ground with a dull thud, SMG in hand. She paused for a second, her eyes scanning the area, looking for any kind of life. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something that made her swear. In the distance along the perimeter of the city, she could spot a metal structure that didn't look like it had been designed by the Coalition. In other words, it was the alien's ground HQ.

"They'll have seen the pod," she whispered to herself, "I'm dead meat if I stay out here." Hannah was going over what her next move should be when gunshots reached her ears. Turning to face the source, she saw that they were coming from within the city. "Unless these things like shooting in the air, they're fighting someone in there," Hannah said, and without another word she took off, running as fast as her feet would carry her.

She had not landed very far from the city and within seconds she found herself running through an alleyway towards the noises, which were growing louder with each step. Hannah slowed her pace as she gently crouched down, taking great care to be silent. Easing her way forward she reached the end of the alley that she was in. Pressing herself up against a metal wall, she peeked around a corner.

She looked out onto a street filled with cars that were strewn randomly across the street, most likely abandoned when the evacuation had been ordered. Most of the civilians, those that weren't part of the voluntary militia anyway, were taking shelter within bunkers or Coalition controlled checkpoints, having been ordered there ever since the aliens had first appeared at the Shanxi Relay. At once, she spotted five alien ground troops standing behind a truck, firing their weapons at three overturned cars without stop.

It didn't take a master strategist for Hannah to conclude that there were Coalition troopers taking cover behind that, but still she couldn't help but wonder why they were making no effort to return fire. Her question was answered when a particularly loud bang rang out and a militia member in civilian clothing who had popped out of cover with a pistol collapsed limply to the ground.

Looking up, Hannah saw a sixth alien crouching on the balcony of a two story building, a sniper rifle in its hands. "They're pinned," Hannah whispered, "but they don't know that I'm here yet." Reaching down to her waist, she grabbed the only other weapon that she had besides her SMG and a simple combat knife, a lone grenade.

Glancing up at the balcony, she raised the grenade over her head and, with a slight grunt, hurled it at the sniper. The explosive was impact sensitive, and the sniper barely had time to register something hitting him in the shoulder before it detonated. As the blast consume the balcony, the other aliens instinctively looked up just in time to see their comrade falling to the ground.

Not hesitating, Hannah leaned out of cover and jammed her finger down on her SMG. A swarm of bullets consumed the nearest alien soldier, causing him to collapse to the ground. Hannah hissed under her breath as she dove back into cover, a hailstorm of shots narrowly missing her as she did and a couple even nicking her shields.

She held her breath as the shots continued to whiz past, waiting for an opening. Then, for the briefest of moments, the shots stopped. Assuming that the alien's weapons had overheated, Hannah spun out of cover and aimed her SMG again. She barely had time to blink before the butt of a rifle had smashed into her face, forcing her to slam against the far ally wall, her SMG flying out of her hand.

Stars swimming in front of her, she saw an alien trooper rearranging its gun to aim it at her. Apparently it had crept up the side of the building while its squad mates had suppressed her. Without thinking, she threw herself at it, hitting it head on with her shoulder and forcing him against a wall. She saw the alien attempting to raise its rifle and grabbed it by the center, jerking it up as the trigger was pulled, causing countless shots to fire harmlessly into the air.

The alien changed tactics, releasing its grip on the rifle, it swiped at Hannah with both arms. She narrowly sidestepped the first blow, but the second tore across her right cheek, three clawed talons cutting deeply into her flesh. Hissing in pain, Hannah's hands scrambled for her knife, drawing it hastily as the alien advanced on her, narrowly ducking another blow.

Taking the weapon in both hands, the officer charged at the alien, thrusting the weapon at it's throat. There was a satisfying wet squelch as the knife was buried up to its hilt in the gap between the alien's armor plates, purple blood leaking out. Pulling the knife out with a grunt, Hannah turned and felt her stomach sink as she saw the remaining three aliens aiming their weapons at her. However, before any of them could act, shots rang out and a storm of gunfire tore through the remaining aliens, killing them all.

Hannah blinked in surprise and peeked out of the ally, looking to her right. Around ten men were climbing out from behind cover. Most of them were wearing civilian clothing, but three of them were light infantrymen. Actually that didn't quite do them justice. Their armor was pure white and covered their entire bodies, and bright golden crucifixes had been painted on their arms, helmets, chests and backs.

"Thanks for the assist," Hannah panted, spotting her SMG and picking it up.

"Nonsense," the lead infantryman said, approaching her with a shotgun in one hand, "we were pinned down by that sniper, it claimed the lives of two of my brothers and sisters as well as one of the militia. We couldn't touch him, yet you were able to defeat him." He bowed slightly, "we are in your debt."

"Thanks," Hannah said hesitantly, "where are you form? I've never seen armor like that before."

"We are from the Vatican, I am not surprised that you haven't heard of us, for our numbers are few." In respect, the man reached up and pulled off his helmet, revealing graying hair and a face with wrinkles around the edge, but a warm smile. "I am Adam Archibald Anderson, priest of the New Holy Catholic Church, Left Hand commando of the Vatican, and member of the Coalition light infantry, as are my brothers and sisters."

"Adam Archibald Anderson...you're showing off with that name aren't you? And the titles."

Adam chuckled, "A little bit."

"So, what brings you all the way out here to the frontier? You're a long way from Earth, though I can't exactly blame you for wanting to get off of that shit hole." Hannah shook her head. "I can't believe that 2 billion people still live on that thing."

"For many it is home," Adam said warmly, "as for why I am out here, me and many of my brothers and sisters were sent here to serve as part of the local defense. In these newer colonies, light infantry are usually called in from inner territories to provide protection until they have enough men in their original units to hold their own."

"Wouldn't know that, I'm navy."

"You are? What are you doing down here then?"

"My cruiser took some heavy fire, we had to scuttle it. We managed to take out a couple of frigates in the process, but I don't think that the orbital battle is going very well."

"Worrying about that will accomplish nothing, we are in no position to do anything about it and nerves will only harm our performance down here."

"Don't go all preacher on me, I'm not losing my marbles," Hannah said, smirking slightly. "Hold on, I'm gonna check in with the COM lines, see if there's anywhere that we're needed."

"That may be for the best," Adam said, putting his helmet back on as Hannah put her finger to her ear, "we were tasked with holding this position, but I have a feeling that those forces we just dispatched were the only ones in the area. Our numbers will most likely be more useful elsewhere."

Hannah nodded as a gruff voice filled her ears. "To all available Coalition forces, this is General Williams. I need you to listen closely to my instructions."

XXXXX

"What do you mean you retreated?" Desolas growled. He was standing in the middle of a mobile firebase that had been dropped onto the alien planet, standing in the middle of an armory with his finger to his ear.

"Sir, they managed to flank us," a Turian soldier said over the radio "we took heavy casualties, we had no chose but to retreat, if we didn't-"

"I understand that, that is not what I am angry about," Desolas hissed. "Even Hierarchy soldiers find themselves in situations where they are forced to retreat, that is understandable. What infuriates me is the way in which you retreated, which from the way that you describe it sounds like you ran like a disorganized mob! We are the finest military force in the Council Sergeant! We do not turn our backs to the enemy and run! We fall back in a controlled pattern, laying down covering fire and traps as we do! I expected better from you!"

"Sir you don't understand, the things that attacked us from the side, they...they weren't the same as the aliens."

"What are you talking about?"

"They...they were twice as big as the aliens, they were the size of Elcor! They had massive weapons that tore us to shreds too and...and they weren't standard weapons. They went right through our kinetic barriers, they...oh Spirits help us."

"What kind of weapons where they?" Desolas demanded

"They...sir, I have no idea how, but somehow these aliens have handheld energy weapons."

"What?!" the General shouted, "how is that possible? Not even the Salarian's finest minds have been able to create technology of that caliber. Are you saying that these newcomers have been able to do what none of us could do for centuries?"

"I...yes sir," the soldier stuttered. "What's more those creatures...they weren't the same species as these aliens, it's just impossible. Sir...I think that we may be fighting an alliance of more than one race." Desolas did not reply, merely staring at a rack of assault rifles. "Sir?"

"Very well," he said, his voice growing softer. "Get your men back here, we need to regroup. I will expect a full report on what you saw when you get here."

"Yes sir!" the Sergeant exclaimed as the line died.

"What's going on?" Desolas turned his head to see Saren approaching him, assault rifle in hand.

"The main offensive failed," Desolas grumbled, as he began to walk forward, exiting the base through a nearby open door, Saren right behind him. "The aliens were able to break it with a flanking maneuver. What's more, I have received some disturbing news about our enemy. It appears that we are not fighting a single race, and our foes posses incredibly advanced technology." He gave a sigh as he came to a stop, looking out at the alien city. "It appears that I may have underestimated these newcomers."

"What will we do?"

"For now, we will regroup and weigh our options, go on the defense, so to speak. If the worse should come, we may have to retreat back into orbit and bomb this planet into submission. I would prefer not to, it may provoke our enemy into brutal counter-attacks, and the longer we wait here the more likely it is that reinforcements-"

"What is that?" Saren shouted, raising a hand and pointing in the distance. His shout prompted all nearby soldiers, around fifteen in total, to stop where they were and stare. Three black shapes were barely visible in the distance, apparently stationary.

"They could be alien soldiers from those escape pods that landed around here not too long ago," Desolas muttered. "You!" he shouted, looking at a Turian with a sniper rifle, "take them out." The soldier nodded, dropping to a kneeling position and raising his scope to eye level. As he lined up the shot, he let out a cry of surprise and fired his rifle.

"What is it?" Desolas demanded.

"They're not aliens!" the sniper shouted, looking at the General, "they're-" he was cut off as a stream of bullets tore into him, ripping him to shreds. Desolas turned and suppressed a yelp at what he saw. The three figures were closing in fast, at a speed that had already put them in firing range. "FIRE! FIRE!" Desolas shouted, and all of the nearby soldiers did just that, one soldier on a second floor catwalk manning a mounted machine-gun.

The figures continued to speed forward, even as bullets slammed into them. They raised their arms and returned fire, bullets and lasers sweeping through the Turians, easily killing five of them. The Turian on the mounted machine-gun managed to catch a bead on one of the attackers and pulled down on the trigger. The heavy caliber shots drilled massive holes in their target, causing it to fall over and lie motionless.

He swerved the machine-gun around and was about to fire again when he saw a missile flying towards him. Desperately, he threw himself over the railing, barely avoiding the ball of fire that erupted behind him as the projectile hit the base.

Desolas was gritting his mandibles in frustration when he saw a rocket launcher lying next to a fallen solder. Dropping his rifle, he dove for the weapons, hastily grabbing it and aiming at one of the figures. He pulled the trigger and a rocket shot out of the end, slamming into the nearest attacker and exploding. Lowering the weapon, he saw that the missile had blown off the figure's upper torso.

Before he could so much as smile, the last figure turned to face him and charged in his direction, firing bullets and lasers at him. Desperately Desolas threw himself to the side, avoiding the wave of projectiles. The attacker did not hesitate though, continuing to advance, lining up more shots with the General.

It was about to fire again when a burst of bullets hit it in the head, prompting it to turn to face its new attack. Saren fired another burst at the attacker before taking a grenade from his belt and throwing it at the attack's face. It had no time to evade and the explosive hit it dead on, detonating on impact. For several seconds, it did not move as smoke from the grenade billowed around its head, until it slowly began to tilt back and then fell onto the ground with a loud thud.

"Are you all right?" Saren asked, hastily running over to where his brother lay.

"I'm fine," he grunted, getting to his feet. Almost reluctantly, a grin spread across his face. "You know, most people don't try to use grenades in situations like that."

"I had to improvise," Saren said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, good job I suppose. Now, what were those things?" Desolas and Saren approached the dead creature that had attacked them, and what they saw caused their stomachs to drop. The massive thing was made of metal and was bipedal with two arms and two legs, but wheels were attached to the back of the legs. It's torso was massive and its arms had weapons attached to the top of their wrists. The was even a rocket launcher mounted to the things shoulder. And to top it off, the figure's head had three glowing red eyes that were slowly fading away.

"A...a synthetic?" Desolas whispered. "They use synethetics too?"

"Oh Spirits," Saren said, looking at the General. "Brother...what are we fighting here?"

"I...I don't know Saren," he admitted. "These...these newcomers are far more powerful than I realized." Turning, he looked out at the alien city again. "And I led a war party to their doorstep."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Coalition Heavy Infantry: When a job is too much for the light infantry but not serious enough to warrant a Ranger, the heavy infantry step in. Heavy infantry lack the same flair that the light infantry do, due to being using the most up to date version of power armor (at the time of writing model t-101x which posses above average kinetic barriers and armor sturdy enough that a shot from a small arm only has a 25% chance of breaching it) which is too bulky to allow for customized uniforms, although some get around this by painting crests on their armor. The exception to this is the Meta-Humans, who are too large for power armor and instead wear combat armor customized for their size and with fairly powerful kinetic barriers. The heavy infantry is comprised of Standard and Necro-Humans in power armor as well as Meta-Humans. It is worth noting that due to their size and strength, all Meta-Humans in the Coalition military are automatically assigned to the heavy infantry.

They are much more well equipped than the light infantry, being the only part of the Coalition military besides Rangers who receive energy weapons as standard issue, mainly due to high expenses involved in their production. They are also given more devastating weapons such as gatling lasers, rocket launchers, flamethrowers etc. While these weapons are indeed issued among the light infantry, they are far more commonly found in their heavy counterparts. While the light infantry do outnumber the heavy 4 to 1, what they lack in numbers, they make up for in firepower.

The Left Hand (of God): One of the many subsections of the light infantry, the Left Hand of God (usually shortened to the Left Hand) originated back on Earth, specifically the Vatican. They wear bright white combat armor with golden crosses painted on.

For reasons unknown, in the Great War nuclear missiles never struck Vatican City, theories range from it not being targeted, to the silos that did target it being destroyed by hostile fire, to a simple computer mistake. However, the city was not spared the wrath of Post-War Earth.

Within months, swarms of refugees sought shelter in the still intact city. The leaders of the city let in who they could afford to care for, but were forced to turn many away. In time, many became violent and attempted to take the city and whatever resources it had by force, a foreshadowing of the coming Raider tribes. The Swiss Guard fought valiantly, killing many of the attackers, but one by one they were picked off. One day, a band of Raiders broke in attacked a group of nuns, killing their guards and intending to take them for themselves. However, one Mother present was able to secure a pistol from one of the killed attackers and, in the heat of the moment, kill the surviving Raiders.

At that point, it became clear that the men and women of the Vatican would have to adapt to survive in the harsh Post-War world. The Vatican and by extension the Holy Catholic Church underwent radical changes, becoming the New Holy Catholic Church. The priests were taught how to wield weapons, nuns became full on priests, and old teachings were replaced with new ones. With the number of defenders rising, Vatican City became a less appealing target and Raiders left in alone, searching for easier prey. Within time the Vatican began to spread out, growing in size, establishing refugee camps and growing food. It would go on to become one of the new nations of Post-War Earth

The Left Hand were and still are the best fighters in the Vatican, even if they now serve the Coalition. Every last man and woman that is part of a Left Hand is an official priest of the Vatican, as well as a highly trained commando, usually specializing at close range combat. Their commando training takes place alongside their training as priests, they day they become one is the day that they become another. However, a single lesson is engrained into their minds above all. They are the protectors of the innocent, not the judges of the guilty, they attack only when attacked. The men and women of the Left Hand take this very seriously, some of them having fallen into depression when they have broken this rule, believing that they have become just like the butchers of the Inquisition.

Coalition Voluntary Militia: As a result of originating from a devastated homeworld, most Humans of all types had grown used to owning weapons of some kind. Many civilians in Coalition space keep firearms in their household, the law allowing them to even own automatic weapons. They are usually well trained in using them, again a result of their brutal homeworld.

On underdeveloped colonies or outlying settlements, civilians sometimes form voluntary militia for patrol duty. They are not official members of the Coalition military but are for the most part respected by those who are. Militia are not provided weapons by the Coalition and must make due with what they can afford, as such most cannot afford and do not use combat armor. Most officers view using militia in battle as something that should be avoided if possible.

Mechanized Infantry: With the fear of the Protheans lurking beyond colonized space, watching and preparing to invade the Coalition, they needed as many soldiers as they could get. While there is a fairly large ratio of voluntary soldiers and militia in the Coalition, it was decided by Parliament that in the case of an impending alien invasion, more were needed. Thus the mechanized infantry were born.

They are mainly compromised of two different designs of robots that have received massive upgrades from their pre-war models, the Mr. Gutsy and sentry bots though protectrons have been used on occasion. They are commonly deployed throughout the Coalition for a variety of roles, though sentry bots are commonly deployed into high risk scenarios more than Mr. Gutsys.

What is truly remarkable about these machines is their intelligence. With the discovery of Element Zero, the Coalition was able to create far more powerful computers, including terminals, omni-tools and more advanced A.I.s, the last of which can be found in every machine in the mechanized infantry. While they cannot be classified as super computers, the machines in the Coalition military on average are self aware and posses the same intelligence as an average standard Human, making them more effective in a fight than robots seen outside of the military, which have painfully basic programing and no self awareness. Currently, the mechanized infantry makes up an estimated 20% of the Coalition's military forces.

XXXXX

Author's Note: I have a quick announcement to make. I have to admit, I felt rather uncomfortable about how the Epilogue came out, and a couple of readers have complained about it being too short and lacking closure. Well, I don't want to leave you guys hanging dry and lacking closure, who do you think I am, Bioware? After this chapter is released, I will start working on a side project which admittedly will be updated less frequently than From the Ashes, a collection of one shots the will explore the lives of the cast of New Origins, 21 years after the Galactic War. I suppose I could add on to New Origins but in my opinion that story really is over and I don't see how I can add on it without something sticking out, so I thought that I would just make a separate entry. So, please comment on how you feel about this or the chapter, let me hear some feedback.


	4. Unpredicted Force

Chapter 4

Unpredicted Force

Author's Note: The First Contact War is heating up, Meta-Humans and robots have made their appearance, and now it's time to press forward.

XXXXX

"Is this everyone?" Williams asked. He was sitting in the back of a Rhino APC with its back door still down. Ten other APCs had gathered in the middle of the park, soldiers from all over the city loading into them while five vertibirds floated overhead. The colony of Shanxi did not have very much in the way of armor, and of the few tanks that they did have, Williams had only been able to spare two for this assault. That being said, the two Viper tanks at the front of the throng of vehicles were a welcome sight to see. They were the size of small houses and had dual main cannons in addition to a pair of machine-guns.

"Looks like it," Charon replied, taking a seat next to him and across from Fawkes. "Looks pretty sizable, I think it'll get the job done."

"All right then," Williams said, putting his hand to his ear again. "Have the sentry bots completed their scouting run?"

"Yes sir, unfortunately, they were detected and destroyed, but I was still able to recover their visual feeds."

"Damn it," Williams whispered. "just...just send it to my omni-tool."

"Understood."

"Also, have the Stalker units reported in?"

"Yes sir, they reached the position you ordered them to five minutes ago. They are waiting for your signal to strike."

"Tell them to be ready, we're on our way. Williams out." As the General lowered his hand, he raised his omni-tool and punched in a few commands, causing a holographic screen to appear above it. Williams was quite as the recording that the sentry bots and sent back before being destroyed. "Looks like they've got a couple of platoons there at the very least," he remarked, noting the size of the alien soldiers on patrol alone.

"They've got some mounted machine-guns too," Charon remarked, looking at the recording as Williams paused it.

"And see these?" he asked, pointing to two large square pieces of metal that seemed to be jutting out of the roof of the base. "Those look like AA guns. The vertibirds will have to hold back until we can take them out."

"So we are going in without air support?" Fawkes asked.

"Sadly yes," Williams said before taking another look at the still picture. "It looks like there's a ladder on the side, if someone could get to that he could get into the roof and take them out."

"You leave that one to me," Charon said, cracking his knuckles.

"Are you sure that you're up to it?" Williams asked, looking concerned, "I know that you're a Ranger, but you're still going into hostile territory controlled by an enemy that we don't know very much about."

"Hey, I'll be fine so long as Frankenstein here keeps his laser going."

As Charon said the word "Frankenstein" Williams eyes widened in horror as they swiveled to look at Fawkes. He was about to call out, to say what he wasn't sure, when he saw Fawkes throw back his head and let out a roar of laughter. "I...what?" Williams said, looking at Charon with a confused expression coating his face. "Why is he laughing? Every Meta-Human I ever met when completely berserk when someone used slang like that."

"Fawkes and I went through a lot together, he knows that I don't mean it,"

"Wait, he's Fawkes? Then that must make you Charon." The three of them turned to see Hannah and Adam approaching their APC, weapons in hand. "I've heard quite a bit about you two," Adam said, stopping in just short of the Rhino, "Heroes of the Washington Confederacy, you even helped found it. An impressive feat to be sure."

"A Left Hand commando?" Fawkes asked, "All the way out here? I thought that the Vatican barely had enough men to protect its boarders."

"A lot of time has passed," Charon pointed out, "We haven't been on Earth in...how long now? One hundred years? Two hundred years?"

"Two hundred and fifty-one," Fawkes answered. "We never had a point to, nothing important happens on Earth anymore, everything of significance in Sol is on Mars and sometimes Titan."

"Kinda sad, we fought so hard to make that damn rock safe and now people can't wait to jump off it."

"It could be for the best," Hannah pointed out, "it's a sign that we're moving forward, that we don't have to settle for trying to build makeshift shelters out of the ruins of Pre-War civilizations."

"That's a very glass half empty way of looking at our homeworld," Williams pointed out.

"It's kind of sad but it's the truth, more people leave it every day, the Coalition is providing less and less funding to clear out and terraform red zones, let's face it, Earth is never going to be what it used to be. I'm not saying that's a good thing, but it's what's happening."

"And with aliens at our boarder we're going to be pushing out even further," Williams said. "Speaking of which, we were about to ask them to leave, care to join us? I imagine that they will take some persuasion."

"We would be honored," Hannah said, the two of them climbing onto the APC.

"All units, head out," Williams said into his COM unit as the door to their Rhino closed and the APC roared to life. "Vertibirds, maintain minimal safe distance from enemy stronghold until I give the all clear, enemy AA guns have been spotted. The enemy force is estimated to be somewhere from fifty to a hundred men. Stalker units will be providing us with support. Let's make this quick and clean. ETA is fifteen minutes."

"We've got a little bit of time to kill then," Hannah said as Williams lowered his hand.

"That we do."

"So, what was Earth like the last time that you were there Father?" Charon asked.

"Please, call me Adam. And as much as I hate to admit it, Hannah here has a point, development on Earth has been reduced to a crawl. No new settlements are established, existing ones barely expand, and while 2 billion people still live on it, by the end of the century I expect that number to be cut in half. I suppose people don't want to be reminded about what we once had and lost, and that they prefer to move on."

"Many were worried about Earth running out of resources," Fawkes commented, "I suppose it is good that that will no longer be an issue."

"There's a bright side to everything isn't there?" Williams asked. He was about to continue when his COM unit beeped again. "What is it?" he asked. A low gruff voice spoke to Williams. As it did, a smile spread across the General's face.

XXXXX

In orbit around Shanxi, the Turian dreadnaught Vigilant fired another round from its spinal mounted cannon, which soared through space and cleanly tore through an alien cruiser. With Desolas on the planet's surface, another Turian officer had taken command of the ship.

"What is the status of the enemy fleet?" he demanded, looking at the row of navigators in front of him.

"Most of it has been destroyed, only three ships remain, two frigates in a cruiser. The majority of our fleet is still intact, we only lost six ships, four frigates and two cruisers. The remaining enemy ships are holding back, just out of weapons range."

"Good. Are there any updates on the ground campaign?"

"General Desolas has not reported any major...wait." The navigator that was talking reached forward and began to type into the console in front of him, causing a message to pop up in front of him. "He just sent word...he...he wants the second invasion wave to be launched."

"What?" the officer asked, walking forward to where the navigator sat and looking at the screen. His eyes quickly scanned through the text, confirming what the navigator had said. "Why would he order that? Standard procedure dictates that reinforcements should not be deployed until the first wave manages to establish a firm foothold on an enemy world, and it is far too soon for Desolas to have done that."

"Perhaps he has run into trouble and requires support?" the navigator suggested.

"The men that he brought down with him should be enough to hold off any outlining forces," the officer said, but his voice lacked confidence. In the back of his mind, an uncomfortable thought was eating away at him. Just because they had just encountered this species for the first time, didn't mean that they had necessarily just discovered space travel.

The Rachni invaded Council space the moment they had been discovered, staring a war that dragged on for centuries. They had never been seen before but they had had the military might to nearly wipe out the Council. If they could do that, who was to say that these newcomers couldn't?

"As odd as it may be, the General's orders are final. Contact all ships, tell them to launch all predesignated dropships. In the meantime close in and wipe out the last of their orbital forces. I don't want to drag this battle out anymore than I-"

"SIR! I'm picking signatures that match the ones given off by the enemy ships!"

"What do you mean?"

"Ships are entering the system, not that far from the surviving defenders. I...spirits I count twenty five ships in this new fleet."

The officer looked up at the viewscreen that was placed at the front of the bridge. Indeed, dozens of ships were dropping out of lightspeed in a battle formation, closely clustered together and facing them. Already he could see the three ships that he had intended to destroy moving to fall in among the ranks of the reinforcements.

"Sir, we're outnumbered 2 to 1, we weren't prepared for resistance this heavy," the navigator said, panic in his voice.

The officer couldn't blame him, already dread was filling his stomach, but he forced his voice to remain level. "Analyze the fleet, what classes are their ships."

"I...hold on," the navigator said, fingers flying across his terminal again. I count ten frigates eight cruisers and seven...I'm not sure."

"What do you mean you're not sure?" the officer demanded, looking confused and annoyed at the same time.

"Seven of their ships are of a design that I've never seen before, they're around the same size as cruisers, but their design is radically different."

"But it is a dreadnaught?"

"No sir, it is not nearly big enough."

"Good." A small smile crossed the officer's face. While it was clear that they were going to take heavier casualties than they had expected, he was confident that he could still turn this battle around. After all, his fleet had a dreadnaught, which could easily tip the scales of any battle in the favor of the person that controlled it, even if it was outnumbered. At least...that is what he thought.

Before he could give any orders to deal with the new threat, the viewscreen showed a flash from the distant fleet as a pure white beam shot through space and smashed into the Vigilant. The dreadnaught bucked wildly, causing the officer to slam into the console in front of him and the officer to fly into his back. "What was that?" he demanded as he got back to his feet.

"They enemy fleet moved into weapons range and fired at us with...I'm not sure," the navigator admitted. "But whatever it was our shields were useless against it. It impacted on the lower half off the ship. I'm getting reports of casualties and half of our point defense lasers are offline, as are our disruptor torpedoes launch tubes."

The officer fought back the urge to gulp, gritting his mandibles. He was a officer of the Turin Hierarchy, countless people were depending on him with their lives to make the right choice. He could not afford to panic. "Contact General Desolas," he said to the navigator. "Tell him that the enemy has reinforced their position and are using unknown weapons against us. We can't afford to stay here, if we do we'll all die. Tell him that we need to retreat, that he needs to withdraw his ground forces. In the meantime maintain battle formation, target those unknown vessels, I assume that they are the ones that used that weapon?"

"Yes," the navigator said, trying to ignore the blips on the screen in front of him that indicated that blasts similar to the one that had hit the Vigilant had destroyed a cruiser and a frigate. "Sir, what will we do if General Desolas refuses to order a retreat?"

The officer hesitated before replying. "Then I will give the order myself."

"But sir, disobeying the orders of a superior officer and abandoning our men? You'll be executed."

The officer gulped as the navigator's words echoed in his ears. "I know. But If it means preventing hundreds of good men from dying a pointless death...I...I will accept that."

"But...don't you have a son?"

The officer gave a weak chuckle. "He's a tough kid. He'll understand." He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself what he was saying was true.

"Sir...Lieutenant Victus...thank you."

A smile flickered across Victus' face before a fading away. "Get that main gun going! Every second we waste is precious!"

XXXXX

"Have you managed to reach any conclusions?" Desolas demanded. He was standing in the middle of the mess hall of his firebase. One of the synthetics that had attacked them half an hour ago was lying on one of the tables, three of his mechanics were gathered around it. They were going everything that they could to analyze the machine, even going so far as to cut it open and analyze the inner circuitry.

"It definitely appears to be designed for heavy duty front line missions," one of the mechanics said, turning to face him. "It possess three weapons, a missile launcher and a machine-gun, as well as...a third weapon."

"What third weapon?" Desolas asked, certain that he didn't want to know the answer.

"You saw them use it. An automatic laser, highly precise and designed to tear through armor with minimal effort."

"Lasers small enough to be put on portable units...Spirits," he muttered. "Anything else?"

"It appears to be designed to take advantage of long flat terrain. Do you see the wheels?" The mechanic pointed to the object in question, which was sticking out of the back of the synthetic's leg. "We took a closer look at it and realized that it is retractable. We reasoned that when faced with a rocky field in front of itself, this synthetic withdraws the wheels into its body and walks. It will no doubt be slower, but stable."

"I am glad that you were able to tell me this, but I think that you know what my primary concern with these things are. Where they being controlled remotely or where they thinking independently?" All three of the mechanics stiffened, looking at Desolas nervously. "Well?"

"Sir, we cannot say for sure. Our equipment here is limited so we cannot draw a solid conclusion and-"

"You sound nervous," Desolas said quietly, "what did you find?"

"I...sir, part of the synthetic's memory banks survived its destruction. We were only able to get a couple of scraps of data out of it. Among the files that we found was a recording of the synthetic talking to one of the aliens. We used the data on the alien's language that we managed to recover from their destroyed ships at the 314 Relay and-"

"Get on with it," Desolas growled.

The mechanic flinched at Desolas' voice. "I...sir we managed to partially translate the conversation. It...it appears that the alien was asking the synthetic its opinion on the status of the colony. The synthetic replied that...that it though, it THOUGHT" the Turian repeated, "that it was pleasant. It...it formed its own opinion."

"Spirits," Desolas whispered, looking at the dead machine again. "Are these aliens insane? They create synthetics that are capable of thinking for themselves and then proceed to give them weapons? Don't they have any idea of what could happen? This is the Geth waiting to happen all over again. No, this is even worse, at least the Quarians weren't stupid enough to give the Geth guns for arms!"

"What does this mean sir?"

"This has become a much more serious matter of an ignorant race activating a dormant Mass Relay. If these newcomers willingly make sentient synthetics, then the security of every last galactic power is threatened. We could be looking at a much longer and larger war than any of us could have predicted when we first made contact with these creatures."

"Sir...what...what should we do?"

"Get this one and the other two loaded onto dropships. I want them taken back to friendly territory to see if we can get anything out of them. Dismissed." The General turned and walked out of the mess hall, only to find Saren waiting for him outside.

"You handled yourself fairly well out there," the Turian said to his younger brother, smiling slightly. "Keep it up, we're going to need a lot more men like you soon."

"You're saying that this could turn into a full scale war?" Saren asked.

"Eavesdropping are you? Sadly...yes. These aliens are breaking more Council laws than simply expanding outward too far without considering the consequences. Their actions endanger the lives of every last living thing in the Council and beyond. I-" he was cut off as his COM unit beeped.

"What?" he asked, his talons flying to his ear. "I...say that again...WHAT! Confirm that!...I give the orders here!...I did not say that, I said that I gave the orders, not that I disagree. Sadly...it appears that that is what we must do. I will give the order now, I will start sending up dropships as soon as I can."

"What happened?" Saren asked, the two of them coming to a sudden halt.

"Enemy reinforcements," Desolas grunted, "They're proving to be too much for our forces. We're going to have to cut our losses and fall back." He raised his hand to his COM unit again. "All units! This is General Desolas. I am ordering a full retreat, the enemy presence here has proven itself to be more powerful than we can hope to deal with. Return to your dropships as soon as possible, all of our ships will depart in half an hour. We will not wait after that."

"We're running?" Saren exclaimed. "We attacked these damn things on their own turf and now we're running?"

"I understand your frustration," Desolas said, putting a hand on Saren's shoulder. "It irritates me to no end to leave this planet under the control of these fools, but we need to accept in this scenario, they have the upper hand. In war, that happens sometimes, you go into a battle thinking that everything with factor in your favor when in reality fate is on the side of your enemy. It is impossible to win every battle, and only a fool presses on when it becomes clear that the odds are against him."

"What are you saying? It's our duty as soldiers of the Hierarchy to defeat threats like this. How are we doing that by running away?"

Desolas let out a low chuckle. "In many ways you're still a child. Things are not as simple as we would like them to be. It is true that it is our duty to destroy threats to the Hierarchy and by extension the Council, but the straightforward way is not always the right way. Remember that Saren, sometimes you must abandon more obvious path of action in order to accomplish what needs to be done. By retreating here, we avoid deaths that would accomplish nothing and by extension we have more men to fight a battle in the future that we actually have a chance of winning. Do you understand?"

"I...I think that I do."

"Good," Desolas said, smiling slightly. "Now then, we need to assist in the evacuation of this base, I want you to-"

"SIR!" a voice thundered over the COM lines, so loud that Saren could hear it clearly, "there is an enemy convey heading right this way! They have tanks and gunships with them! They can't be more than five minutes. We-GAH." A blood curdling shriek filled Desolas' ears, a sickening ripping noise faintly present. He heard gunshots over the lines before more screams and ripping noises overtook them.

"What's going on?" Saren shouted.

"I don't know. Follow me." Desolas turned and ran up a flight of stairs, Saren right behind him. They emerged onto a set of catwalks, overlooking the field in front of the base. Several Turian bodies were laying on the ground, massive gashes in their chests with purple blood still flowing out. Desolas gasped in disbelief as he saw the cause of this.

A massive creature with claws that were easily a foot long and horns on either side of its face lunged at a nearby Turian, swinging both of its arms as it did. The soldier fell to the ground, lifeless as its head rolled off to the side. Five of the creatures were slaughtering his men with ease, completely dominating them in the close quarters that they were fighting in. One soldier a fair distance away attempted to line up a shot, only for two of the creatures to turn and face him, shooting at him with shoulder mounted machine-guns. The combined firepower proved to be too much for both his shields and his body.

Grabbing the handles to a nearby machine-gun, Desolas swung the massive weapon around and opened fire on the nearest creature. It barely had time to register the noise before rounds tore through its body, killing it almost instantly. The Turian was about to turn and fire on another creature when suddenly they grew faint, becoming harder and harder to see before they disappeared all together. "Active camouflage?" Desolas shouted, furious at how the monsters that had slaughtered his men had slipped away.

Grinding his mandibles in rage, he looked up and saw the enemy convey that had been reported bearing down on them, no more than a minute or two away. "ALL FORCES!" he roared into his COM unit. "Defend this base with every last bit of spirit that you have! We WILL hold out until all of our forces have been evacuated!"

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Coalition Destroyer: Pre-War scholars are often baffled by the choice of words in classifying this particular warship. The Coalition destroyer is, in fact, designed for long range combat, as opposed to its naval counterpart. It is a very good example of the Coalition's original technology combining with Mass Effect technology, for the destroyer's spinal mounted cannon was replaced with a Tesla cannon, a weapon with unique properties that allows it to dominate space combat.

The Tesla cannon is an energy weapon, therefore kinetic barriers do not hinder their progress in any way. This is true for all energy weapons, and despite the best efforts of the Coalition to create a type of shielding to block them, they have had no success, limiting themselves to only being able to block solid matter.

The destroyer forwards the majority of its power supply to its cannon, allowing the blast to travel massive distances without dissipating, making it invaluable in long range missions, especially for attacking heavy enemy fleets. It is not without its flaws though, while the Tesla cannon passes through kinetic barriers, it lacks the same stopping power as mass accelerators and merely fries enemy electronics in the area hit, meaning that multiple shots will be needed to take out heavier ship if the engines cannot be targeted. Also due to the Tesla cannon's massive power draw, the destroyer has relatively weak shields and poor maneuverability, a single frigate will be able to destroy one if it gets close enough. To be used to their full potential, destroyers must seamlessly be woven into a fleet with sentries to defend it.

Rhino APC: As it expanded into space, the Coalition realized that it would need a ground based vehicle to ferry its men to the front lines. The first model was the Mako, which, despite high exceptions, was widely regarded as a failure. It was constructed at a point where the Coalition was still struggling to master Mass Effect technology, as a result the inner mechanisms of the Mako conflicted with each other, making it difficult to drive and prone to frequent accidents. It was quickly scrapped and replaced with the Rhino.

The Rhino was designed to take punishment, and while it cannot be considered a tank, it has enough shielding and armor to withstand several shots from light to moderate anti-tank weapons. It is even durable enough to survive the same drops that were commonly used to deploy the Mako. Rhinos tend to vary in size, but on average, a dozen soldiers can be comfortably fitted into a single one, with extra space for Meta-Humans and Deathclaws. However, while the Rhino is considered superior to the Mako in many aspects, it is lacking in firepower. While the Mako was equipped with a cannon, the Rhino only possess a mounted machine-gun that must be operated manually, making it far less of a threat in combat. Currently, no other variants of the APC exist, although rumors exist that the designers of the Rhino are hard at work on them.

Viper Tank: Without a doubt the heaviest tank made by the Coalition, the Viper combines its massive size with overwhelming firepower to create a terrifying and demoralizing affect. Deployed usually for cracking strong defensive lines, the Viper is a valuable asset for any commander to have under his command. Even more devastating is the Viper's close cousin, which, while more rare, trades in a Viper's normal primary canon for a plasma cannon.

However, this massive machine of war is not without its flaws. Its large scale makes it resistant to all but the heaviest of weapons, but at times it becomes a liability. The Viper is slow compared to most tanks and fairly clumsy at times. It also maneuvers poorly, requiring wide spaces to turn, and is nearly helpless in wooded areas. Air units will have an easy time picking off the Viper as it possess no anti-air capabilities. What is more, the Viper is simply expensive, making it impossible to deploy everywhere in large quantities. That being said the Viper is loved dearly among the Coalition, for as one First Contact War veteran said "there's nothing quite like driving around a house sized mass of (censored) you"

Stalker Corps: For the longest time, the Coalition had difficulty finding a place for Deathclaws in the armed forces. The only weapons that they are capable of using are shoulder mounted machine-guns and cannons, and while they do posses powerful limbs, they lack the same strength that Meta-Humans do, forcing the weapons to be fairly light. It was discovered that Deathclaws preformed poorly around those not of their species, ineffective at tactics of the light infantry and lacking the firepower needed for the heavy. Finally, the Deathclaws were given their own unit, the Stalker Corps.

While Deathclaws can use weapons, they preform poorly at standing still or holding a position due to their size and hunter instinct. They preform much better as an on the move pack, which the Stalker packs are designed around. They are fast moving units designed to reach the enemy in the blink of an eye and end the fight before it even starts, playing to the advantages of the Deathclaw's body. Stalkers tend to prefer claws over their weapons, with them being weapons that they were born with and are very comfortable with. However, in the last century, Stalker units were given a deadly upgrade. Cloaking devices.

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Author's Note: The quote in the Viper tank entry was referencing something Cookies to those who know what. Also quick bit of trivia for how I came up with the Stalkers. I took Deathclaws, arguably one of the most deadly enemies in Fallout with their powerful claws, long jump, ability to ignore armor, silently run at a fast rate, and being able to survive an armor piercing .50 round to the face and asked myself "How can I make this more deadly?...make it invisible."

Well, there's the next chapter, what do you think? Also please tell me what you think about the Codex entries. I want to make the Coalition powerful and having enough resources to pose a threat, but I don't want to push them into God Mode territory, so I'm giving their new ships and vehicles exploitable flaws. The Viper can't maneuver well, is vulnerable to air units and is expensive, the destroyer is helpless up close, the Rhino only has a machine gun as opposed to the Mako's cannon, tell me if you think I'm pushing them too far.

Sorry that it was short, but the main purpose of this chapter was to set up the end of the Shanxi arc. Also a couple of things I want to say, I have been beta reading Lord Tyrannus Star Wars/Mass Effect crossover, and I have to say it has serious potential and with the ideas that he's been bouncing off of me, I can't want for it to be realized. Check it out. Also, Darth Revan the Second is currently working on a fic that will criticize and poke a little fun at bad fics, it isn't out yet but Tyrannus and I are chipping in so when it is you might want to take a peak. Well, that's all I got.


	5. Hatred is Formed

Chapter 5

Hatred is Formed

Author's Note: I just want to clarify a couple of things, first of all, this story takes place in the early 28th century, the Coalition has been space faring for hundreds of years. I did this mainly so that their population could be at a level where they would be taken seriously by the rest of the Council, in reality I'm trying to make them more of a threat than the Alliance was, and they somehow were on par with the Turians after being in space for a couple of decades. I'd like to think that it's possible that it could take them that long to come into contact with the Turians, like I pointed out, they didn't meet the Rachni for centuries, but then they did they threatened to overrun both the Asari and the Salarians. Anyway, let's get on with it.

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Saren barely had time to blink before a tank shell smashed into the front of the firebase, blasting a massive chunk out of the front wall and sending the bodies of three Turians flying. "Get rockets on those tanks! We need to buy time for the dropships to get away!" Desolas shouted. As he did, another tank shell hit the base, twisting the catwalks that it hit into a mess of misshapen metal. Desolas dove off of them in order to avoid the blast, landing on the ground and rolling as he did.

Saren desperately grabbed at a nearby railing as the catwalk beneath him gave out. Grunting, he reached out and grabbed the next part of it before letting go with his other hand and grabbing forward again until he had managed to pull himself onto a section that was still intact, right in front of the AA guns. Pulling himself to his feet, Saren looked down at the front of the base, which had turned into a battlefield.

Deployable cover, little more than blocks of metal, had been set up in front of the base, now providing cover to Turian soldiers. A few of them had mounted machine guns that were being crewed, as well as the ones on the catwalks.

The alien APCs had screeched to a halt a fair distance away from the defenders, and were now using them as cover as they traded fire with them. Each of the APCs also had their own machine-gun on top that was being manned and directed at the Turian base. In the midst of it all, the two alien tanks pressed forward, firing their cannons at the Turian cover and sending half a dozen more of them flying.

Unholstering his rifle, Saren brought it up to eye level and lined up a shot with one of the APC's gunners before firing a burst. The shot pinged off of its shields and alerted it to Saren's presence, causing him to whirl the gun around to face him. Even as the bullets began to slam into the wall behind him, Saren took one hand off of his rifle and extended it in front of him, conjuring up a biotic barrier to protect himself.

The bullets began to hit the barrier, which began to weaken at once. Not wasting any time, Saren put his hand back on his rifle and took aim at the gunner again firing three more bursts. The first two succeeded in shattering the alien's shields while the third pierced its cranium, scattering the back of the APC with grey matter as the alien slumped over.

Saren forced himself to the side as the tanks fired again, this time blowing a sizable hole in the side of the base, more than large enough for soldiers to fit into. Swearing under his breath, Saren turned around, looking at the roof of the base, behind the AA guns. To his relief, he saw the roof open and two gunships fly out, heading for the fleet above. Good men were getting away safely.

Turning back to the battle below him, he saw a rocket fly from their defensive lines and hit one of the tanks directly. The forward gun emplacements on the vehicle were blown off, but the main cannons merely redirected at the Turian who had fired and a single shot took care of him. "We're not equipped for anti-armor operations," Saren hissed, "we need heavier ordnance than what we've got."

As he continued to look down, trying to think of something that he could do to buy the dropships more time when he spotted something. A figure in pitch black armor was running across the no man's land between the Turians and the aliens, not even bothering to fire his weapon. As the figure continued to run, three soldiers rose up from behind cover, all of them aiming their weapons at the advancing alien. However, before they could so much as fire a single shot, a hailstorm of lasers descended upon them turning all of them to ash. Saren's eyes snapped to one of the closer alien APCs, and saw a massive yellow creature holding a weapons that was still firing laser beams at any Turian that posed even the faintest of threats to the alien in black armor.

Within seconds it had reached the base and had grabbed onto the ladder, climbing up with unusual speed. Realizing with a jolt that the alien was heading his way, Saren aimed his rifle at it and fired five bursts at it. Three of them hit it in the torso while the other two streaked by, causing the alien to look up at him.

Drawing its shotgun with one hand, the alien fired a blast up at the catwalks, causing Saren to stumble backwards, firing another burst as he did. The alien continued to advance up the ladder, firing two more blasts from its shotgun. Saren's barrier was badly weakened by the blasts, prompting him to round a corner and press up against the wall of the base, holding his rifle tightly.

The alien finally reached the top of the ladder, pulling itself onto the catwalks. Saren spun around the corner and fired two more bursts at it, only to have another shotgun blast force him back into cover. 'It's shields are strong,' the young Turian reflected, "I've lost count of how many times I've shot it.' He tried to ignore the heart thundering in his chest, forcing himself to stay focused.

He sneaked a peak around the corner, faintly registering another dropship taking off from the center of the base, heading upward to safety. The alien had taken a device off of its belt and was fiddling with it. Without a word, it threw the device at the AA guns, which were just behind Saren. Panicking, Saren once again raised his rifle and moved into position to shoot the alien, but it was ready for him and fired its shotgun one last time.

The pellets shattered Saren's barrier and forced him onto his back, knocking the breath out of him. He craned his neck up just in time to see the alien jumping off of the catwalks. Saren was starting to wonder why he had done that when the device the alien had thrown exploded. A green ball of energy and force thundered outward, destroying both of the AA guns and catching Saren in the tip of the blast.

Pain like Saren had never known tore through his body as he was thrown off of the catwalks, landing painfully on the grassy fields below. He rasped deeply as his entire body seemed to throb. He couldn't see anything through his left eye and everything that he saw through his right eye was blurry, as if he was looking through clouded glass.

He tried to push himself to his feet, but his right arm didn't move. Looking to the side, he tried not to puke. His arm was charred and twisted, one of the fingers hanging off loosely. Again he tried to move it, only to feel no response. Panicking, he tried to move his other arm and felt some relief as his hand moved in front of his face, intact aside from a few scratches.

"SAREN!" The wounded Turian looked up to see Desolas running towards him with two other soldiers behind him.

"AA guns...they...gone," Saren croaked weakly.

Desolas barely even glanced up before looking down at his younger brother. "Get on the radio," he snapped to one of the other soldiers, "we're abandoning this place, they're gonna hit us with all of their air support now. Tell everyone to drop what they're doing and get to the dropships. Almost at once, a stream of bullets sped past and nearly killed Desolas. "And get him out of here!" he shouted to the two soldiers, taking cover behind one of the deployable barricades. "I need to stay behind and direct the evacuation, GO!"

Without another word, the two soldiers grabbed Saren and began to haul him towards the base. Saren weakly watched as Desolas fell into rank with the remaining defenders, even as the aliens began to advance on their position.

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"Is he crazy?!" Hannah shouted as she edged around the now parked Rhino and fired her SMG, killing an alien trooper. She was looking at Charon as he jumped off of the catwalks of the alien base, just as the plasma grenade that he had thrown detonated.

"Rangers do stuff like that all the time," Williams shouted from where he was crouching, firing his own SMG, "this is actually pretty tame by comparison."

"I have to agree with Hannah here," Adam said, firing his shotgun and claiming the life of an alien who had stuck his head up for a second too long. "A detonator would have made his mission a lot easier and safer."

"Shanxi isn't exactly swimming in the most sophisticated of equipment, we have to make do with what we've got." Williams slid back behind the Rhino as his COM unit beeped. "What is it Marcus?"

"General," the Vice-Admiral replied, "I thought that you would like to know that the alien vessels have begun to jump out of the system. I suspect that it has something to do with the damage that my ships did to their fleet. My scanners also detected dropships docking with the ships that fled."

"I'm starting to see that," Williams said, noticing an alien gunship flying out of the center of the base in front of him, heading for the heavens. "Keep pushing Admiral, I've still got a mess down here to clean up."

"Understood," Marcus said before the line died.

"All right, all vertibirds, AA guns are down, I repeat, AA guns are down, you are weapons free." No sooner that he had spoken than the five VTOLs, which up until this point had been holding back, tore through the air, gatling lasers blazing. Within seconds, all of the aliens that had remained on the catwalks were mowed down and a dropship that been taking off had one of its wings torn off, causing it to spiral downward and crash into the base, taking down the rest of the catwalk.

"HAHA!" Fawkes roared "NOW THEY DIE!" As if to emphasize his point, he aiming his gatling laser at two Turians who were attempting to drag away a wounded third one. Before he could fire though, a stream of bullets impacted on the kinetic barriers around his head. Turning to the side, Fawkes had just enough time to see one of the alien's smash into his chest. The Meta-Human, caught off guard, tumbled to the ground.

The alien, hissing with rage, jumped into Fawkes chest, aiming a rifle at his face. However, Fawkes was undeterred, and grabbed the alien by the leg. Letting out a roar, he threw the alien to the side, slamming him against the side of the Rhino. Seeing the alien scrambling to his feet and fumbling for what looked like a grenade at his side, Williams panicked and threw himself at the alien, knocking both of them over.

As they lay sprawled on the ground, Williams attempted to get to his feet, only to have a fist slam into his face. Looking at the alien, he saw it draw a viciously curved knife and swing at him. It narrowly grazed his right cheek, prompting Williams to push himself back and to reach for the longsword that he wore around his belt.

Drawing the weapon, he saw the alien lunge at him again, forcing him up against the Rhino and thrusting the knife against his stomach. Williams felt a sharp pain as the knife slipped through one of the gaps in his armor, tearing at his side. Gritting his teeth in pain, he swung his sword so that he hit the alien in the head with the hilt, causing it to stumble back. Williams followed up by raising his foot and kicking his foe in the chest, forcing it onto its back.

Taking his sword in both hands he raised it over his head and thrust downward at his disoriented opponent. There was a silent squelching noise as the blade pierced the alien's chest. The alien croaked as purple blood poured out of the wound, a trickle even coming out of its mouth. Then, in a flash, it threw its knife at Williams, which embedded itself in his leg. Hissing in pain as he fell to one knee, Williams drew his sword out and stabbed down three more times for good measure. The alien's body spasmed violently which each stab, then it became very still, its muscles limp.

Williams panted as he fell to all fours, his hands slipping off of the hilt of his sword. Somehow, he forced himself to look up. The enemy base was practically right in front of him, so close he could clearly see the alien troopers. One of them was badly wounded and being dragged onto a dropship by two others. Was it a trick of the light, or was it looking at him? Its face seemed to be filled with shock and, unless he was mistaken, anger. The alien was quickly loaded onto a dropship, which promptly took off, heading for the fleet above.

"Son of a bitch," Williams hissed, reaching for the knife in his leg.

"Don't," Adam said, running to his side with Hannah, "That'll make the bleeding worse if you don't do it properly. I have some medi-gel. Miss Shepard, could you help me-"

"Don't sweat it," the brown haired woman said, kneeling down next to Williams along with the Left Hand commando, pushing the General onto his back at the same time. "Damn it, looks like they got him in the chest too," Hannah muttered.

"Then that takes priority," Adam said, producing a thin metal canister from his side and pressing it against the wound before pulling a trigger, shooting medi-gel into the wound.

"Ahh, feels better already," Williams sighed.

"Well...let me apologize in advance General. Miss Shepard?" Hannah nodded as she grabbed the knife and, none too gently, pulled it out.

"GAH, SON OF A BITCH!" Williams roared, even as Adam filled the wound with medi-gel.

"Well, these wounds don't seem to be life threatening General, that being said I would recommend that you refrain yourself from combat until the medi-gel does its work, which could take a couple of days."

"You've got to be kidding me, there's still a fight to be had here," Williams growled.

"Not really," Hannah said, looking at the base. Only a few alien soldiers were still left and all of them where running for the handful of remaining dropships, even as Coalition tanks and infantry began to advance on the base. "It's pretty much over."

"There are still skirmish fighters scattered throughout the city," Williams hissed, "they need to be taken care of."

"And they will, as soon as Admiral Marcus drops reinforcements, now for the love of God stay still," Hannah sighed, "I swear you're worse than my son, and he's not even a year old yet."

"You're a parent?"

A small smile crossed Hannah's face as she reached into her pocket and handed her family photo to Williams. "Twins. You?"

Chuckling slightly, Williams reached into his own uniform as he took the photo, handing one of his own to Hannah. "Only one son I'm afraid," he said, looking at the photo that had been given to him. Both of the soldiers looked at the photos that they had been given. Hannah noticed that the photo in her hand was in fact a wedding photo between a woman and a man who faintly resembled Williams.

"They're expecting a kid of their own you know. His wife is due any day now." Williams gave a slight groan as he repositioned himself against the side of the Rhino, Hannah sitting down next to him. "I was supposed to get some leave in a couple of days to go visit them. That plan sure got canned."

"I know the feeling, my husband barely made it in time for John and Jane being born. Still, they'll understand, they'll know that your duties come first, you're a General after all."

"Definitely considering retiring through, passing the sword onto a younger generation." He glanced at the weapon that was sticking out of the dead alien. "Literally and figuratively." He glanced at Hannah. "Uh, not to be pushy but could you please get my sword for me? I'd get it myself but...it kinda hurts to walk right now."

Hannah snorted as she got to her feet walking towards the alien and pulling the sword out with a grunt. As she did, she took a closer look at the dead soldier, specifically his armor. "Is it just me or is his armor a different color from the rest of them?"

"What do you mean?" Adam asked, approaching her.

"It looks like there's some studs around the neck," Hannah said, pointing at the corpse.

Adam leaned in closer. "I see what you mean, I don't remember seeing them on other soldiers. It could be an indication of rank. This one could be an officer, maybe even the commander of the invasion."

"Heh," Williams chuckled, "Don't make me laugh Father, can I have my sword back now? I think I might need it, my wife is going to try and kill me when I miss our grandchild being born."

"Tell you what," Hannah said, walking back towards Williams and handing him the sword, "tell your wife that there's another parent that may be interesting in having her kids spending some time with another military brat. John and Jane need someone their own age to be around."

"That might help...a pretty big might but I'll keep it in mind. We're gonna have to focus though," he said, looking at the alien base, "we just made contact with an alien race for the first time. And I think they made it pretty clear that they want war."

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Lieutenant Victus gripped terminal in front of hi, as the dreadnaught Vigilant shook violently again. "Another one of those blasts!" the navigator said, "all weapons except for the main gun are offline, and the performance rate is dropping rapidly!"

"Hold this position for as long as you can!" Victus shouted, "dropships are still coming up!" They had lost several warships to the enemy reinforcements, who were still maintaining battle formation a great distance away, out of distance of frigate fire. However, several other Turian ships had managed to escape, after picking up dropships packed with ground troops no less.

"General Desolas!" Victus shouted into his COM unit. "We're being overwhelmed up here, we can't hold out for much longer! How many more dropships are left?" He received no response. "GENERAL! I need confirmation!"

"Sir, there's another wave of dropships coming up from the surface!" the navigator said. "I don't see any signs of any more after though!"

"Lower the kinetic barriers around the hanger and let them in!" Victus shouted. "General Desolas are you aboard a dropship! General please answer me!" Victus found himself thrown to the ground again as the Vigilant rocked again.

"SIR! The main cannon is offline! Kinetic barriers are down!" He whirled around to look at the Lieutenant. "We won't survive another volley!"

Victus grit his mandibles. He had no confirmation that the General was on board, but the Vigilant couldn't afford to remain here any longer, and forcing the rest of the ships to remain without it would be asking them to commit suicide. "SIR! The dropships have docked, but the enemy ships are charging their weapons again! We have seconds at the very most!"

'I...I don't have a choice do I?' Victus thought as he made up his mind. "ALL SHIPS RETREAT!" he shouted into the COM lines. "MAKE A JUMP TO FTL NOW!" The bridge crew of the Vigilant didn't hesitate to react, punching commands into the terminals in front of them and within seconds, the Vigilant made a faster than light jump.

Lieutenant Victus let out a small sigh of relief as he saw the familiar sight of FTL travel through the view screen. "Damage report."

"A lot of the major systems are down, but the engines are still operating at full power. Those blasts completely fired the weapons and shields, I'm not sure if they can be repaired. There's a lot of malfunctioning circuitry on the upper decks, some of the transformers have blown. I'm getting reports of dozens of dead from the med bay, along with even more wounded."

"Very well...set a course back to the rally point. How long until the Vigilant is battle worthy again?"

"Sir...I'm not sure that it ever will be. The damage is very extreme, we may have to scrap it."

"I...I see," Victus said, the faintest trace of sadness in his voice. "I have duties to attend to. You have the bridge." Turning around, he exited the bridge and began to walk towards the elevator. Numbly, he pressed the button, and instantly the door opened. He stepped in, pressing the button that would take him to the hanger and causing the doors to close and the elevator to descend.

Everything felt like a haze to him, Turians completely abandoning planets that they had established a foothold on was something few had heard of. Even during the Krogan Rebellions many commanders had chosen to defend a planet to the last soldier. Admittedly that was after the Krogan had begun to use asteroids to depopulate Turian planets, making retreat and surrender both very unappealing throughout the entire chain of command.

No, that wasn't what shocked him, what made it so that he had a hard time thinking straight was that the Turian Hierarchy had attacked a lightly defended colony. And they had lost. If they were to put the figures back to back, odds are the causalities that both they and the aliens had sustained would probably be around the same, but that wasn't the point. They were the most powerful military force in the Council, and in the first battle with an unknown force, they had been outmaneuvered and sent running. It was a uncomfortable truth, and Victus didn't like the future that it spelled out.

The doors opened onto the hanger, where a dozen dropships had landed. Countless Turians surrounded it, offloading wounded soldiers or making repairs. Two Turians moved forward holding a unconscious and badly wounded soldier between them. Victus recognized him. "Is that the General's brother?" he asked The two stopped briefly to look at him. One of them nodded hesitantly. "Spirits...where...where is General Desolas?"

"He...didn't make it," one of the soldiers said.

"I...but how? If anyone could have survived that battle it was General Desolas."

"They had weapons and soldiers that we couldn't have possibly predicted. Synthetics and handheld energy weapons, they even had massive creatures that ripped us apart with their bare hands. Sir, pardon us, we need to get this man to the med bay."

"I'm coming with you. I want you to tell me everything that you saw." Victus followed the two soldiers back into the elevator. "Another battle will no doubt follow this one, and when it comes we need to be prepared. We may need to ask for assistance from the Asari and the Salarians."

"What?" one of the soldiers exclaimed as Victus pressed a button that would bring them to the med bay. "Why are we going to them?"

"Because from what I've been hearing we could have another war as bloody as the Krogan Rebellions on our hands."

"What? Are you sure?"

"I'm not certain. What did you see down there? I need to know what we're dealing with." The soldier hesitated before speaking, telling Victus what he had seen on the planet's surface. As he did, a look of dread covered Victus' face. He realized, now more than ever, the Hierarchy had no idea what it had gotten itself into.

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CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Coalition Colonies: When space travel became affordable for the average citizen people, there was a massive exodus as well as a population bloom. The current population of the Coalition (counting Standard, Necro and Meta-Humans, as well as Deathclaws and robots) is in the tens of billions, spread out across 154 planets. Many of these planets have fairly small populations of only a few million. However, inner planets, hubs of economy and culture, play home to hundreds of millions, a few of them even housing billions. Dozens of the Coalition's colonies, such as Shanxi, Elysium and Mindoir, are fairly young and tend to focus around a single export, such as ore or crops. All Coalition colonies began like this, but eventually developed to harvest other natural resources that the planet had to offer, followed by the rise of cities and massive economies. Many have noted that it is not dissimilar to how Humans developed on Earth, albeit at a much faster pace.

In the early days of colonization, the Coalition actually planned to provide hefty grants to families that were willing to live off world to create healthy and robust colonies, although that soon proved to be unnecessary. However, the success of the Coalition's colonies came at a price. Earth's economy and population dwindles every year, its industry too small and its environment too dangerous to attract settlers. Some are attempting to spark a massive economic boom to attract new workers, but few expect it to succeed. Even the Coalition is abandoning the Human homeworld, its capital has been on Mars for centuries and only a few of the projects to retake Earth are still being funded.

The Earth Reclamation Project: Before the colony ship to Mars was complete, the people of Earth fought tooth and nail for every square mile of territory, wresting it from Raiders, mutants and other Post-War dangers of Earth. Organized and heavily armed war bands were sent into red zones to clear out all threats, which would be followed by farmers and industrialists who would do everything in their powers to make the land habitable.

With the discovery of Mass Effect however, attention has been drawn away from Earth. The Earth Reclamation Protect is one of the few movements dedicated to eliminating hostile threats and recolonizing red zones on Earth that has not been dissolved. While it still receives Coalition funding, the Earth Reclamation Project is a volunteer only force, and the amount of people who step forward is steadily growing smaller, not helped by the high causality rate. Many people have been killed or badly wounded as a part of this project, some of them being forced to receive extensive cybernetic implants in order to survive.

Coalition Navy: Ever since the discovery of the Prothean cache on Mars, the Coalition has had a dedicated force of ships to defend its boarders. Fear of a Prothean invasion caused much funding to be pushed forward for the development of a fleet, which only increased when the Coalition was actually attacked by aliens. Currently, the Coalition has a fleet of 500 warships and a dedicated merchant fleet. It also has 24 dreadnoughts, the high number resulting from being unbound by any treaty, and a number of specialist ships, incorporating Pre-War and Mass Effect technology to create a unique and deadly force.

Most of the navy guards the inner territory of the Coalition, there being too many planets to guard every last one. The Coalition does its very best to colonize planets within short distances of each other, so that a single battle group can defend multiple planets. While in many cases this keeps the navy from spreading too thin, some small colonizes still find themselves undefended. The Coalition plans to install anti-ship measurements on and around these planets, but it is uncertain how effective they will be.

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Author's Note: Well, I saw the trailer for Halo 4 and, for the record, it's making me regret doubting 343. I'm starting to think that this game will actually be pretty awesome. Yeah I have some worries but then again I'm the type of person that gets worried way too easily so I'm just gonna push those worries to the back of my mind and make a mental note to stop by gamestop after voting for the first time.

Also, one person left me a review that...well...to say the very least left me feeling very uncomfortable. It was about a person who showed disdain towards a poem I have in my profile that is anti-abortion when his sister was forced to have an abortion to save her life. Let me make something perfectly clear, while most of the time abortion disgusts me, I am not against that type of abortion. If the pregnancy is threatening the woman's life then, for her sake, it should be terminated if she wants it to. She didn't sign up to die. Miss, wherever you are, I am very sorry for what you had to go through. You were very brave to do what you did and I hope that you are well. I am sorry if anything I did caused you any distress. My Aunt went through something very similar to you and it tore her apart. While I won't be leaving that poem up, I want to make it clear that women who are medically required have an abortion do absolutely nothing wrong, only a heartless monster would say that they did. If you are truly discomforted by that poem, then you will be glad to know that I took it down. I don't need to shove my political beliefs down your throats. Once again, I am sorry and I hope that you have a happy and prosperous life.

EDIT: Looking back and now that I think about it, I just want to say this. I really don't like abortion, but if any woman reading this feels that they have the right to one...then who really cares what I think?


	6. CounterAttack

Chapter 6

Counter-Attack

Author's Note: Well, the last chapter got good reception...how about we skip all of this and just get to the next chapter?

XXXXX

Hannah climbed up the stairs of the main Coalition base on Shanxi until she came out to the roof. Night had fallen over the city and the sky was filled with stars. Looking around, she saw Adam kneeling not too far away, his palms pressed together. "Uh, I'm not interrupting am I?"

"Not at all," the priest said, getting to his feet while leaving his helmet where it lay. "How can I help you Miss Shepard?"

"You've been up here for quite some time and it can get pretty cold at night here. I thought that you could use something warm to drink." As she spoke, she held out one of the two steaming mugs of coffee that she was holding.

"That is very generous of you miss, thank you," Adam said, taking one of the mugs.

"Ok, I'll be blunt here, I'm getting kind of tired with the whole, miss thing, just call me Hannah."

Adam grinned as he took a sip of the coffee. "Very well Hannah," he said as he sat down.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Hannah said, sitting down next to him and taking a sip of her own drink.

"Of course not, what is it?"

"What are you doing up here? You've been coming up here a lot over the past couple of days."

"That is a question with a rather simple answer. I have been praying."

"Praying? What for? The men that we lost in the attack?"

"As a matter of fact I have, I have been praying for the good men and women of the Coalition that died during the battle. I am also praying for the aliens that we killed in the defense of the planet."

"You're...WHAT!" Hannah shouted. "You've gotta be kidding me? Why would you do that?"

"They were intelligent beings that lost their lives by the hundreds. It was a tragedy that they had to die."

"A tragedy? They attacked us for no damn reason! Hell, you killed some of them yourself!"

"This is true," Adam said, looking thoughtful as he sipped his coffee. "I did kill several aliens in the battle. Three to be precise. I take no pleasure in what I did though. Also, it is true that we were attacked for no good reason...from our point of view. From their point of view this attack could have been completely justified."

"I'm glad you don't get a hard on from killing, but praying for the well being of the souls of people who launched an unprovoked attack on us is going a little too far in the other direction. Also I find that second point a little hard to swallow, how could it have possibly been justified? What could we have possibly done to deserve this?"

"It comes with being a member of the Left Hand. We are men of God, yet we are asked to kill those who pose a threat. It is walking a very thin line, in the past, many who have killed in God's name have allowed themselves to be corrupted, killing innocent people and justifying it by saying that it was God's will. Every member of the Left Hand was taught from their first day one very important lesson. Never, under any circumstances, forget the faces of those you kill. We commit every person that we kill to memory, as well as looking over the kill, to see if there was another way to solve the problem that warranted violence. We try to avoid violence if we can, it's an ugly thing. Also, our enemies are aliens, we could have done something that would've warranted war from them that seemed completely innocent to us."

"Pal, that's got to be the stupidest thing that I've ever heard in my life. Yeah, you're more faithful than the average man, so what? I've killed before and I don't need to constantly remind myself that the people that I killed were Human to keep myself from going on a killing spree. Are you saying that being religious means that you're prone to being violent? And quick question, if we did something to offend these aliens, wouldn't it occur to them that we might not what we did would be offensive to them and that maybe they should try and contact us and tell us to knock it off before they resorting to military action? When you meet a race for the first time, shooting at us with mass accelerator rounds at us isn't the smartest of things to do unless you're a bunch of war happy psychopaths."

Adam paused for a second before throwing his head back and letting out a laugh. "Uh...did I say something funny?" Hannah asked, looking a little taken aback.

"Oh, you make a good argument Hannah," Adam say, "I have to say it's a welcome change to have a discussion with someone who really makes you think about your next response. It's also rare to meet someone who is as forward and blunt as you, which is a welcome change from having people beating around the bush with what they think of you."

"I...thanks I guess."

"You make a good point, a person doesn't always need to remind themselves of the people that they have killed to prevent themselves from growing too used to it or heaven forbid even enjoy it. Also you make a fair argument about how the aliens could have contacted us in an attempt to negotiate. However, I do believe that I will continue to remind myself of the lives that I've taken. While it is true that the alien who ordered this attack did so out of poor judgement, not all of his or her men necessarily deserved the fate that befell them. Don't you agree?"

"I suppose," Hannah admitted grudgingly. "I don't really think about it. I signed up as a soldier to get my hands dirty, not to go into a philosophical ramble on the morality of war every time I kill someone."

"That is one way of putting it, not the way that I tend to view it but I can see your point."

"Yeesh Adam, you're a little wishy washy. You don't have to completely drop your argument best because I made a good point or two. You could...change the subject to something that's more in your favor or...ignore my stronger points and go after my weaker ones."

"You almost sound disappointed that I am conceding to some of your arguments."

"It's not that it's...I'm not really used to someone admitting that they're wrong in an argument."

"Ah, but what is the point of arguing and debating? Many would say that it is attempting to prove that your stance is stronger. However, from my point of view, the point of arguing is to clash two different ideas together so that both sides can see the ideals of the other and learn from the experience."

"You are one weird guy," Hannah said bluntly. "I can count the number of people like you that I've met in my life. Zero."

Adam chuckled. "I do admit that the upbringing of a Left Hand commando is very different from the various styles that I have seen all across Coalition space, and I have done enough traveling in my years to know. Even on the same planets there are ways of life that are as different as night and day."

"Ok, you've made your point, you know how to look at things from point of view of a philosopher, you can stop with all of the night and day and different sense of morality stuff. It's making my head spin."

Adam chuckled, "Very well, if you wish to stop I will change the subject. Perhaps we could talk about literature instead."

"There, that I can get behind."

"Oh, before I do I must ask you a quick question myself. Why are you still on Shanxi?" Hannah cocked her head slightly, glaring at Adam. Almost at once, the priest realized his fumble. He chuckled softly, "you misunderstand the point of my question, I had heard that Vice-Admiral Marcus had managed to salvage some data from the alien firebase of a nearby rally point that we was going to attack. Considering that you are a naval officer, I would have thought that you would have joined him in the counter-attack."

"Oh," Hannah said, clarity covering her face. "Well...to be honest, my cruiser got scuttled during the initial attack and the ships Marcus' strike force all have fully crewed ships. I'd just get in the way. It's a little frustrating to be honest, I was in the orbital battle for five minutes the first time around." She sighed deeply. "But whatever, no point getting hung up on what I can't change I guess. We were talking about books right?"

"Yes, have you read any love stories with vampires in them?"

Hannah grinned. "Sorry Adam, but I'm not that kind of girl. I prefer stuff with substance."

"Good, you passed my test." They both laughed.

XXXXX

"Lieutenant Victus, is this information accurate?" Victus resisted the urge to gulp as he nodded. He was standing in the Council chambers on the Presidium. Ever since the clash with the alien forces three days ago, the entire Council had been in an uproar. Victus and many other Turians had been unaware that the Hierarchy had attacked the aliens without approval from the Council, or without the Council even knowing that the aliens existed.

"Yes, it is," he said, doing his best to keep a straight face.

"You say that the 6th fleet responded to an unknown race attempting to activate a Mass Relay...and they were beaten back?" Councilor Sparatus looked down at Victus, distrust in his eyes. "I pray that you forgive me if I have a hard time believing this Lieutenant."

"Councilor, with all due respect, I think the facts speak for themselves. Hundreds of Turian soldiers are dead, General Desolas is dead, and his brother is in intensive care even as we speak. One of the Hierarchy's dreadnoughts has been crippled beyond repair, even now it's being stripped for salvageable parts." Victus actually found himself growing frustrated, was the Council actually trying to argue that the battle that they had lost hadn't really happened?

"That may be true, but is his hardly conclusive that a race that has never made contact with the Council before is emerging. There are many other explanations," the Salarian Councilor, Veemus, said. "It could have been terrorists, or mercenaries, perhaps renegade military forces. It might have even been Geth."

"I...GETH!" In spite of himself, Victus found himself shouting. "I have confirmed reports from countless men that were on the ground that the race that we engaged was organic. And even if I didn't have that confirmation, the colony that we attacked was on the opposite side of the galaxy from the Veil! How could it have possibly been the Geth?"

"They Geth have been in hiding for hundreds of years, they could have developed technology far beyond our understanding, including the capability to create artificial organic life. It would certainly explain the odd technology that you saw." Veemus' voice was calm and level as he talked. He was being serious.

"I...what?" Victus shouted. "You must be joking!"

Sparatus narrowed his eyes. "We make decisions that affect every last person in the Council every day. We don't joke, Lieutenant."

"You need to understand this Adrien," Councilor Tevos said, using the Turian's first name. "Every couple of years a patrol fleet ends up like yours, with massive damage and hundreds dead. Sometimes it is Batarian pirates, sometimes it is a Krogan warlord attempting to form his own miniature empire. The point is, the 6th fleet didn't bring back any conclusive evidence that the forces that you faced were of an alien species that we have yet to encounter. Do you understand why we are hesitant to act?"

"The only reason that you aren't doing anything is that the Council refuses to believe anything that isn't shoved into their face." All four of them turned around to see an Asari in a thick black cloak and a head dress walking towards them, a cold look in her eyes and an Asari Commando on either side of her.

"Matriarch Benezia," Tevos said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "May I ask what you're doing here?"

"Oh, nothing much, I just wanted you to know that I've been doing your job for you for the past couple of days, you're welcome."

"What do you mean like that?"

"You took two days to see Lieutenant Victus here, and I'm happy to see someone seems to understand that the best way to deal with your problems isn't to sit around waiting for it to come to you."

"Enough with the riddles Matriarch, either get to the point or leave," Sparatus growled.

"Well," Benezia said, folding her arms across her partially exposed chest, "if you must know, Victus has been telling everything that he knows about these aliens, as well as putting me in contact with soldiers that were on the ground so that I could hear their side of the story. I've been putting together a diplomatic party in an attempt to make peaceful contact with these aliens."

"This is unacceptable," Sparatus said instantly, "we haven't even confirmed that there are any intelligent lifeforms that we are unaware of. You cannot simply form an expedition party to venture off into unknown space without approval."

"Spartacus is right Benezia," Tevos said, "even if there is a new hostile form of life out there, it isn't your place to make contact with it, it is the Council's. We represent the galactic community as a whole, and it is our duty to introduce young races into our society."

"Oh really?" the Matriarch said, sounding very unconvinced, "just yesterday I talked with a Turian General, the one that ordered the 6th fleet into action. He seemed very convinced that aliens had tampered with the 314 Relay and that his forces had responded to him. If he was correct, and I would like to point out that he seemed very convinced that he was, the Turians didn't seem to have any problems arranging first contact with mass accelerators!" Her voice was somewhere in-between disgusted and accusatory, and she was glaring at all three of the Councilors.

"I have spoken with the General in question," Sparatus retorted, "and while it is true that he ordered Turian vessels to respond to an incident with the 314 Relay, we do not have substantial evidence to prove-"

"Yes, yes, we lack the required proof to convinced us to actually to our jobs," Benezia said dryly. "I get that enough from the other Matriarchs, I really don't need to hear it from you."

"Benezia, we all know that you didn't come here just to criticize us," Tevos said, "what do you want?"

"As I said, I am arranging a diplomatic party to meet with these aliens, if the scraps of information from the computers that were salvaged from the ships destroyed at the 314 Relay are anything to go by they call themselves the Coalition." She grimaced, "However, I find myself lacking a key component, the ability to talk to them. I have no data on any Coalition language and a peace envoy that doesn't know how to speak is a very useless thing indeed."

She looked up at the Council, "Lieutenant Victus informed me that all information that the surviving ships had gathered from their attack on the Coalition colony was handed over to you, including intercepted communications. With that data I should be able to program our translators so that I could speak with the Coalition. I would greatly appreciate it if you gave me access to a copy of that data." Benezia looked like asking the Council for help in her time of need was causing her great physical pain.

"In other words, you are asking us to approve this little operation of yours," Veemus said bluntly.

"My group consists of my own personal cruiser and four escort ships, all of them crewed by my own followers, who volunteered for this mission. You have nothing to lose."

"Councilors I beg of you, give Matriarch Benezia the data that she needs," Victus pleaded. "I have seen the destructive force these aliens, this Coalition posses first hand. If we do not make peace with them now, then a bloody war will be inevitable."

"This is absurd, both of you are jumping to conclusions that have yet to be-" Sparatus was cut off by a loud beeping noise. Looking down at the source, he raised up his omni-tool and typed in a command and a recording began to play.

"Councilor, three minutes ago we received a transmission from outpost 35-g," a voice said.

"35-g?" Victus muttered. "That is one of our resupply space stations. It is on the boarder of Turian space, near the...oh Spirits."

"The outpost sent out an SOS, it is under attack by a technologically superior enemy and is requesting reinforcements. They are taking heavy casualties. What are your orders?"

Spartacus stared down at his omni-tool in horror. "It looks like the Coalition decided to bite back." All three of the Councilors looked up at Benezia, who was shooting daggers at them. "Some advice, if you don't want any more dead Turians, send me the translation data."

XXXXX

Vice-Admiral Marcus narrowed his eyes as he took a step forward on the bridge of his new dreadnaught, the Everest, which had been given to him as a result of the alien attack. After the attack on Shanxi, more ships had been folded into his fleet, bringing the total number up to forty. Half of them had been left behind to defend Shanxi from further attacks, but he now possessed a type of ship that he had not had at his disposal at Shanxi. The Coalition battlecruiser, a ship designed to hit enemy lines fast and hard.

He frowned as he looked at the view screen at the far end of the bridge. It was showing an alien space station in the distance along with fourteen warships. However, only ten of the ships were actually in a battle formation, the remaining four were still docked with the station. "Report," Marcus said grimly.

"It looks like they're still responding to us coming out of FTL, they're still getting into formation and the docked ships barely even have a skeleton crew," a Standard Human navigator reported. "Looks like we caught them with their pants down, they don't even have anything heavier than a cruiser."

"That may be the case, but still we have no reason to be careless. We are still dealing with a force that we do not fully comprehend." Marcus looked at the base, taking in his opposition. Coalition technicians had managed to salvage a few bits of data from the alien computers before every last piece of captured equipment had been shipped back to Big Mountain. That data hadn't revealed much, but it had given the Coalition the location of an alien outpost within striking distance of Shanxi. Marcus had received orders to attack and destroy the outpost to prevent it from being used as a launch pad for another invasion.

"Focus main cannon fire on the center of their ranks," Marcus ordered, "long range bombardment, don't move any closer than you have to. Punch a hole in their defenses and then have the battlecruisers move through it and destroy the base before ordering them to execute an FTL jump along with the rest of the fleet."

"But sir," the navigator said, "what if there are still intact alien ships after the station is destroyer? Are we supposed to just let them go after what they did to Shanxi?" He man had anger in his voice.

"I understand your frustration, but our orders are to destroy this outpost and nothing more. I will not risk the lives of my men to accomplish unnecessary goals."

"But sir!" the navigator turned in his chair to look at the massive green Meta-Human, "we outnumber these bastards 2 to 1, we have a dreadnaught and battlecruisers while they have nothing! We can easily wipe out all of them and-"

"And what would that accomplish?" Marcus asked, his voice stern and level. "Destroying the station will cause all of the ships present to retreat which will remove them from the area, thus preventing another incursion against Shanxi. That is our objective here. If we remain to destroy enemy vessels, we will win but not without taking unnecessary causalities. What is more, the longer that we wait here the more likely it is that these aliens will receive reinforcements that will be capable of inflicting heavy damage on this fleet. Are you willing to take all of these risks simply to satisfy an irrational emotional impulse of anger and a desire for revenge, both of which are feelings that will fade with time?"

Marcus' voice wasn't angry, in fact it sounded more like he was lecturing a disobedient child. "We are soldiers. We fight because we must, not for personal pleasure. Do you understand?"

"I...yes sir," the navigator said, turning back to his terminal. "Relaying your orders now."

Marcus nodded as he watched his ships open fire on the enemy fleet, metal slugs from their mass accelerators tearing through three of the forward most ships, causing them to explode in balls of fire, leaving nothing but bits of debris floating through space.

'So much has changed...yet so little has changed at the same time,' Marcus thought as he watched the enemy fleet return fire, destroying one of his frigates in the process. 'I led the Mutant Equality Movement, we managed to escape our dying world and find new ones. We managed to unite under a single banner...and now we are a war again for reasons we don't even now...just like during the Great War.'

The alien fleet began to spread out as the Coalition ships fired another volley, destroying two more of their ships. "Now! Order the battlecruisers forward!" Marcus shouted. As he did, five vessels tore forward at speeds that put frigates to shame, heading through the gap that the bombardment had created.

Marcus watched quietly as the battlecruisers closed in on the station before firing two missile pods a peace, sending hundreds of missiles at the station. Automated laser defense systems opened fire on the incoming missiles but there were simply too many and the defenses didn't have enough time. They impacted on the hull by the dozens, tearing away at the hull and breaching the main core that powered the station. The battlecruisers flew past the station at it exploded in a massive ball of fire, which expanded outward and even consumed an alien frigate that had been too close to the station.

"All ships, mission accomplished!" Marcus shouted, "retreat now!" On his cue, the other ships made jumps to FTL, quickly leaving the area until Marcus' ship made its own jump.

"Jump successful, ETA to Shanxi, 18 hours," a navigator reported.

"Very good," Marcus said before turning and walking away. "Send a full report of the battle to my quarters, I want to know exactly how much damage we did and how many men that we lost." He left without another word.

'Is this our fate?' he wondered as he stepped through the halls of the dreadnaught, 'to never escape the endless cycle of war? Can we ever break free? Will we ever not need rain death upon another to survive?' He sighed. 'So much has changed, technology has advanced to levels I never thought possible, as has culture. But...no matter how advanced we become, it seems that we always find a way to fight someone else. War...war never changes, it seems."

XXXXX

Coalition Battlecruiser: Another ship whose name does not come from Pre-War naval vessels, the battlecruiser is in many ways the polar opposite of the destroyer. It too has had its spinal mounted gun removed, but instead of replacing it with a tesla cannon, the leftover power is diverted to the engines, making the battlecruiser one of the fastest ships made by the Coalition. The battlecruiser instead uses newly developed missile pods, each one capable of firing dozens of guided missiles at once. Each battlecruiser posses twenty of these missile pods, which can be loaded not only with ballistic missiles, but also nuclear ones and disruptor torpedoes. While these alternative options are very expensive, the Coalition has been known to authorize them to destroy particularly resilient targets.

However, as the battlecruiser lacks a mass accelerator, it is completely helpless at any range father away from enemy vessels than knife fight territory. It's missiles are prone to being shot down by enemy laser defense systems, and the farther away it is from the target at the time it fires its weapons, the more time the enemy vessel will have to shoot them down. At any range from moderate to long, too many missiles will be picked off to cause any major damage. It is because of this that the battlecruiser is equipped with such powerful engines, allowing it to close distance with hostile targets at a fast rate before opening fire and retreating.

The Mutant Equality Movement: In the early 24th century, when Protect Exodus was still in its infancy stages, there was still a high amount of anti-mutant feelings among the people of post-war Earth. In some places, such as the Royal British Empire and the Vatican, they were fairly well accepted, while in others, like the Washington Confederacy and the New California Republic, there were a large amount of anti-mutant policies and hate crimes.

The Mutant Equality Movement was a peaceful protest organization started by a Meta-Human known as Marcus, a veteran of the Master's Army who decided to stand up and attempt to create a world where all intelligent beings lived in equality. Meta-Humans and Necro-Humans quickly fell under his banner, many of them having been victims of discrimination in the past. Macrus also received support from Washington Confederacy war heroes, the Necro-Human Charon and the Meta-Human Fawkes.

Initially, they faced heavy opposition from the general public and the various Post-War governments. However, the Lone Wanderer and the Courier began to put pressure on their respective governments to meet the requests present by the movement, speaking publicly along with Marcus. Their status helped sway the view of the general public and helped pass laws to ensure the equality of mutants in the NCR and Washington Confederacy, causing a domino effect for the rest of the post-war nations that still had anti-mutant policies. Anti-mutant groups still exist today, but they are much fewer and smaller than they were in the day of the movement, and the terms "Zombie" and "Frankenstein" are considered highly derogatory racial slurs.

Big Mountain (Big MT): Formally a massive Pre-War research facility, Big Mountain is now the center hub for all Coalition projects. One day, while exploring the wasteland, the Courier accidentally discovered the facility and was pulled into a war between the scientists of the facility's Think Tank, who had stored their brains in robots to survive, culminating in her killing the head scientist in defense, but befriending the rest.

Years later, the Courier would lead a brigade of NCR soldiers in an invasion of Big Mountain, to clear out the threats in the facility, of which there where many, and retake it. The Battle of Big Mountain lasted three days, in which many soldiers were killed and much of the research accumulated by the scientists where lost, but the NCR was victorious, managing to capture the facility and a few vital pieces of technology, mostly relating to stealth suits and A.I.s

Today, Big Mountain has been completely rebuilt and plays home to the finest minds of the Coalition, who work with the scientists of the Think Tank. If a groundbreaking technological achievement is made, there is a good chance that it originated from the scientists at Big MT. The specific details of what goes on within the walls of the facility are kept secret from the general public, although one passer by did hear the Courier shouting at her husband "I talked to my (censored) brain! And it had an attitude!" while they were comparing their adventures.

XXXXX

Author's Note: I may be portraying the Council as a little too stupid for some people...actually who am I kidding? Everyone will probably love this portrayal of the Council hehehe, aw well l want to explain myself anyway. The Council refused to do anything even when Sovereign marched right to their doorstep and tore the Citadel a new one. They managed to come up with a really stupid explanation on how it had just been a Geth ship. I think them doing the same for a skirmish that happened on the edge of their territory isn't that unreasonable.

However, if Mass Effect 3 proved one thing to me (other then the fact that glowing blue children make me grind my teeth in homicidal rage) it's that the leaders of the three main governments can be reasoned with, like...uh...well...the Turians can. A couple of the Matriarchs aren't that bad either...anyway I think that this is in character for Benezia, Aethyta said that she wanted alliances with other species, and the first step to an alliance is peace...at least I think it's in character. The true (and sad) thing about Benezia is that we're all very much like Rason, we never really knew the real Benezia before she died...that's why I'm going to...ah, you'll see.

Well, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter, please review.


	7. IMPORTANT NOTICE

Chapter 7

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Author's Note: Apparently there's a bit of a mess going on on this website involving stories being permanently deleted because they were mass flagged by a trollish watchdog group. Please read the following petition.

XXXXX

PLEASE copy & Sign this petition, and no worries, this is only a temporary chapter.

THANK YOU

Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.

Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

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While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be looseing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

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chaosthesith89

DanteSparda894

bellxross

Zyber Elethone

WizardsGirl

Charmedlily

Longislandgirl88

Erttheking

Just a Crazy-Man

Dragonkingofthestars

swimfeared

M4GIC OR4NGEZ


	8. Uneasy Offer

Chapter 8

Uneasy Offer

Author's Note: Well, the last chapter got some pretty good reception, but I think that it's about time to wrap up the First Contact War. Also, I'm calling this chapter, chapter 8 for simplicity's sake. It gets confusing organizing these things when chapter 8 is really chapter 7

XXXXX

"It looks like you didn't have a whole lot of trouble," General Williams said. He was sitting in the briefing room of the dreadnaught Everest, in a chair right across from the one that Marcus was sitting in. "I'm glad to know that my home isn't going to be bombed anytime soon, thank you Admiral."

Marcus nodded his head slightly, "I was merely doing my duty General, as were you when Shanxi was attacked."

"Yeah, I guess that I was." A sly grin crossed Williams' face, "it wouldn't have hurt if you had decided to show up a little bit sooner."

Marcus gave a soft chuckle. "You sound as if you want me to do all of your work for you Williams."

"Ow," the General said, wincing in an overdramatic manner, "talk about hitting below the belt. So, did you manage to salvage any data about these aliens from the station?"

Before Marcus could reply, his COM unit beeped. "Yes?" he said, putting his hand to his ear. "WHAT! More alien ships!" Williams nearly jumped out of his skin as he hastily scrambled to his feet, his hand instinctively flying to the hilt of his sword. "Wait...what do you mean they're not charging weapons...the design is different? They're hailing us? Very well, I'm on my way to the bridge, until I get there do not do anything that would present us as hostile."

"What's going on?"

"Five ships just entered the system, just out of weapon range. But it doesn't look like the same aliens as the ones that attacked us, what's more they're actually attempting to contact us."

"There's more than one alien race out there?" Williams said. "Maybe...maybe they're at war with the race that attacked us. Maybe those aliens are like the ancient Mongolians and conquer everything they see for loot, and now these new guys want an alliance to fight them off."

"That is a possibility," Marcus said as the two of them ran out of the briefing room, heading for the bridge. "But then again I can think of six different scenarios that are just as likely off of the top of my head. We will have to see what they want with us." They dashed through a room containing a massive map of the galaxy and entered the bridge.

"Are they still hailing us?" Marcus asked.

"Yeah," a Necro-Human navigator said, turning in his seat to face him, "and it seems like they're kind of getting impatient. Should I put them on screen?"

"Please do so," Marcus said, turning his head to look at the viewscreen, which was currently showing the five alien ships. He had just enough time to take note of the odd circular design before it was replaced by the image of, Marcus actually rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was seeing this correctly, a blue alien that closely resembled a Standard female Human in a black robe and headdress.

"Greetings," she said in a powerful but polite voice, "I am Matriarch Benezia of the Asari Republics. I have come here personally to apologize for the aggressive acts against you by our close ally, the Turian Hierarchy."

"Turians?" Marcus asked, "is that the name of the species that attacked us?"

Benezia nodded, "Once again, I apologize for their actions, which were justified from their point of view."

"Not to be rude lady, but hundreds of my men are dead because of that attack," Williams said, looking and sounding fairly angry, "exactly how did they think that they were doing the right thing?"

Marcus shot a glare at Williams, but Benezia didn't seemed phased. "I do not blame you for being angry Mr..."

"Brigadier General Williams."

"Vice-Admiral Marcus," the Meta-Human added.

"Mr. Williams, I understand that you are angry, and for reasons that I find to be perfectly rational. You see, both the Asari and the Turians are part of a galactic community known as the Council. Thousands of years ago, explorers opened a Mass Relay and accidentally released a race of insects called the Rachni onto the galaxy. They were hostile and caused a bloody war that lasted for centuries. Because of this, the Council outlawed activating Mass Relays without approval. What is more, the Turians are the main military and law enforcement force of the Council, and-"

"And when they saw the Coalition trying to activate the Shanxi Relay they jumped into action," Williams said bitterly.

"Yes," Benezia said, "without proper authorization from the Council. Do you understand now why these attacks happened?"

"Yeah," Williams said gruffly, "it doesn't mean that I have to be happy about it...but if the soldiers that attacked us didn't have approval from your leaders then I can't hold it against you."

"I only expected a reasonable reaction General, not a miracle," Benezia said, barely holding back a small smile.

"So we won't be experiencing any further conflict?" Marcus asked.

"I am doing everything in my power to ensure that, while the Council has made no formal move to declare war against you, it may help the situation greatly if an you accompany me to negotiate with them personally."

"Wait a minute, go back a bit," Williams said. "You said that you were part of a galactic community...exactly how many other species are a part of this thing?"

"Perhaps it would be for the best if I were to simply explain the Council as a whole. Would that be acceptable?" Both Williams and Marcus exchanged glances before nodding. "Very well, the Council was founded over 2,500 years ago by my race and a species known as the Salarians to create a governing body to unite the various races of the galaxies. Over the years more and more species joined, the Volus, the Hanar, the Elcor, and the Batarians just to name a few."

"The Council is led by a board comprised of representatives of all of the member races, one for each. Member races are species that have proven themselves to be invaluable to the galactic community as a whole, earning them Council privileges. No race holds complete power over another, because no race is strong enough to defy the wishes of all the other races."

"Kind of sounds like how the Coalition was formed," Williams said, looking at Marcus again, "different nations working together."

"I am glad to see that you are familar with the concept," Benezia said, "although I should have guessed that you were considering that you are clearly familar with alien races working together."

"I suppose that we...wait what?" Marcus said, looking confused. "What do you mean by that? The Turians were the first alien race that we ever encountered."

Know it was Benezia's turn to look confused. "But...you two are clearly not of the same race, yet you work within the same military don't you?"

Understanding dawned on Marcus' face. "Ah, I understand. General Williams is part of a race called Human, and I myself am Human...or at least I used to be. My associate here was also a Human once," he added, pointing to the Necro-Human navigator, who gave a nervous wave to Benezia. "I suppose that Deathclaws are a completely different species that Human, but since we are from the same planet, they cannot be classified as aliens."

"You...all come from the same homeworld?" Benezia looked as if she was having a hard time grasping the information that had just been given to her.

"Yes, Williams is a Standard-Human, that is a Human that has not experienced any major genetic reconstruction. I am a Meta-Human a Human that was exposed to a chemical called the Forced Evolutionary Virus to become what I am today. My associate is a Necro-Human, like me his DNA was radically altered, but Necro-Humans are the result of being exposed to radiation. Both Meta and Necro-Humans are sterile, but our populations are sustained through artificial wombs. Deathclaws used to be a relatively harmless animal, but they were genetically engineered by Pre-War scientists and then exposed to Force Evolutionary Virus and..." Marcus stopped suddenly, realizing what he was doing. "I apologize, I am going rather fast."

"It is understandable, I imagine what you are telling me is common knowledge among your own people," Benezia said, trying to hide that the explosion of information that she had just heard had been slightly overwhelming. One thing had stuck out to her through. "Forgive me, but did you say something about Pre-War scientists? What do you mean by Pre-War?"

"Well, you see over 600 years ago, the nations of Earth, our homeworld, had not discovered space travel yet and were pushing the planet to its breaking point. Entire wars had been fought over patches of resources and tensions had never been higher. Eventually, it became too much and nuclear weapons were launched from all over the planet, causing-" Marcus trailed off. Benezia's eyes had widened in shock at the words "nuclear weapons". "I take it that most other Council races did not engage in nuclear warfare?"

"There was one race, but they only managed to develop space travel because we gave them the required technology. Are you saying that you had a nuclear war and then managed to develop space travel afterwards?"

"Yes, we did," Williams said. "Is...is that a big deal?"

"It is," Benezia replied, "the race that we uplifted was incredibly aggressive and expansive because their culture wasn't as advanced as their new technology. If you managed to-" Benezia shook her head, "I am sorry, if I was to explain everything I need to tell you it would take hours. Perhaps it would be easier if we simply sent each other information on our respective governments and history?"

"That would make things easier for both of us," Marcus replied, "I hope that you do not mind if I restrict the information I send you. I cannot give away Coalition military secrets to a race that I just met without authorization from my superiors, even if you are well intentioned."

Benezia gave a small laugh. "You need not worry Vice-Admiral, I will be doing the same myself. I hope that you do not mind that I will also be sending a report of what I learn back to the Council. They are still in disbelief over what has happened in the past few days, and I would like to confirm having made peaceful contact."

"I see no reasons why I would oppose that."

"Good. Also, I was hoping that you could send an ambassador to meet the Council personally. They are the center of galactic politics, and the sooner that friendly ties are established, the sooner that the Coalition can establish an embassy. What is more it will ensure that there are not further incidents between you and the Turians."

"I appreciate the offer Matriarch, but sadly that is not a decision that is my choice to make. I will look over the information that you send me before contact my superiors. When they have made their choice on the matter I will contact you again. I must warn you though, it will most likely take some time, possibly even a day or two. I am not sure if you will want to return to your own territory or-"

"I will remain here," Benezia said firmly, "I cleared up my schedule so that I could remain here for weeks if I have to. Making sure that first contact with a new race goes well takes priority over my other duties. Shall I begin transferring data now?"

"Yes, please do so. I shall do the same."

"Very well Vice-Admiral. If you wish to speak with me again, do you hesitate to contact me, Benezia out." Marcus watched as the Asari's image disappeared from the screen, to be replaced with a view of the five alien ships.

"Well...that went better than I thought it would," Williams admitted.

"Indeed," Marcus said before turning to face the navigator. "Send a message to Mars, tell them everything that you heard and send them a copy of the data that we're receiving. Also, inform them that I highly urge that there be no further military action against the Turians until further notice. But before you do any of that, send all civilian level data that we have about our history, culture and the Coalition to the Matriarch's ship."

"Understood," the navigator said. "Sir, we've begun receiving data."

"Well then," Marcus said, picking up a datapad that was on top of the navigator's console and activating it before connecting it to the ship's main computer. "I had better get reading."

"I'll help you out with that," Williams said, picking up another datapad and doing the same. "The galaxy just got a whole lot more crowed, I want to know who we're rubbing elbows with."

XXXXX

On Earth in the southwest section of the old United States, there was a massive crater far away from any post-war settlement. Many had once thought that it had been the crater left by the detonation of a nuclear warhead, but that had turned out to be far from the truth. The crater played a home to the Big Mountain research facility, which was now guarded on all sides by Coalition forces.

From a distance, passers by could see that the various buildings had been repaired and if they were lucky they could catch the occasional scientist walking by. What most people didn't know is that countless sub-levels had been added to the facility. Only the most basic and lightly classified research were conducted on the surface, the more sensitive materials were handled at lower levels. The Coalition security was very strict at Big Mountain and visitors, even ones that had been invited, usually went through long and complicated screening processes to get to the sub-levels. One very frustrated Necro-Human was finding this out the hard way.

"I just need to scan your eye and take a blood sample sir."

"I've already done that five times!" Raul Tejada shouted in frustration. He was standing just outside of an elevator with thick black doors at the end of a long brightly lit hallway. A Standard-Human human was standing in front of him with an active omni-tool and a DNA scanner, two soldiers standing behind him.

"I'm sorry sir, this is standard procedure."

"But I-oh all right, just get it over with. I was supposed to meet with Dr. Mobius three hours ago before I got bogged down with all of this." Raul leaned forward and the guard raised his omni-tool, a small yellow orb floating up and scanning his eye.

"_Identity confirmed, Ambassador Raul Tejada_," a soft mechanical voice reported. He guard then held out the DNA scanner, which had a small spike at the end. Grimacing, Raul held out his thumb and pricked it, drawing a drop of blood. The guard held up the device and looked at the analysis before nodding in approval.

"Dr. Mobius is in lab three, analyzing the captured equipment."

"Thank you," Raul said, resisting the urge to use every swear in all the languages that he knew as he walked past the guard and down the hallway. He walked for a solid minute before turning left and walking through a doorway into a wide open room filled to the brim with equipment and scientists.

"BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" an over the top voice roared, "Once I tap into the secrets of this technology, NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO STOP ME!"

"Yup, that's Dr. Mobius, crazy hijo de puta*," Raul muttered as he walked towards the center of a lab, where a floating robot with three monitors extended out was floating in front of a table that was covered with capture alien equipment. All of it had been sent to Big Mountain from Shanxi to be studied

"HA! Excellent!" Mobius cackled, "Finally, I have managed to shatter the firewalls protecting the precious data of these computers! It was difficult, it was so alien it was like it was designed by...aliens! But they could not withstand my SCIENCE!"

"Yes Dr. Mobius," A man in a white lab coat with shadows under his eyes said dryly, "the world will tremble at your feet."

"The world? THE WORLD? The entire galaxy will be at my mercy!"

"Excuse me," Raul said, "I was asked to come here by Dr. Mobius, he said that he had made some sort of breakthrough. How is he doing by the way?"

"Mobius?" the scientist asked, turning to look at Raul as Mobius continued ranting about conquering the galaxy. "He's doing better. Our medical technology has advanced to the point where we can repair minor damage to the brain. We can't cure a bullet hole, but it's enough to repair the corrosion that he's been suffering. He still needs to shoot up on Mentats to actually accomplish anything, needs to record everything that he discovers, and he's still rather absentminded when he calms down, but he's a lot better than he used to be."

"Is there any chance that I can talk to him?"

"All right, I'll cut off the Mentat flow," the scientist said, activating his omni-tool and typing in some commands."

"No one will be able to stop...what? What is this feeling?"

"Flushing the residue out of the biogel and...done," the scientist said, lowering his arm. "He's actually a pretty nice guy, when he's not tripping on that crap. When he is though...we seriously need to get ear plugs down here."

"I...I...oh, what am I doing here?" Mobius said, "wait a moment, what's this?" A claw reached forward and grabbed a datapad off of the table, holding it in front of Mobius' monitors? "Did I do this? Well, that was rather clever of me if I do say so myself. Although I'm sure I had plenty of help from the bright fellows that work here, such nice people."

"Dr.? You wanted to speak to me?" Raul said, looking at the floating think tank.

"Raul? Is that you?" Mobius asked, turning to look at the Necro-Human. "My dear friend, it's good to see you again. I haven't seen you in five years...or was it two. Hold on...I know that you visited when I attempted to design a vertibird with a cloaking device...but where you there for the test flight. I think you were...or was that someone else?"

"Dr. What is it you wanted to speak to me about?"

"I wanted to speak to you? Hold on, I probably wrote it down." Mobius flicked through the various notes that he had taken down. "Ah yes, I managed to break through the firewalls around the alien computers and omni-tools that you captured. I was able to learn quite a bit about the race that attacked us."

"Like what?"

"It appears that they use technology completely identical to what we found on Mars...or was it Neptune? No, no wait it was Mars, it says so right here. The odd thing about the technology the alien's use is not only is it completely identical to the Martian cache, that is all the technology that they have."

"I'm sorry, I don't follow."

"Well you see, we integrated a lot of pre-war technology with Prothean technology...at least that's what I wrote down. It says that omni-tools and new computers replaced pip-boys and those old monitors that we used to use, but we still use some old war technology to great affect, such as robots, energy weapons and the Forced Evolutionary Virus...I think."

"What are you trying to say Dr.?"

"Hold on a minute, the point must be in here somewhere," Mobius said, scrolling down through his notes again. "Ah, here it is. I believe...at least I think I do, that these aliens suffer from creative sterility."

"Creative sterility? What do you mean by that?"

"It says here that there is no indication that these aliens have any form of technology that isn't based off of Prothean technology, meaning that they are limited to operating within the field opened up by that particular science and no others."

"So, what you're saying is that we have an edge over them in terms of technology," Raul concluded. "That's good to hear."

"I suppose that it is," Mobius said uncertainly, "I think you know what you're talking about, I'm not quite sure."

"Dr. maybe it would be for the best if you were to lie down for a little," the scientist suggested.

"What?" Mobius asked, turning to look at him. "I...yes, I suppose that I do feel a little under the weather. But before I do, would you like a Mentat? They're absolutely delightful."

"I'm fine Dr., now go lie down."

"I am feeling rather tired," Mobius said, slowly floating away, letting out a yawn as he did.

"I am not upset that the boss didn't bring me here the first time around," Raul muttered.

"Sir?" the scientist asked.

"Never mind. Well, I guess I might as well stick around for awhile to see if there's anything else here that I should know about, after all I am the one who keeps important Coalition officials informed about these kinds of-" Raul was cut off as the scientist's omni-tool beeped.

"Just a moment sir," he said before activating his omni-tool again. "That's...that's odd," he said as he read it.

"What is it?"

"It's a message from the Coalition brass. They're saying that they need you for a mission of some kind and that they need you to leave immediately. They will be men waiting on the surface to tell you what you need to know and where you need to go."

"Well then, sorry to leave so soon," Raul said before turning and walking towards the exit.

"By the way ambassador, it's only fair to warn you that the security has been upgraded since you were last here. You need to have your identity confirmed going out now too."

"JODER!**"

*son of a bitch

**fuck

XXXXX

"Do you really expect me to take that seriously?" Charon said, frowning slightly.

"I am merely shedding light on the subject, many believe that Humans were created by the Protheans," Adam replied. The two of them were sitting at a cafe within the Shanxi colony, along with Hannah and Fawkes.

"There is some evidence to support that idea," Fawkes said, staring at Adam. "That base on Mars must have been there for a reason, and there was no evidence of heavy mining or agriculture on any major body in the Sol system, they must have been there for research. They may have been planning to use us for war, or free labor, or possibly even objects of pleasure. We may never know."

Charon gave Fawkes a friendly elbow. "I swear, you spend way too much reading philosophical essays. Someone just needs to point out a quirk about everyday stuff to get you going on a rant about the nature of life and the balance of the universe." Charon shook his head slightly. "The kid really rubbed off on you didn't he?"

Fawkes grinned widly, looking at Charon. "And he did not affect you at all? You are not the same person that you were when I met you my old friend, and I know that he played a great roll in that."

Charon grinned slightly. "Yeah, I guess you have a point there." As he spoke, Charon reached into his pocket and pulled out a few scraps of torn yellowing paper. He looked at the torn remains of his contract, fond memories filling his mind. "Damn brat always did have a way of seeing things from a different point of view...wonder what he'd be doing if..." Charon shook his head, "never mind."

"I...understand," Fawkes said softly.

"Are you two ok?" Hannah asked, concern in her voice.

"We're fine, two old soldiers are just getting a little caught up in their memories," Charon said. "Anyway Hannah, what do you think about that little theory?"

"What the-oh right," she said, a little taken aback but the sudden change in subject, but deciding not to push it. She had learned from experience that intruding in on sensitive personal matters was a lot like poking an open wound. "It doesn't make that much sense to me. There's evidence of Humans existing long before the Prothean base on Mars was built. I think that they just found us and were studying us from a distance, after all at that point there would've been primitive societies on Earth. Maybe they were keeping an eye on us to see how we were developing, maybe they thought that some day down the line we would've gotten into space by ourselves, after all the Protheans can't have been the only species around during their time."

"I agree," Charon said, "it makes so much more sense that way, but Frankenstein here just loves to go on about how we're all dust in the wind or how we're all inconsequential in the grand scheme of reality."

"Those two are the same concepts," Fawkes pointed out.

"Shut it Fawkes," Charon replied, a little too quickly. "Anyway Adam, are you honestly going to say that the Protheans making us is more likely than them just studying us?"

"As I said before, I was merely telling you that it is what some people believe," Adam replied, "truth be told my own views on the matter are somewhat closer to your own. I simply like reminding myself and those around me that there are multiple points of view on every subject."

"You mean like why water is wet? Are there multiple ways of explaining that?"

"Well, in certain parts of-"

"That was a rhetorical question," Charon said dryly.

"I know, but I had an answer for it anyway," Adam said teasingly.

"God, you're just as bad as the kid." Charon shook his head as he grabbed the glass of water in front of him and took a sip.

"Sounds like someone can't handle being beaten in an argument," Hannah said slyly.

"Whose side are you on again?"

"Excuse me?" All four of them turned to see a female Necro-Human wearing a Shanxi uniform with officer's bars standing right next to their table. "Are you Hannah Shepard, Adam Anderson, Fawkes and Charon?"

"We are," Adam said politely, "how can we assist you?"

"Is it true that all four of you took part in Shanxi's defense when it was invaded around a week ago?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" Hannah said.

"I was ordered by Vice-Admiral Marcus to gather as many veterans from the invasion as possible, he needs people with combat experience."

"What for?" Charon asked.

"An escort mission. Concerning the alien presence...there has been a massive change."

"What kind of-" Hannah began before she was interrupted.

"I'm not at liberty to give you very much information, all I can tell you is this." She gently placed a datapad that she was holding on the middle of the table. "Please understand that this mission is voluntary only, choosing to read that data though it is the same as accepting it. That information is very highly classified and we don't want it being leaked out just yet, so I only can have you looking at it if you accept this mission. I have also been ordered to tell you that it will take you into an unknown territory and we are not certain if it will be dangerous or not."

Charon looked around at the rest of the group. "I'm a Ranger, it's my job to go into dangerous situations, you can count me in."

"If you are going my friend, then I will be at your side," Fawkes declared.

"God, I'm supposed to be a Navy navigator and I haven't been on a ship in a week," Hannah pointed out. "And I don't think I will be anytime soon, you've got my attention."

"Well, I feel like I've been put on the spot," Adam said playfully. "I'll accept this mission if I must, after all I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if you were harmed while I kept my self safe."

"Well, we're all in, what kind of mission is this?" Charon asked.

"About twelve hours ago, five alien vessels entered this system and hailed one of our ships." She saw Hannah was about to shout out and hastily held up a hand, earning silence from her. "I can understand that you might be surprised, but the situation is different then what you might imagine. They initiated peaceful contact."

"What?" all four of them exclaimed.

"I'm sorry but I don't have much time to explain, the Coalition is considering sending an ambassador to negotiate with these aliens, all the information that you are allowed to know is on that datapad. You leave at 0800 tomorrow. Also if you should happen to leak that information without authorization, you will be charged with treason." With that, the officer turned and left.

"Just like old times huh Fawkes?" Charon asked, "we keep getting ourselves pulled into these situations."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Coalition Drugs: Many types of chemicals from Pre and Post-war are still commonly seen and used in modern society. Physco and Med-X are commonly used by most medical facilities and the military, although Med-X is sometimes illegally traded as a controlled substance. Mentats are illegal in most situations unless they are approved by a doctor, and are commonly sold by drug dealers. Buffout was outlawed when it was discovered to be highly addictive and harmful. Jet is the most popular and expensive drug in the modern black market, even finding popularity among aliens. Ant Queen pheromones where outlawed after it was discovered that they caused sever damage to the brain, the demand for it on the black market is low.

XXXXX

Author's Notes: I just want to throw this out there now, I write down codex entries whenever the subject mater is brought up in story (kind of like how the game works) but please understand that I can't come up with enough backstory to put an entry in every chapter. In here the drugs were all I could come up with. Sorry.

Well, I hoped that you enjoyed that chapter. Please tell me what you think, and please go easy on me, it was 3:00 in the morning when I finished this chapter and my head was starting to ache. I knew that some people were upset with the not true update so I decided to grind this thing out.


	9. Clash of Interests

Chapter 9

Clash of Interests

Author's Note: Well, time for the chapter that everyone has been waiting for, the Council reacting to the Coalition. This is going to be a little...messy.

XXXXX

"Well, this is certainly interesting," General Williams said as he sharpened his longsword, "never thought that I'd help initiate first contact with an alien race." He looked up, "remind me again why I'm here? I'm much better at shooting and stabbing things than making friends with them."

"I must question my presence here as well," Marcus said before placing an assault rifle on his back.

"Parliament wanted both of you because you've had the most experience in dealing with the Turians," Raul replied. All three of them were standing in the airlock of the Everest. The ship had left Shanxi, along with the rest of the fleet there, to head to the coordinates Matriarch Benezia had given them. Mere minutes ago, they had arrived at a massive space station called the Citadel which was protected by a joint fleet of the member races.

"Marcus is the only one here who did any talking, the only time I got up close to an alien I was shoving this into his gut," Williams shook his sword to get his point across.

"That's more experience than every other person in the Coalition," Raul replied, "the brass wants as many people on top of this as possible, I probably got thrown in because of my reputation." He grunted, "Hope this doesn't start another war. I don't think that they're going to like what Parliament told us to tell them."

"Well, maybe its for the best that we don't sugar coat it for these guys, maybe they should know exactly who they're dealing with and not get someone to tell them what they want to hear. Putting on a facade for them will end badly no matter what way you spin it."

"A rather crude way of putting things General, but I suppose that we'll find out if you have a point. For better or worse," Raul said. As he did, a clanging noise filled the room. "The docking sequence is finished," Raul muttered, "our guards should be waiting for us outside." As he spoke, the airlock slid open and the three of them stepped out.

They emerged onto one of the docks of the Citadel, which was one of the five long arms that made up the station. "Son of a bitch," Williams swore, looking to the left. A fleet of warships of various designs was floating in front of the Citadel. The Coalition fleet could be seen opposing it, and it was clear that the Council fleet was easily three times bigger. However, his eyes were drawn to a completely massive dreadnaught that dwarfed the Everest, which resembled a cross with a blowing blue core.

He whistled, "Gotta give these guys credit, they do a good job of keeping this place defended. Then again it could just be them waving their dicks around."

"How very crude," Marcus remarked. The three of them continued to walk across the dock to where a platoon of Coalition forces where standing, waiting for them.

"Geez, we went all out didn't we?" Williams asked looking through the platoon, "Light and heavy infantry, a Ranger, Stalkers and Mr. Gutsies."

"At your service sir!" one of the floating robots declared, holding a clawed arm up in a a salute.

"I thought that we were here to introduce ourselves, not start a war," Williams continued, glancing at Raul.

"Considering they have a fleet of over a hundred warships and all of those men over there, I'm more concerned that we didn't bring enough." Raul pointed as he spoke and Williams turned to see dozens of aliens of different species in blue armor at the opposite end of the dock, looking at them nervously.

"Speak of the devil." One of the aliens in blue armor walked forward, an Asari.

She stopped in front of the Coalition platoon, looking at them uncertainly. "Who is in charge here?"

"That would be me," Raul said, stepping forward.

"The Council is waiting for you," the Asari said slowly "I can take you to them if you want. Your...your condition isn't contagious is it?"

"What condition, I don't-" Raul stopped mid-sentence and looked down at his raw and mutated skin. "Ah, that. Don't worry, I won't harm anyone around me."

"That...that is good to hear. We should get going now."

Raul nodded. "Then lead on." The Asari turned around and began to walk towards the exit to the dock, the rest of the Coalition soldiers and aliens following. "Are you military?"

"Not exactly, I'm with Citadel Security Services, or C-Sec. We're the police force aboard the Citadel."

"You are very heavily armed for police officers," Marcus observed, "some of you have assault rifles and shotguns."

"The Citadel is the center of all galactic politics as well as a place of commerce and has millions of people living on it," the Asari explained, "it attracts some...unwanted attention. Like all societies it has an underbelly of criminals and it can get pretty nasty in some of the lower wards."

"Tell me more."

As Marcus and the Asari continued to talk, Raul fell behind and into step with Charon and Fawkes, who were among the guards, along with Hannah and Adam. "I have to say it's been awhile since I've seen you two."

"How are you holding up you old son of a bitch?" Charon asked

"I'm doing just find you damn pendejo*," Raul said.

"Really? Then how come you're still carrying around that freaking antique?"

Raul grinned slightly and pushed back the dark blue robe that he was wearing, revealing a light infantry combat vest and a holster. A .44 caliber magnum was sticking out of it. "I've hung on to this old thing for centuries, and I'm not going to let it go of it anytime soon. I repair and maintain it daily, I have to scrounge up parts to make my own ammo, but I will stick with this thing until it falls to pieces in my hand or I die."

Charon chuckled, "I've never met someone who's as suborn as you, not even the kid."

"He was all right, the boss liked him enough to marry him."

"Didn't she get shot in the head twice?"

"Give me an instance of when it affected her judgement."

"She married an idiot."

"What makes you say that he's an idiot?"

"He got a piece of his brain cut out."

"Big deal, the boss got her entire brain taken out once."

Charon smirked, "thank you for proving my point."

"Oh you-" A smile spread to Fawke's face, even as a stream of Spanish cuss words flew from Raul's mouth, his mind drifting to fond memories.

*asshole

XXXXX

"This information cannot be accurate," Councilor Sparatus said, looking at a datapad. "Is this your idea of insulting our intelligence Benezia?"

Benezia's eyebrow twitched slightly as she looked at the Council. "I beg your pardon?"

"This information you received from this...Coalition...it boarders on the absurd. Mutants? Genetically engineered giants and monsters? Machines? One of them alone I might have believed but all together it sounds like you rolled them all together in a desperate attempt to make your discovery of a new species profound," Sparatus said

"I find that rather amusing considering that a couple of days ago you were making an argument that these aliens didn't even exist. What would I stand to gain from lying to you?"

"Try to understand Benezia," Tevos said, "some of the descriptions here are rather outrageous. This data describes the Coalition more like a collection of galactic powers than a single one." She looked up from her own datapad, "are you certain that they're not like us? It would be more likely that there is another organization like the Council than all of these different species coming from the same planet."

"I assure you that-" Benezia stopped as the elevator at the far end of the Presidium slid open. A smile slid across her face as the occupants poured out. "It may be for the best if you ask them yourself. They appear to be a couple of hours early." All three of the Councilors looked up as the group from the elevator approached them. A good deal of the guards from both the Coalition and C-Sec had been foreced to remain on the lower levels due to limited elevator space, but the main ambassadors as well as the veteran guards had still gone up.

"I take it you are the Council that we have heard about?" Marcus asked as the group reached the Council, stopping in front of it.

"Yes, we are," Tevos said politely. " We were just going over the data regarding you, we did not get a chance to finish it but I do believe that you can fill in the rest. It is a pleasure to meet you and your people. I am Councilor Tevos, representative of the Asari. My associates are Veemus of the Salarians," she pointed at Veemus to clarify, "and Sparatus of the Turians."

"I am Vice-Admiral Marcus of the Coalition Navy and a Meta-Human."

"Brigadier General Williams and a Standard-Human," Williams added.

"Raul Tejada, Coalition ambassador and a Necro-Human."

"So then," Veemus said uncertainly, "these reports of multiple species originating from a single planet...they're true?"

"Not exactly," Marcus said, "technically Meta-Humans, Necro-Humans and Standard-Humans are all of the same species, it is just that some of us underwent massive structural changes. Necro-Humans were exposed to a massive amount of radiation that causes their appearance as well as ability to heal when exposed to further radiation and inability to die of old age."

"Radiation...heals you?" Tevos said, disbelief in her eyes as she looked at Raul.

"Yes it does. It actually kind of feels like a warm bath," Raul remarked.

"And you cannot die of old age?"

'Yeah, I'm around...six and a half centuries old."

"Amazing...you're only a century younger than I am."

"Yeah, I guess that I-wait what?"

Tevos blinked before understanding dawned on her face. "You must not have seen it in the data that Benezia sent you, Asari live an average lifespan of one thousand years."

"We have some common ground then don't we?" Raul said.

"Meta-Humans do as well," Marcus pointed out. "Like Necro-Humans, we do not die of old age. I myself am nearly six centuries old. However, unlike Necro-Humans, we are not the result of mutation, but of a substance called the Forced Evolutionary Virus, which causes us to transform from normal Humans into this. We used to be called Super Mutants, but that title was dropped when it was proven to be rather inaccurate."

"We also have Deathclaws," Marcus continued, pointing to a Stalker that was standing next to him, examining his claws with a bored expression. "They used to be a relatively harmless animal called a Chameleon until they were transformed by scientists into what you see today and exposed to Forced Evolutionary Virus. We also have a large number of robots among our population and our armed forces. This particular model that you see here is called a Mr. Gutsy," he pointed to one of the floating automatons.

"It is rather interesting that a single planet was able to produce a species that has so much variety to it," Veemus remarked, "nothing like this has ever happened before in the history of the Council."

"Well, a nuclear war will do that to you I suppose," Williams remarked, "it kind of forces you to-"

"Nuclear war!" Sparatus shouted out, causing many of the people present to jump.

"What, you didn't know that?" Williams asked, looking surprised.

"As I said before, we had not had enough time to review the information given to us before you arrived. We were not expecting you to be so early," Tevos said, her eyes wide with shock.

"You mean to tell me that you destroyed your civilization and were able to rebuild it to the point where you were capable of space travel?" Veemus said, looking slightly frightened. "This is...very concerning. We have only had one encounter with such a race, and it lead to a bloody war."

"Why did you not tell us about this Benezia?" Sparatus demanded.

"Forgive me, I was too busy trying to convince you that I wasn't lying about other things that I had told you," she hissed.

"So...our history including a nuclear war is disturbing to you?" Raul asked.

"Not to be rude, but slightly," Tevos admitted.

"I understand, but I must be honest with you. Admiral Marcus and I did extensive research on the Council today and shared our findings with the Coalition Parliament. We found several of the things that we learned about the Council to be...uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?" Sparatus said, "you just told us that you nuked your own civilization, and now you're telling us that we make you feel uncomfortable?"

"Sparatus please," Tevos said. "We are attempting to make peaceful contact here." She turned to look at Raul. "If you have any concerns, please tell us, we will do our best to address them."

Raul turned to look at Marcus and gave a brisk nod, prompting the Meta-Human to take a step forward. "First of all, before I continue, I must ask you a question. Do you wish for us to join the Council?"

The Councilors exchanged looks. "...Yes," Veemus said hesitantly. "That has been the tradition for thousands of years, all young races join the Council so that they can be guided as they develop."

"Yes, I thought so. But...how do I put this...some of the Coalition's leaders are concerned that becoming a part of the Council might not be in our best interest."

"Not in your best interest?" Sparatus nearly shouted, "why not? We have kept the galaxy safe since we were founded. We defeated the Rachni and the Krogan, two races that threatened to overwhelm the galaxy."

"That is true," Marcus admitted, "but there are certain...qualities about the Council that give us cause for concern." He reached for his side and took a datapad that was hanging there, holding it up to eye level. "While you did indeed defeat the Rachni, you were only able to do so with the assistance of the Krogan. Afterwards, they began to expand outward, to the point where they began attacking other colonies for territory."

"When that happened, you struck back, fighting a massive war that lasted for centuries and ended with a biological weapon called the genophage being used against the Krogan, reducing their fertility rates massively. They lost their embassy on the Council and began to fight among themselves, collapsing into tribes on their homeworld and fighting as mercenaries everywhere else." He looked up, "what I find disturbing is even centuries later, at a time where no one from the Krogan rebellions is alive anymore, they are still infected with the Genophage, which is causing the population of their species to drop every year."

"The Krogan are a menace," Sparatus said dismissively, "they fight because they think that it's fun, it's all they know. On their home planet, the most common form of death was by gunshot, and before gunpowder was invented, it was eaten by predator. And this was all before they nuked themselves."

"You may have a point," Marcus replied before looking down at the datapad again. "Another concern of mine is the Quarians. Three hundred years ago, they had a race of machines called the Geth, who began to develop sentience. They panicked and attempted to destroy them, but it backfired and the Geth nearly whipped all of them out and drove them off of their planets. They are confined to a massive fleet now, and their immune systems have grown so weak that breathing in the air I am now would kill them. Despite this, for three hundred years, you have let them travel in space without providing any assistance and you even took away their embassy."

"The Quarians broke Council law," Veemus interjected, "Artificial intelligence is outlawed, they are simply too dangerous. There is too much of a risk of them gaining sentience and wiping out organic life, what happened to the Quarians is living testimony of that. Even today, the Geth are still hiding behind Perseus Veil, doing who knows what. The Quarians exile is punishment for their crimes."

"Which brings another concern of mine to light," Marcus said, "I will not argue about if the Quarians creating the Geth was right or wrong. If they were willing to wipe out the majority of a species that threatened them, even the non-combatants, they cannot be considered completely innocent. But still, the Coalition makes widespread use of artificial intelligence, and I have concerns about how you may wish to act upon that. Our robots even posses artificial intelligence."

"WHAT!" Sparatus shouted. "You gave combat drones artificial intelligence! Are you insane?"

"I"M RIGHT HERE MAGGOT!" the floating Mr. Gutsy shouted, "If you're going to talk to me, grow some balls and look me in the eye while you do it you limp dick little ass fucker!" Sparatus was so shocked by the outburst of the machine's outburst that he didn't even reply.

"Yes," Marcus said dryly, looking at the Gutsy, "thank you for that."

"My pleasure sir!" the robot announced, saluting Marcus again.

"Moving forward, another concern that the Coalition has is this race called the Batarians. They appear to make regular raids into Council territory to kidnap people into slavery, despite it being directly against Council law. Yet...you have made no moves against the Batarian government to stop this."

"Try to understand this," Tevos explained, "the Batarians are a very proud people and slavery is deeply engrained into their culture, which also includes a very strict caste system. We cannot force them to stop without causing a war, which would end more lives that it would save."

"I see," Marcus said. "Two more points. It appears that Council law also outlaws genetic engineering. Meta-Humans and Deathclaws are the direct results of genetic engineering, meaning that we are not permitted by Council law."

"Now wait just a moment-" Sparatus began, but Marcus cut him off.

"And my final and largest concern is this. The Council has a small elite group of agents called Spectres. They are handpicked by the Council themselves and usually belong to races that hold a seat only. They are law enforcement agents that operate above the law, meaning that they can go wherever they please and kill whomever they want." He looked up at the Council, "meaning that they can legally enter our territory and kill our citizens without our consent."

"You make the Spectres sound as if they are loose cannons who commit genocide on a regular basis," Veemus pointed out, "they are handpicked by the Council themselves. We do extensive background checks and testing and even then we reserve the right to strip them of their status at any second."

"I am not arguing with you Councilors, I am merely pointing out the facts," Marcus said calmly. "And the facts say that you have abandoned two species that could be classified as endangered, outlaw artificial intelligence and genetic engineering, making three fifths of those who live under our banner illegal by your laws, you do not enforce laws against slavery within your own boarders and allow your colonies to be attack without repercussions, and you permit agents to kill civilians without proof or justification. Also one final issue, the Council rules over countless other species that have been a part of this organization for centuries, some of them even longer than Turians, and yet they are not granted seats on the Council because they have not 'proven themselves' meaning that they have no say in the laws passed by you that they are forced to follow. These are the facts about you."

"You are viewing them from a warped perspective and twisting them so that you only see the negative sides to them," Sparatus argued. "Everything that we do for a reason."

"I understand that, it is just that we do not agree with you. Also, I do believe that the Council races that are not members are only permitted to have a small amount of warships and dreadnoughts. One for every three the Asari and Salarians have and for every five the Turians have. Am I correct?"

"Yes, young species cannot always be trusted with a surplus of military forces. The Council takes it upon itself to protect them from any hostile forces," Sparatus explained.

"Except the Batarians," Marcus remarked.

"We have explained this already! Any attempt to make a move against the Batarians would be seen as cultural repression and would spark a war," Sparatus shouted. "Why don't you understand that?"

"We do understand that, I also want you to understand something." Marcus took a deep breath before continuing. "Yesterday, the Coalition Parliament came to a very important decision, one that they had been debating about every since we received data on the Council five days ago. Our purpose here would be to establish friendly ties and trade agreements and nothing more."

"Admiral...are you saying that-"

"Yes," Raul interjected, "the Coalition has no intention of joining the Council."

"No race has ever denied a chance to join the Council!" Veemus exclaimed.

"In the Coalition there is an old saying, there's a first time for everything," Williams said. "We're not interested in joining."

"Did you have a part in this Benezia?" Sparatus demanded, "have you been feeding them false information and smearing the image of the Council?"

"I gave them every last piece of data that I thought that they could possibly need to know about the Council," Benezia snarled, "they didn't tell me about this decision either, they made it on your own. Also, unless you forgot they gave your military quite a bloody nose Councilor but now they're trying to establish friendly ties. If you had any common sense you would be doing your very best to make trade alliances with them and ensure peace."

"Benezia is right," Tevos said, "we stand to gain much to gain from each other. Your technology sounds fascinating, no Council species has ever been able to develop hand held energy weapons before."

"You haven't...we suspected as much," Raul replied grimly, "I am sorry Councilor, but the secrets to creating energy weapons are a classified military secret, civilians aren't even allowed to own them. The same goes for the Forced Evolutionary Virus and our research on robotics. I hope that you understand, I imagine that you wouldn't share military secrets with another species."

"I suppose that you have a point," Sparatus said grudgingly.

"If you could give us coordinates to planets near your boarders we could see if we have an colonies within a reasonable travel distance that could stand to benefit from an increase in exports," Tevos offered.

As the conversation switched over to trade, everyone in the room was aware of the same thing. An icy presence seem to hang in the air, creating a low level of constant hostility between the Coalition representatives and the Council. The newcomers to galactic politics were beginning to understand that they announcement had broken thousands of years worth of tradition. While the Council was now keeping their voices level and their tones polite, even Sparatus, all three of them had an edge to them. Even though they were now trying to secure peace, there was an anger burning just beneath the surface, anger that the Coalition had just spat at everything that they stood for. And the Coalition were resentful that the Council had expected them to submit themselves to them. Everyone in the room knew that even if they were successful at establishing peace, it would be a very cold and tense peace.

XXXXX

Lieutenant Victus paused in front lobby of an emergency care center on the Citadel, specifically designed for soldiers that had to go straight from the docks to intensive care. "Can I help you sir?" a young Asari Maiden said from a customer service window right next to the front door.

"Yes, I am here to see Private Saren Arterius, I received word that he was no longer in critical condition."

"Just a moment," the Asari said before typing into the terminal in front of her. "Arterius...Arterius...ah yes, he had surgery two days ago that stabilized him. He's healthy enough that he can have visitors if that is what you're here for."

"Yes, I am. I wanted to check up on him, making sure that he is coping all right. I would appreciate it if you could just tell me where he's staying."

"Certainly, just head on in. He's on this floor, third door on your right. But please," she hesitated before continuing, "the doctors had to give him rather noticeable cybernetic implants. Please don't bring it up, receiving implants is known to be a extremely traumatic experience for some."

"I understand," Victius said before walking through the main doors and heading deeper into the hospital. As he did, he walked past a door that opened for a few seconds as a doctor walked in, allowing him to catch a glance of a Turian lying on a bed with bandages covering his chest. "So many were wounded in the conflict," Victius muttered, "but...at least they will live."

Before too long he came to the door that the Asari had told him about, stopping outside of it. Gently, he reached out and rapped the door. "Who is it?" a weak voice said.

"Lieutenant, Adrien Victus, I'm not sure if you know who I am but-"

"Lieutenant?...please come in."

Victus did as he was told, pressing a button next to the door which caused it to slide open. Saren was lying in bed and as Victus looked at him he realized that the Asari had not been exaggerating. Saren's right arm had been replaced with a gray mechanical one, but what really jumped out was the work done to his face. Large pieces of Saren's jaw seemed to be missing and his face seemed to be held together by pieces of cybernetics. To top it all off, Saren's eyes had been replaced with implants as well, giving them an eerie blue glow.

Victus did his very best to hide his surprise, but Saren wasn't fooled. A weak smile spread across his face as he managed to pushed himself into a sitting position. "It's all right Lieutenant, I already looked in the mirror. That explosion did a lot of damage, they had to amputate my arm and my one good eye didn't last very long. But...you know what? It doesn't matter. I may not have much luck finding a mate like this, but the doctors said that in a couple of weeks I'll be ready to go back into active combat. If I can still fight so what if I need a couple of implants?"

Victus resisted the urge to chuckle. 'He is taking this far better than I thought he would,' he thought, 'but then again in many ways he is still just a child, but his spirit is admirable.' "I am glad to hear that you are doing well."

"Lieutenant" Saren began, his voice faltering slightly "I...I need to ask you something and I need you to tell me the truth. Can you do that?" Victus nodded. "Ok. When...I was being taken to a dropship, my eyesight was almost gone, but I saw one of those alien giants was about to open fire on me. My brother charged it and drew its fire away, but there were so many enemy forces. I blacked out not long after and the doctors refused to tell me anything. Lieutenant...is my brother..." Victus nodded sadly.

"I...I see," Saren said softly. Victus noticed that Saren was idly reaching up to his glowing blue eyes, as if to wipe away tears. There weren't any there. Saren realized this and, stiffly and slowly, lowered his hand. "Still...he didn't die for nothing. He died covering our retreat, dozens of Turian soldiers are still alive because of him," He looked up at Victus, a look of determination on his face. "I'm proud of him. I'm proud of his sacrifice."

He managed a weak smile, "besides, I heard that those aliens made peace with the Council and are meeting with them now. They should be member species within a year or two."

"Uh...Saren?"

"And thank the Spirits for that, these newcomers desperately need Council regulation. They used synthetics Lieutenant. Synthetics. Are they insane? Don't they know how dangerous that can be for themselves and the galaxy?"

"Saren,"

"And hopefully their military will be reduced too, the last thing that we need is inexperienced aliens with a massive military-"

"SAREN!"

The young Turian jumped slightly in bed as he looked at Victus. "Oh, sorry Lieutenant, I was babbling. What was it?"

"I...I just received word from Matriarch Benezia. I helped her in making contact with the aliens. And...and she says that they are refusing to join the Council."

"I...what?" Saren said disbelief heavy in his voice. "They...they're refusing? But...but the Council is doing something about this isn't they? They can't just let these people run around unchecked."

"Benezia...Benezia said that...that they're not."

"But...but why?"

"The Coalition has actually been a space faring civilization for a long time, they've got quite a sizable military, long enough to hold out against the Council for a long time. A war with them would be long and bloody. The Council...decided that it wasn't worth subjugating them."

Saren looked down at his cybernetic arm in disbelief. 'The Council...is letting them roam free?' he thought. Minutes ticked by, and as he did, his disbelief slowly turned to anger, his fingers tightening into fists. In a flash he grabbed the small table that was placed next to his bed and, using his biotics, threw it as hard as he could at the window to his room, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

He panted heavily, looking at the shattered window, rage flaring across his face. "Forgive me Lieutenant, I need to be alone right now."

"I understand," Victus said as he exited the room. As he stepped outside, he let out a weary sigh and began to walk away, even as doctors ran towards the room to investigate the noise the shattered glass had made.

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

The Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV): A serum dating back to Pre-War America, the FEV is something that has shaped post-war Earth for generations. Originally used by the Master to create his army of Meta-Humans, the FEV has since then been captured by the Coalition and refined to the point where it can be used to create intelligent Meta-Humans safely, as well as intelligent Deathclaws. Despite popular opinion on the matter, FEV has nothing to do with the transformation from a Standard-Human to a Necro-Human

However, FEV potentially has the ability to transform organisms in any way possible, however FEV is not experimented with to explore these possibilities for a very simple reason, it is dangerous. The FEV cannot transform individual body parts and an entire person is required to test a strain of FEV, which must then be modified based on the results. Hundreds of people were killed in experiments before the Coalition could perfect the FEV, in addition to the people killed by the Master when he originally used the virus.

Modifying the virus to do anything else other than create Meta-Humans and intelligent Deathclaws would cause the deaths of hundreds, even more if it was done to create a strain to change aliens, as there is no prior data on how it affects them. Coalition officials have outlawed experimenting with the FEV on the grounds that it is an inhumane practice, with one member of Parliament remarked "Only an organization that is morally bankrupt would even consider paying the price needed to modify the Forced Evolutionary Virus."

XXXXX

ACCESSING COALITION DATABASE PLEASE WAIT...

PLEASE ENTER USERNAME AND PASSWORD

USERNAME: erttheking

PASSWORD ******************

WELCOME TO THE COALITION DATABASE HOW CAN WE ASSIST YOU TODAY?

SEARCH: War assets

SEARCHING PLEASE WAIT...SEARCH COMPLETE, DISPLAYING RESULTS

COALITION: The Coalition made itself known to the galactic public in the early 28th century. A collection of Standard-Humans, Necro-Humans, Meta-Humans, Deathclaws and robots, the Coalition captured the eyes of many. Public opinion about them couldn't be more divided, but most agree that the Coalition is a force to be reckoned with.

COALITION NAVY: MILITARY STRENGTH 1200: Standing at 500 warships strong, the Coalition Navy incorporates countless warships as well as models not produced by any other galactic power in the galaxy, in addition to a dedicated merchant fleet. They are unbound by the Treaty of Farixen, and while they currently only possess two dozen dreadnoughts, far less than the number of Turian dreadnoughts, the Coalition is vigorously attempting to build more. The fleet as a whole dwarfs any fleet belonging to a non-member race and is on par with the Turian fleet in terms of size.

COALITION LIGHT INFANTRY: MILITARY STRENGTH 150: Spanning across over a hundred planets, the light infantry are the backbone of the Coalition's ground forces. They are varied in terms of uniform, tactics and training, giving the Coalition a wide arsenal to chose from when combating any threat.

COALITION HEAVY INFANTRY: MILITARY STRENGTH 150: While lacking the numbers and style of the light infantry, the Heavy Infantry uses weapons that are either rarely seen or are completely absent from the light infantry, and wear power armor into battle, making them some of the more formidably forces of the Coalition.

COALITION RANGERS: MILITARY STRENGTH 50: Easily the smallest branch of the Coalition's armed forces, the Rangers are special forces of the military, individually, they are the most skilled and deadly. When they are deployed into a situation, it is because it has proven itself to be too dangerous for standard military personal to handle.

COALITION MECHANIZED INFANTRY: MILITARY STRENGTH 150: Made up of synthetic life forms, the mechanized infantry is commonly deployed alongside both the light and heavy infantry. Using Mr. Gutsies and sentry bots as the brunt of its force but also employing many other models of robots, the mechanized infantry is an invaluable part of the Coalition military.

COALITION STALKER CORPS: MILITARY STRENGTH 150: A branch of the military comprised completely of Deathclaws, the Stalkers use stealth tactics as a first resort, preferring to get close to their targets. Calm, patient and calculating, Deathclaws are not satisfied unless their first blow is their last one.

COALITION MILITIA: MILITARY STRENGTH 75: As a side affect of growing up on a hostile homeworld, the average citizen of the Coalition owns a firearm and has experience using it. Many citizens have formed voluntary militias, which, while lacking the firepower and organization in combat, have proven themselves time and time again to be valuable assets.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Just in case anyone is put off by these numbers, allow me to explain my reasoning. I did the math for the Alliance navy war assets in ME3 and it came up to around 600 points, and that was with a fully upgraded Normandy and if they didn't take any losses saving the Destiny Ascension and if you count the research flotilla. Keep in mind that the Alliance was supposed to have a pitiful amount of dreadnoughts in comparison to the rest of the Council (only 8 vs the Salarians and Asari, who had 20ish each and the Turians, who had 30ish) and was limited to 200 warships.

Therefore, I'd say that the Coalition, with a fleet of 500 warships and around 20 dreadnoughts, would be twice as strong as the Alliance. Keep in mind that this is because the Coalition has been in space for about three centuries, while the Alliance wasn't even in space for one, and as one reviewer pointed out, makes more sense for a power that managed to go toe to toe with the greatest military force in the galaxy than a species that still had much of its population on its homeworld. Also if a single Marine division can rack up 100 asset points, I'd say giving each branch of the Coalition ground forces 150 isn't really pushing it that much.

I have the nagging feeling that some people will complain about them being too strong compared to the Council based off of these numbers because the war assets that they provide in ME3 were only a couple hundred points, not so I say. Looking back through the Council and alien war assets, it's pretty clear that Humanity is throwing everything that they can at Earth, while the other species aren't. They're sending ships, but I'd be willing to bet that most of their forces are somewhere else, either destroyed, fighting Reapers at other places, or guarding planets that are still untouched. In other words the assets given to you by aliens was only a fraction of their full military might, so in other words, the Coalition is on par with the big three of mass effect in terms of strength. I don't mean that to mean that the Coalition could take on the Turians the Salarians and the Asari all at the same time, but in an all out war with just one of them they would have a decent chance at winning. All three of them gang up on the Coalition and they'd probably lose though, they'd just be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Glad we got that cleared up. What's that? Why am I doing the war assets system when I said in the first chapter that all of the Reapers were dead?...Not telling. And before you ask, no, I'm not going to make it so that negotiations fall apart and the First Contact War grows into an all out war with the rest of the Council.

Also just to throw this out there, like New Origins, nothing in this story reflects my views on modern politics, it's just how I think the Coalition would react to the Council. If you see any similarities, they were complete coincidences. This chapter has a much different theme, I like to call it "Everything that's wrong with the Council."


	10. The Blitz

Chapter 10

The Blitz

Author's Note: I hope that you weren't too attached to the characters of Hannah Shepard or General Williams because we're not going to be seeing a lot of them from this point. Oh they'll show up, but they're more or less going to be supporting characters. That's right, it's time for a TIME SKIP!...OF SCIENCE! Next stop, the Blitz...but you knew that already, the title gave it away. I thought about sticking around the Citadel for a chapter or two...but then I realized that I couldn't think of anything of substance to write about, so I said "screw it".

XXXXX

November 5, 2715: The Coalition publicly refuses to apply for an embassy on the Council, instead requesting a station on the Citadel for an ambassador to maintain friendly ties. It is granted, but it is notably separated from the rest of the embassies in terms of quality. Some of the guards for the Coalition ambassador reportedly overheard rumors that it was once the Krogan embassy, which had at one point "hosted sparing matches"

January 9, 2716: Through second hand sources, the Coalition learns of biotics, the ability to create and control Mass Effect fields, which sparks their interest. A handful of Standard-Human and Deathclaw children have already shown biotic potential after being exposed to Element Zero pre-birth. No Necro-Humans or Meta-Humans have shown any biotic potential, although some believe that these two being unable to naturally reproduce play a hand in it. Some theorize that exposing artificial wombs containing unborn Necro and Meta-Humans may yield results, but the Coalition is reluctant to experiment.

May 25, 2717: Saren Arterius joins the Spectres, becoming the youngest Turian to do so.

September 16, 2721: The Coalition begins experiments to create an "advanced" artificial intelligence. A current Coalition A.I.s have limited capabilities, being roughly on par with organics, and in some cases sub par. The Coalition intends to create a sentient super-computer capable of operation far beyond anything that current A.I.s or computers are capable of. This operation is classified from the Coalition public, and the Council as a whole.

October 1, 2722: The L1 biotic implant is issued among Coalition biotics, but the results fall vastly short of expectations. While the biotics are capable of controlling Mass Effect fields, they are too weak for applications in combat.

April 11, 2723: Tensions spike between the Batarian Hegemony and the Coalition. Today, the Batarians approached the Council for permission to colonize the Skyllian Verge, only to find that the Coalition had already established several settlements in the area. The Hegemony and Coalition ambassadors were reportedly at each other's throats, the Hegemony ambassador arguing that the Council had promised the Verge to them, while the Coalition ambassador pointed out that the Coalition had been in the Verge for the better part of a year. No compromise was reached, and the few trade arrangements between the Hegemony and the Coalition are broken.

July 28, 2725: The L2 implant is issued, but due to Coalition inexperience with biotics and no Council support, many of the biotic trainees die as a result. The few that survive do display high biotic potential, but the L2 is also classified as a failure.

August 7, 2727: A Coalition cruise liner on the edge of the Traverse is attacked by Batarians slavers and many of them are captured, the latest attack in a string of raids among the boarders of Coalition territory. Tempers flare at the Citadel, but the Hegemony ambassador claims that these actions are the acts of pirates and criminals not connected to the Hegemony. With no evidence to oppose this, the Coalition takes no action against the Hegemony.

May 24, 2728: The L3 implant is created, with mixed results. Many of the trainees only exhibit low levels of biotic potential, just as many show moderate levels of biotics. After much debate and despite the implants still falling short of expectations, the 100% survival rate causes the Coalition to declare the L3 a success, but more funding is pushed to create a successful L4.

June 12, 2729: Jane and John Shepard both join the Coalition military.

February 28, 2732: The Quarian Migrant Fleet passes by the edge of Coalition space, prompting first contact to be made between them and the Coalition. Initially, the Quarians were wary of the Coalition, due to their laid back approach to A.I.s, but the negotiations went better than expected. While the Quarians asked for samples of the FEV to experiment with in hopes of curing their immune system and were denied, the Coalition gave them 50 freshly constructed merchant ships in exchange for advanced starship designs as well as blue prints for experimental ships, such as a stealth frigate. They Coalition also replaced the filtration system of the three live ships, which were in danger of breaking down, in exchange for surveys of nearby systems, which revealed hidden element zero veins among other things. The Migrant Fleet would always remain within a week or two from Coalition space for years to come and a large amount of their young would make their pilgrimages there. While the Coalition had not declared the Quarians their closest allies and done everything in their power to help them, the reception that they received was far warmer than anywhere else in the galaxy.

October 29, 2735: Present day. The 20th anniversary of the First Contact War.

XXXXX

The Coalition colony of Elysium had a population of around 14.5 million and was the pride of the frontier. Unlike most of the Coalition's new colonies, this planet had three cities and smaller outlying settlements instead of just one. It was currently playing host to a Coalition ceremony, honoring veterans of the First Contact War.

In the city hall of Elysium's capital, New Jamestown, dozens of First Contact War veterans had been gathered to be awarded for their diligence in fighting an unknown enemy. There had been some deliberation in this, many wondering if they should be honoring soldiers for killing the men of a galactic power that they were now allied with. However, eventually the decision had been made and the event approved. A line of soldiers stood at the far end of the hall, all of them First Contact War veterans...or to be more accurate, most of them.

"God, if I have to stand here much longer I'm going to fall asleep," a man with short brown hair in power armor without a helmet said, standing at the far end of the line of veterans.

"Shut up," a woman with long black hair that was tied up into a bun and also wearing power armor with no helmet hissed. "Honestly John, being forced to stand still and listen to a couple of speeches isn't going to kill you. If anything else, do it for Mom, she couldn't make it to this and we got sent in her place, the very least that you can do is."

"Oh, fine," John grumbled, "honestly you're so uptight Jane."

"Only because you seem to have a problem with every single military regulation ever created by every species."

"Just the stupid ones."

"Which to you is all of them. Now shut it, they're about to start."

Sure enough, a man in a pure white naval uniform was walking towards a plinth between the hundreds of people who made up the audience, military and civilian alike, and the veterans. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself. I am Captain David Anderson, and I am touched that the Coalition gave me the privilege of honoring the brave men and women who fought for us all in the First Contact war."

"Twenty years ago, we thought that we were alone in space, many of us were worried about the Protheans lurking far beyond our sight and waiting to strike, but we had no evidence to support this claim. We were, for the most part, at peace, we were united as one and were expanding father and father out every day. Life seemed almost utopian."

"But as we all know, twenty years ago, we learned that we were not alone in the galaxy, that it was filled with countless other races, governments and organizations and not all of them were friendly. Even though we are now at peace with the Turian Hierarchy, our first encounter with them ended with one of our planets being invaded and hundreds of lives being claimed on both sides."

"However, despite being caught completely caught off guard by not only learning that there was another species that lived among the stars but that they were also hostile, the men and women of Shanxi held their ground. They fought back, pushing the Turians off of our planet and took the fight to them. They showed the Council that while we want nothing more than peace, we will not hesitate to defend ourselves."

Anderson paused, earning a round of applause from the audience, before continuing. "I am very sorry to say that General Williams, the man who led the ground forces at Shanxi, could not make it to this ceremony. Very recently, his son has fallen seriously ill as the result of a heart condition and the entire Williams family has chosen to stay nearby him, delaying all other appointments." Out of the corner of his eye, Jane saw John lower his head slightly, as if in sadness. Before she could say anything though, Anderson had continued. "However, I am pleased to say that he is being treated by some of the finest doctors in the Coalition and that he will make a full recovery."

"Now then, allow me to introduce the men and women that have gathered here today, as well as the awards that they have won for their valor." He stepped away from the podium, holding a fist full of medals in his hands and walked towards the line of veterans, another officer taking his place in front of the podium as he did.

"For taking part on the assault on the Turian's HQ, Hannah Shepard is awarded the silver star." Anderson approached Jane and John, and instead of pinning the medal on them, simply pressed it into Jane's outstretched hands.

"Give your mother my regards," he whispered before moving on down the row as the officer called out another name.

"You ok?" Jane whispered to her twin. "You're worried about George Williams aren't you?"

"We've been good friends with the Williams family for years, of course I am. Are you saying you're not?"

"Of course I'm worried, I'm just confident that he'll be fine. Being the son of a war hero gets you a good medical plan." She smirked slightly, "then again, you're a little closer to that family than I am."

John turned slightly red. "Shut up," he whispered.

"Oh, now you want me to shut up?" Jane chuckled, "you're too much."

John said nothing at merely stared ahead as Anderson continued to hand out medals, the officer calling out names as he did. After what seemed like an eternity, to John at least, Anderson reached the end of the line and returned to the podium. "I thank you all for coming here today, please take this time to mingle and enjoy the refreshments that we have to provide. That is all."

"Finally," John muttered, as the line of veterans and the crowd dispersed, approaching tables laden with snacks and drinks that were being rolled out. "That was agonizing."

"It lasted half an hour!" Jane said, "I can't believe you." She fought back the urge to groan as they sat down at a table idly reaching forward to grab sandwiches.

"Pardon me, are you related to Hannah Shepard?" Both of them looked up to see a man in pure white armor decorated with golden crosses approaching them, his hair pure white. He was flanked by a yellow Meta-Human and a Necro-Human in Ranger armor.

"Yes...do we know you?" John asked.

"She didn't tell you about us?" The Necro-Human asked, "I feel insulted."

"Wait a minute yes she did," Jane said, understanding dawning on her face. "Charon, Fawkes and Adam right? You fought with her in the First Contact War."

"Yes indeed," Adam said, sitting down at the table along with Fawkes and Charon. "She was a very...forward woman. How come she couldn't make it?"

"She was promoted to Captain a couple of weeks ago," Jane explained, "she's been given command of a dreadnaught that's stationed near the Council boarder. She couldn't get the time off."

"That's a shame," Adam said sadly, reaching towards the center of the table and grabbing a bottle of Nuka-Cola, flicking the cap off with his thumb before taking a sip.

"Duty calls though," Fawkes pointed out, "if you accept a promotion to a rank that high you need to be willing to accept the responsibilities that come with it. I am glad to hear that she is doing that."

"You three have all been in the military for around 20 years now, aren't you high ranking officers?" John asked.

"Us? Nah,' Charon said, "we're fighters, not leaders. Not everyone is cut out to lead entire armies, and those of us who aren't would rather not get promoted and get people killed."

"Wasn't there a Pre-War policy saying that you couldn't do that though? That you had to either be promoted or leave the military?"

"Yeah, but only the United States did that, and I think anyone who even paid the slightest bit of attention in history classes knows that the US did a lot of stupid shit," Charon pointed out. "I mean what sense does that make? Did they think that fighting as a grunt for a year or two would make it so that a solider would be capable of commanding a squad? Then again that may or may not be the nation that started the Great War, I shouldn't be too surprised."

John and Jane chuckled. "Well to each his own," John said, "but Jane and I are both Lieutenants and we're going to try and aim higher."

"Hey," Charon said, holding his hands up, "if your mother is a Captain then I'm sure that you'll do a better job than us at-" he was cut of as, without warning, the entire building shook violently, causing several people to loose their balance.

"What the Hell was that!" John shouted grabbing the table to regain his balance and looking around.

"Yeah, we're going to know," Jane dryly.

Before he could reply, a voice shouted across the COM lines of all soldiers present. "WE'VE GOT INCOMING HOSTILES! BATARIANS! THEY'VE BROKEN THROUGH OUR ORBITAL DEFENSES! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!"

All five of them froze, looking at each other. "Slavers," Adam whispered, "they'll probably hit the most populated areas."

"Well we can't just stand here can we?" John said, taking his helmet off of his back and sliding it over his head, Jane, Adam and Charon doing the same.

"Anyone got a plan?" Charon asked, taking his shotgun off of his back as John unholstered a laser rifle and Jane a plasma rifle.

"You five! With me!" All of them turned to see Anderson approaching them, a rifle in hand. "I just got off of the radio with command, our ground forces are already countering the Batarians but they caught us off guard, we're taking heavy loses. The most that we can do right now is organize and escort the local civilians to safety and keep any Batarians off of their backs. Now come on! We need to get outside, this place has a bunker underneath it and we need to keep any hostiles away until everyone gets in. After that we will head out into the city and provide help wherever we can? Understood?"

They all nodded. "Ok, move out!"

"I really hope that power armor of yours holds out," Charon whispered to John and Jane as they ran towards the entrance, soldiers and the honored veterans doing their best to heard the now panicking civilians towards the shelters. "This is going to get real ugly."

XXXXX

A young woman panted as she ran through the streets, a light pistol in her hand. She tore around a corner and pressed her back against a wall, panting heavily. Holding her pistol up, she peaked around the wall, her hands shaking. It was winter time on Elysium and the streets had a healthy coating of snow, as did the cars and buildings. Her eyes scanned the streets up and down, desperately looking for anything. The Batarian invasion had started half an hour ago and ever since then she had been running for her life, trying to escape the slavers.

Upon seeing that the streets were deserted, the woman allowed herself a small breath as she slid into a sitting position, heaving deeply. She tried not to think about all the people that had been on the same block as her when the gunship had flown overhead, dropping soldiers that had proceeded to shoot person after person with concussive rounds, knocking them out. A small part of her knew that at least dozens of people had already been captured but she shook her head at the thought. She had heard stories about what Batarians did to their slaves and she didn't want to think about it.

As her breathing returned to normal, she got to her feet, weighing her options. She had not been thinking when she had run, she was now in the outer sections of the city, only a couple of blocks from the boarder. There weren't any bunkers out here, they were all back in the inner city where more people lived. If she wanted to be safe, she would either have to take her chances and leave the city and hope that there weren't any Batarians outside of it, or run back towards where they had landed and hope that she could get to a bunker before they noticed her.

Before she could come to a decision though, a shot rang out and something slammed into her stomach with the force of a sledgehammer, causing her to smack into the wall behind her and sink to all fours. "Got one!" a voice shouted, causing the woman to look up with dread. Four Batarians were approaching her, all of them holding weapons.

Desperately the woman raised her pistol and aimed it at them, but the front one casually kicked it out of her hand. "Still got a little bit of fight in her," he remarked, aiming his rifle at her and pulling the trigger. Another concussive round shot out and smacked her in the face, causing her to collapse to the ground, her body smarting as she panted heavily. "That should do it."

"Idiot, you could have killed her, you're supposed to aim for the body," one of the other Batarians chastised.

"Really? Turians can handle it just fine."

"Yeah, well she's not a Turian dumbass. These people don't have metal in their skeleton. They're more like Asari."

"And they managed to beat the Turians?"

"Don't forget that this is just a Standard," the third one said, walking forward. "She probably won't fetch that much. Keep an eye out for Metas and Deathclaws, that's where the real profit is.

"I can't believe that we had to get this many men just so that we could make a raid," the fourth one grumbled.

"Well, that's the Coalition for you," the third one said, noticing that the woman was attempting to get to her feet. He swung his foot forward and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to fall back to the ground as she cried in pain. "They think because they won a couple of skirmishes with the Turians they own the galaxy. Arrogant pricks."

"We're burning time here," the first one said, "we can't stick around for too long, someone give me an implant so we can get on with-" he was interrupted as a bang roar out and his head exploded.

"SNIPER!" one of the Batarians shouted and all three of them raised their rifles and fired in the direction that the shot had come from. Bullets impacted on the top of one of the many metal buildings that surrounded them, kicking up snow and smoke. After fifteen seconds of continuous fire, they stopped.

"Did we get him?" one of the Batarians asked.

"I don't think so, I don't see a body," another replied, squinting at the spot with all four of his eyes.

"Didn't someone back at the base say that the Coalition had people that could turn invisible?" the third said, sounding scared.

"Don't be stupid, that was with Deathclaws, not snipers," the second said, scanning the buildings with his rifle. "We just need to find him, and then-" another bang roared out and the upper half of his head was blown off, his lifeless body failing to the ground.

"THERE!" one of the two surviving Batarians shouted, spotting a figure in pure white clothing that was crouching on a second story rooftop two buildings away from the one that they had fired on, holding a sniper rifle up to its eyes. Both of them raised their rifles and began to open fire, but as they did, the figure got to its feet, dropping its rifle off of the building as it did, and jumped off of the building.

One of the Batarians' eyes widened in horror as the figure flew right at him. He raised his rifle to take aim, but before he could fire so much as a single shot, the figure smashed into him, forcing him onto his back and sending his rifle flying. Before he could do anything to recover, the figure had pounced on him, drawing a knife from its waist and stabbing down. Sharp agonizing pain filled the Batarian's body as the snow around it was stained with blood.

The final Batarian lined up a shot, but before he could shoot more than a handful of bullets, the figure had grabbed a weapon off of its back and fired a shot at the Batarian. A sharp pain tore through the Batarian as he was knocked off of his feet. As he landed, he attempted to get back up, only to look down at the source of the pain and feel a pang of fear. A long wooden shaft was sticking out of his throat, blood trickling down around it. "A...A arrow?" he whispered as he slumped back onto the ground and his body went limp.

The figure got to her feet, pulling its knife out of the Batarian beneath it and sheathing it, sliding the crossbow that it had used to kill the last Batarian onto its back as it did. As it did, the woman got a better look at the figure. The person standing in front of her wore pure white winter combat gear and had a quiver full of short arrows designed for a crossbow on its back. The figure turned to look at the woman, who had recovered from the concussive shots and had gingerly got to her feet.

The woman gaped in horror. The figure had been wearing face wrappings that had been knocked askew when it had jumped off of the building, revealing its face. It was the face of a young woman that had eerily white skin, as pale as the snow around them, with long silver hair and blood red eyes. She spoke, doing so in a quiet voice. "Are you all right?"

"You're...you're from Alaska aren't you? You...you're a cannibal," the woman stuttered.

The pale skinned woman shook her head stepping forward as she did. "No, I'm not. My name is Sheryl Hayah, I'm"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" the woman shrieked, causing Sheryl to wince, as if she had been struck. "You're not a cannibal? Don't lie to me! I heard what they do in that shit hole back on Earth, stay away from me!" and without another word, the woman turn and ran, heading towards the edge of the city.

Sheryl watched her go, a blank expression on her face. As the woman left her line of sight, she readjusted her face wrappings, covering her entire face with the exception of a slit for her eyes. 'I thought things would be different out here,' she thought, walking to where her sniper rifle had landed and picking it up and sliding it onto her back too, crossing it with her crossbow. 'But people out here...they're the same.'

For a moment, Sheryl stood there, alone with her thoughts. She was jolted back to reality when her COM unit beeped through. "To any Coalition ground forces, this is Captain David Anderson requesting reinforcements near city hall! We have a massive concentration of civilians in the area and Batarians are not far!"

Sheryl paused, looking up at the top of a nearby building as she did. Reaching towards her back, she grabbed her crossbow and removed the clip from the bottom that held around 15 arrows and slid one in, replacing the one that had been used before reattaching it. She then reached towards her waist and grabbed a grappling hook and a length of rope and inserted it into her crossbow before taking aim and shooting it at the building.

The grappling hook caught on the edge of the roof and Sheryl grabbed the rope, using it to climb up the edge of the building. Before long she reached the top, taking the grappling hook and wrapping it up and placing it back on her hip before she began to run across the rooftops, heading in the direction of city hall.

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

The Attican Traverse: The frontier of civilized space, the Traverse directly boarders the Terminus Systems, a region of space dominated by criminals and referred to by many in the Coalition as "the New Old West." The Council has refrained from colonizing this section of space since its establishment, worried about provoking the Terminus Systems. However, the Coalition saw the Traverse as an untapped gold mine and began colonizing it almost immediately after establishing contact with the Council.

Dozens of colonies sprung up, some massive settlements sponsored by Parliament, some isolated mining outposts owned by corporations, establishing a firm Coalition presence in the Traverse. These colonies are heavily guarded by the Coalition military, to the point where one fifth of the Coalition Navy can be found in the Traverse at all times. Still, these prospering freshly colonized planets are too tempting for Terminus System organizations to pass up, and while raids on Coalition colonies are more rare than Terminus system forces that attack Council colonies, when they do attack the Coalition, they tend to be more well equipped and organized.

Alaskan Tribals: When the Coalition turned its sights away from Earth, it overlooked small isolated communities that were still on Earth, the Alaskan tribes were one of them. Alaska was hit particularly hard during the Great War, mainly due to its oil supplies and heavy military presence. Most of the infrastructure was destroyed and the most animals that survived were mutated into hostile and dangerous creatures.

The survivors grouped into small isolated tribes and fought often, among themselves and with the hostile wildlife, but the bombing had destroyed most of the weapon stockpiles and by the late 23rd century, it had all dried up. As they did, the tribes became isolated from one another, doing the best that they could to live off of the brutal environment, using what makeshift weapons that they could craft.

A few years before the First Contact War, a Coalition shuttle was forced to make an emergency landing in Alaska when it was damaged during reentry and, as a result, accidentally made contact with the tribals. Initially the tribals were hostile to the Coalition ambassadors, their only contact with the world outside of the state being the occasional shuttle that flew overhead, but were pacified by gifts of advanced technology that made their lives much easier.

Shortly after making contact, the tribes were annexed by the Coalition, some of them even learning how to use Coalition weaponry and joining the military, their skills as hunters and scavengers making them useful scouts and snipers. Because of their isolated contact from the rest of the world, many of the tribals were superstitious, mistaking genetic defects as signs of impurity. Many of the young of the tribes fled to the Coalition after making contact, seeking to throw off the old and narrow minded views of their ancestors. Many found comfort and peace in their new homes. However, some were not so fortunate. A string of rumors followed the Alaskans, some suggesting that they were mutants, cannibals or rapists, because of the high radiation levels in Alaska and a veil of distrust settled on many Coalition soldiers who watched them from a distance.

Alaskan Automatic Crossbow: The Alaskan tribes quickly depleted their supply of firearms and ammunition, creating the need for a new type of weapon, resulting in the creation of the Alaskan automatic crossbow. Holding a clip of fifteen small arrows, the crossbow can be quickly fired and reloaded, the ammunition being recyclable.

Many of the tribals that joined the Coalition military still use their crossbows in addition to their newer and more advanced weaponry. They modified the weapons slightly, making it so that the arrows were launched with less force, making them slow enough to not be stopped by kinetic barriers but fast enough to pierce flesh, although they are fairly useless against armor. A grappling hook can also be fired from the crossbow, enabling the user to reach higher ground with ease.

XXXXX

Author's Note:...I just saw an ad for 20 bucks off of Mass Effect 3. Do you know what it said? "It's not about the destination, it's about the journey."...EA/Bioware is fucking trolling me now, I just know it. They're saying "We fucked over your favorite game series and we made money off of it and we're STILL making money, fucking sucker HAHA" I think that I should change the subject before I lose control. And from what I hear they're fucking over Dead Space now...never played that series, but my feelings go out to the fans of that franchise, I'm pretty sure I know what they're going through...yeah, it's been three months and I'm still pissed off.

You know, I learned a little bit of something while writing this chapter. I may enjoy living in the United States, but taking jabs at my home country is slightly cathartic. I know that the chapter was a little short, but the main point of it was to provide a transition, so I'm ok with that, don't want to throw too much at you at once now do I? Also, in case you're wondering, I got inspiration for Sheryl's name from Simo Hayha. Who was he? Look him up, you might learn something interesting.


	11. White Death

Chapter 11

White Death

Author's Note: The last chapter got mostly positive reception, there were a couple of complaints but they were explained over private message. I'm still trying not to descend into incomprehensible swearing because of how stupid EA/Bioware is, so let's move on.

XXXXX

"This isn't going very well!" John shouted. He and the others were standing in front of the entrance to the New Jamestown city hall, having taken up defensive positions at the top of the stairs. A handful of Batarians were at the bottom of the stairs, firing up at them and forcing them to take cover behind pillars and statues to avoid fire.

"This is happening everywhere else in the city?" Jane shouted, firing one well placed shot and reducing a Batarian that had stuck his head out for too long into green goo.

"It's happening everyone on this planet!" Anderson replied, firing three bursts at a Batarian who had been lining up a shot with him, hitting him in the chest and causing him to fall to the ground, blood pouring from his wounds. "Every major settlement on this planet is being attacked! This isn't a ragtag war band who'd thought they try their luck at attacking a border planet, this was planned and organized, well funded too."

"How is that supposed to help us now?" John asked, firing a beam from his laser rifle and reducing a Batarian to ash. "Right now we need to focus on killing these sons of bitches!"

"Quite the poet isn't he?" Charon muttered snapping back into cover behind a set of pillars and glancing at Jane as a stream of bullets tore past.

"Don't remind me," she grunted.

Fawkes let out a roar as he raised his gatling laser, stepping out of cover and firing it at the Batarians, mowing down three of them in seconds. A few more shots from John and Jane claimed the lives of two more slavers and the few that were still alive turn and ran, heading away from the city hall. All of the defenders raised their weapons and fired on the retreating slavers, picking off half of them as they vanished from sight, running down alleyways and rounding corners.

"I doubt that they will be returning anytime soon," Fawkes said, lowering his gatling laser and breathing deeply as he attempted to calm himself down.

"He's right, slavers won't waste their men on a target when it proves itself to be stubborn," Jane said, "they'll probably radio in that this place will get them more corpses than slaves, then try to find more lightly defended areas."

"Well we can't just stand around can we?" John asked, turning to look at his sister, "we need to get moving!"

"For once I agree with you, but we need to figure out where. Any ideas Captain?" she asked, turning to face Anderson.

"I'll see what I can do, odds are the Batarians are dropping grab and run parties all throughout the city, jump in, get a few slaves then get back on the dropship."

"So what are we supposed to do? We can't just stand around here until the Batarians decide that they've had their fill and decide to leave," John said. "People are being abducted and killed out there by the dozens, maybe even by the hundreds, we need to get out there and help them."

"John, I want to help these people as much as you do," Jane said, taking one of her hands off of her rifle and putting it on her brother's shoulder, "but if we just go running off into the city without thinking things through, we're going to do more harm than good. We need a plan, we need to find out where is the best place to strike and what grounds we need to hold. But until then we need to be patient and think things through, understand?"

John looked incredibly frustrated, as if he wanted to do nothing more than argue, but slowly and reluctantly he nodded his head. "Ok then, Captain?"

"It's going to be hard to find a place where we can be useful but maybe-LOOK OUT!"

John and Jane looked up for a second before diving to the side as a missile tore through the air, smashing into the front of city hall and blowing a man sized hole in the wall. Three Batarian gunships were floating above them, two of them hovering low enough to drop off half a dozen soldiers each while the third remained higher up, firing its main guns and forced all of the defenders back into cover.

"I thought that you said that they weren't coming back here!" John shouted at his sister.

"They shouldn't have!" she retorted, "something's different here! I don't know, maybe they've got more balls than the average slaver, maybe they can't resist the idea of capturing everyone inside, there's got to be hundreds if not thousands of people in there. Either way they want this place."

"It's Anderson, where's that backup that I ordered?" the Captain shouted, putting his hand to his ear as bullets tore through the air, keeping all of the defenders in cover. "That won't work! I've got a building full of civilians and three gunships bearing down on our position, I need reinforcements within five minutes at the very latest! Aren't there any other forces that you can divert?...understood," he said sourly, lowering his hand.

"I take it that it did not go well," Adam guessed, leaning out of cover and firing a single blast from his shotgun before being forced back down by a wall of fire.

"Reinforcements are fifteen minutes out, until then we're on our own."

Adam nodded as he leaned out and fired his shotgun again, this time managing to kill one of the Batarians. "If you do not mind me saying, you seem awfully calm despite that."

"If I panic, nothing good comes of it," he replied. "I'm not panicking because I can't afford to."

"Interesting philosophy," Adam remarked. "Perhaps after this is over you can tell me more about it."

"I'll think about it, in the meantime less small talk!"

XXXXX

Saren couldn't help but blink as he heard the mission briefing. "I'm going to be doing what?" He was standing in the middle of one of the docks to the Citadel holding an omni-tool in front of him.

"You will be escorting a Batarian aristocrat named Edan Had'dah and his research team to an ancient starship that one of his scout teams found," a hologram of Councilor Tevos said. "You will remain with them as they conduct their research on the ship to ensure that no harm comes to them."

"With all due respect Councilor, there are much more important matters for me to attend to than simply acting as a guard for a research team. Even if they found a ship from the Krogan Rebellions or the Rachni War, I doubt that they have to be worried about being attacked anymore than the average citizen of the galaxy."

"This isn't an expedition for the sake of historical curiosity. The ship that Had'Dah's men found is unlike any that we've ever seen before."

"In what way?"

The Councilor shrugged. "I admit I do not know, Had'dah was very paranoid that his transmission would be intercepted and only sent us the bare minimum of information. What he did say is that he found it near Geth space, which is why he wanted a Spectre for security."

"I still think that this is a waste of time," Saren interjected, "what could be so valuable about a single starship?"

"Had'dah was insistent that it could lead could technological breakthroughs in many fields. Like I said he refused to say much but if his report of it being near Geth space is true, then I believe that it may be a Geth vessel that was damaged and drifted beyond the Veil."

"That doesn't sound like the Geth," Saren pointed out, "and even if it was one of their ships, they would've stripped anything useful off of it and melted it down, if the reports from the Mourning War were accurate that is." Despite his words, Saren's curiosity was peaked. "But tell me Councilor, if we do find this ship and it has something worth offering, do you believe that it could result in technology that could help us in developing direct energy weapons?"

"I am not certain," Tevos admitted, "for the past twenty years we have attempted to develop portable energy weapons with little success and we have no evidence to suggest that the Geth have developed them either."

"We have no evidence that suggest that they did not either. And if they have, we find some samples on that ship to work with. And even then we may discover some other form of technology that we have not discovered yet."

"Three minutes ago you said that you thought that the ship was a husk that had been stripped of anything worth salvaging."

"That is still a possibility, but there is also a chance that it suffered an accident while in deep space and drifted beyond the veil because the Geth could never find it. Space is vast, if the signal was lost before it began to drift it could have been anywhere."

Tevos narrowed her eyes slightly. "Saren, it seems like you are only interested in this mission because you now it presents a possibility for us to gain an advantage over the Coalition."

"You say that like it is an unworthy cause."

"It is indeed a worthy cause, I simply cannot find it odd that a mission's worth to you is entirely based on if it will make us stronger than the Coalition or not. While we are indeed striving to always be one step ahead of them, that goal alone does not define our existence."

"I disagree, that one goal may define our existence one day. The Coalition are just like the Krogan, they developed on a war torn planet, they approach war more lightly than other races do. We may very well be forced to fight them one day, and when that day comes I want the Council to be prepared. I am simply doing my job Councilor."

"Saren, as a Spectre, you job is to uphold the law of the Council, not to ensure the security of the Council against any external threats. Try to remember that."

"Please understand Councilor, I am a Turian. My life must serve a purpose to help better my society. There is no greater and worthy cause than to make sure that the Council is safe and secure."

"I am familiar with Turian customs, but I need to remind you Saren that your position is not one that requires you to defend the Council from all external threats. Your position is one that requires you to hunt down criminals while operating above the law, in addition to any other tasks that we require you to do."

"What point are you trying to make here Councilor?"

"I am...concerned Saren," Tevos said bluntly.

"Concerned? About what?"

"The way that you talk about the Coalition disturbs me. It is almost as if you are obsessed with the Coalition. It doesn't help that you are a First Contact War veteran and that your brother was killed in the conflict."

"Are you saying that I am emotionally unfit to preform my duties?" Saren questioned, his voice eerily calm. If it disturbed Tevos, she did not show it.

"I cannot do that seeing as your performance record is only just short of flawless. Asking a person to turn off all of his emotions all of the time is unreasonable as well as simply cruel, but please remember that it is not your place to deal with the Coalition Saren. Do not let your personal feelings let you forget that."

"Yes...Ma'am," Saren said quietly.

"You will escort Had'dah to the ship, and provide security. You will remain with him for a week, longer if need be. You will send regular reports about his progress back to us. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Very good. Had'dah will be providing transport for you. He will also give you the specific details. The best of luck."

Saren scowled as he lowered his omni-tool. 'Who does she think she is?' he thought, 'I am a Turian, the day we turn fifteen we are conscripted into the military, and we continue to serve until we are thirty. Does she honestly think that a race that prides itself on military discipline would allow itself to give in to such petty ideals as revenge?'

Despite the anger behind his words, Saren's thoughts rung slightly hollow. As much as he tried to deny it there was a single solitary fact about him. He hated the Coalition, he hated everything about the Coalition. He hated how they had had the arrogance to refuse joining the Council, he hated how they had blundered around the galaxy, activating Mass Relays without a second thought, not caring what terrors they unleashed on the galaxy. He hated how they viewed themselves as above the Council's laws, the same laws that had kept galactic civilization safe since it had begun.

He had every reason to hate the Coalition, they were a threat to every race in the Council, even if they didn't know it. It was only a matter of time before they did something that would cause countless deaths. One of their A.I.s could go the way of the Geth and rebel, after all many of their sentient robots were created specifically to be used in front line combat, he doubted that they appreciated being created simply to be cannon fodder. Or perhaps the Coalition would attempt to make peaceful contact with the Geth and the intrusion into their territory would provoke a counterattack on all organic life. Or maybe, and he shuddered at the thought, they would use that forced evolutionary virus of theirs to cure the Genophage and allow the Krogan to run rampant, they had shown sympathy for them along with the Quarians when they had first met the Council.

'No,' Saren thought, 'the Council needs to be prepared in case anything should happen, and I will do my very best to make it as strong as I can.'

"Excuse me, are you Spectre Saren Arterius?" Saren was broken out of his train of thought as he looked up at an approaching Batarian with two guards behind him.

"Yes, I am."

"Wonderful!" the Batarian said in a cheery voice, "I am Edan Had'dah, I trust that the Council has informed you what you will be doing?"

"Only the bare details, I was hoping that you could provide a little more information."

"Of course, of course. My ship is right over there, if we can just get on board I'll explain everything. I hope you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about this where I can be overheard, and docks are always crowded."

"You certainly are doing everything in your power to keep this a secret," Saren remarked as Had'dah turned and began to walk towards his personal ships, his guards and the Spectres right behind him.

The Batarian chuckled. "Trust me Spectre, when you see it for yourself, you'll more than understand why I was trying to keep it a secret. Until then, we have two days to get there, so I will do my best to fill you in."

"Good."

XXXXX

Sheryl's feet barely made any sound as she ran across the snow coated buildings. As she came to a gap between the rooftops and, with a silent grunt, jumped. She was airborne for a few seconds before she landed on the other roof, where she continued to run.

After five more minutes, city hall came into sight, prompting her to slow her pace. Three gunships were floating above the building, firing on it, while a dozen infantry had taken position at the base of the stairs. Sheryl was weighing her options when she noticed something. A Batarian was at the end of the roof that she was on, loading a rocket launcher that was on the ground in front of him.

Sheryl silently crept up on him, drawing her hunting knife as she did. As she approaching him, she saw him slide a rocket into his weapon and then lean forward to pick it up. She pounced, one hand flying to cover his mouth while she stabbed down at his throat with her knife. The Batarian realized far too late what was going on and attempted to struggle, but the huntress stabbed down three more times, killing him almost instantly.

Gently, she lowered the body down, doing her best not to draw any attention to herself. "He probably got up here by a dropship," Sheryl muttered to herself, "probably to hit the hall from another angle."

"Gallak! What the Hell is taking you so long!" Sheryl blinked as she looked at the origin of a gruff and angry voice. It had come from the dead Batarian, or to be more specific his COM unit. "Come on! We've got them suppressed! Just fire that damn thing so we can get a move on!"

As the voice spoke, an idea popped into Sheryl's head. Sheathing her knife she picked up the rocket launcher and held it up to eye level, aiming it at one of the dropships. As she did, a red cursor appeared over the dropship, and glowing letters in an alien language appeared above it. Sheryl could not read the alien text but she had a pretty good idea what they meant. Target locked.

The sniper was actually pushed back a few steps when she pulled the trigger, the missile flying out of the weapon and heading straight for one of the gunships. It smashed into it just below the cockpit, detonating and engulfing the entire dropship in an explosion.

"What the fuck was that!" Sheryl heard over the dead Batarian's radio. One of the gunships turned to face the roof that she was on, it's main guns aiming at her. "HOSTILE!"

Sheryl realized with a pang of panic that her position had been discovered. Dropping the now empty rocket launcher, she threw herself off of the top of the building, just as the gunship fired a missile where she had been moments before. She could feel the heat and force of the explosion behind her as she fell, rolling as she hit the ground. Not hesitating for a second, she scrambled to her feet and dove behind a car right next to the city hall, bullets from the slavers streaking past her as she did.

Crouching behind the car, she grabbed a pistol that she kept at her side. She glanced down at the weapon with a hint of disdain, she wasn't trained for front line combat, she was a hunter, she was trained to kill enemies that didn't know that she was there.

She was wondering how she was supposed to deal with the situation when a laser shot up from the front of city hall, hitting the gunship that was firing on her, followed by a stream of plasma blasts, causing it to smoke. The gunship whirled around and fired its main cannons at the source of the hostile fire, but before it could do any damage, a stream of lasers shot up and slammed into the bottom. The damaged gunship exploded in midair, debris raining down onto the streets.

The Batarians looked up with their eyes wide in surprise, prompting Sheryl to jump up and fire a dozen shots at the nearest one, downing its shields and riddling its body with holes. The Batarians turned back to return fire, but as they did, a green cylinder dropped down into the middle of their ranks. A bright green explosion tore through them, sending half of them flying through the air.

Before the survivors could recover from the explosion, a group of around six men leaned over the edge of the stairway and opened fire on them. They never stood a chance, most of them had had their shields weakened by the plasma grenade and they were all disoriented by the recent turn of events. Within seconds, they were all dead.

The last gunship, seeing that its two wingmen and the ground forces had all been destroyed, turned around and sped away, out of weapon range. Sheryl let out a sigh of relief as she holstered her pistol. "I gotta say, you sure helped us out of a tight spot. Thanks." Sheryl turned to see two Coalition Heavy infantry approaching her.

"I was only doing my job," she said softly.

"Hey, I know that uniform," the other heavy infantryman said, the voice obviously male, "you're one of those Alaskan tribals right?"

"Sheryl tensed. "Yes. So?"

"I've heard a lot about you guys, I hear that you're some of the best snipers in the Coalition. We could really use someone like you."

"I...what? You...you don't have a problem with me?"

The heavy infantryman cocked his head. "Why would I?"

The other one elbowed him. "There's a lot of rumors about Alaskans, they've been cut off from the rest of the world so long that everyone thinks that they're savages." She looked at Sheryl, "am I right?" The huntress nodded.

"Really? Huh...well, I wouldn't know about that, I really don't keep up with popular culture."

"You just said that you knew that Alaskans were well known for being good snipers! How could you know that but not the shady rumors about them?"

"I only check these kinds of things on the extranet to check on the military side of places. When I looked up the Alaskans I only looked up what they were doing in the military, what's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal? You have got to be kidding me John! Even you can't be that stupid, you actually ignore what's going on in the galactic public so you can look up military roles?"

"I don't see the problem Jane, I don't feel like checking the news every 12 hours. I still read it when something big pops up, it's not like I'm totally oblivious to what goes on."

"You only do because the news is splattered all over the front page to your inbox, if it wasn't, the Council could have declared nuclear war on each other and you would have no idea that it was going on."

"Hey come on, I would've figured out that it was happening...eventually."

"Uh," Sheryl said, looking at the two arguing soldiers, her confused expression hidden by her face wrappings. "Should...should you two really be doing this now?"

The two stopped their bickering and turned to look at Sheryl. "She has a point you know," Jane said, "ok, I'll get back to reminding you that you're an idiot later."

"You seriously have anger management issues," John said before turning to look back at Sheryl. "Anyway are you ok? That gunship nearly got you from what I saw."

"Yes, I'm fine," Sheryl replied. "Are...you two related?"

"Twins, god help me," Jane muttered.

"I see. Well, thanks for helping me. I doubt that I would've survived."

"Oh you would've been fine," John said dismissively, "we were able to mow those guys down so easily because they were just a bunch of thugs, not soldiers. If they had had anything resembling proper training then they should have been able to take care of us back then. Besides, you shot down one of those dropships and drew their attention long enough for us to return fire, we were just returning the favor."

"I...I see," Sheryl said uncertainly. The way that these two were acting was confusing her to no end.

"Are you all right over there?" The three of them turned to see a man in a naval uniform approaching them.

"We're fine Captain," Jane said, "Do you have any orders for us? Any place where we need to be?"

"Well, considering that the Batarians were willing to attack the city hall twice in the space of about...five minutes I'm starting to think that maybe we should stay here and stand guard. There's no way that we can safely move all of the civilians inside it, we'll draw way too much attention moving that many people at once."

"So we're digging in?" Jane asked.

"For the-" Anderson paused as his COM unit beeped. "Yes? An update? I...good. Send the coordinates to my omni-tool, I'll deal with it immediately."

"What was that about?" Jane asked.

"One of the Batarian ships took some damage and had to set down just outside the city to make repairs. From what our scanners could tell about it, it was a frigate with an oversized cargo hold."

"A cattle wagon," Jane said with disgust.

"That's the theory. What's more is that reports are coming in of dropships heading off in the direction that the ship landed. In other words we believe that the Batarians are taking their captives to the downed ship and loading them on. It only took light damage so it shouldn't take more than a half hour for it to be repaired."

"Why are the dropships heading for that ship instead of the ones in orbit?" Jane asked.

"If they go up into orbit they run the risk of being shot down by any Coalition vessels in orbit, some Captains would say that death is preferable to a life of slavery. The one on the ground has less obstacles in the way."

"So what are we going to do?" John asked.

"We're going to wait here until the reinforcements that I requested arrive. When they do, they will remain here and guard the city hall while we commandeer one of their APCs and deal with the downed ship before it can get away. If we're lucky we may be able to salvage some data on their base and where they're keeping the people that they take."

"What a minute, we're waiting?" John shouted, "we're not going now? There are innocent people out there that need our help!"

"And there are hundreds of others right here that need it just as much. If we run off before friendly forces arrive to provide protection, they might be attacked again and there will be no one to protect them. We will do everything in our power to save the civilians on that ship, but right now we need to remember that we can't save everyone and focus on saving those that we can. Do you understand?"

"I..." John began before stopping himself. "Yes sir," he said reluctantly.

"Good," Anderson said sternly before turning to face Sheryl. "Miss, I would appreciate it if you could accompany us, we could use someone with your skill set."

The Alaskan nodded. "Understood."

"Very well, but until backup gets here I need you to help us guard this building from any further attacks." Sheryl nodded as she unholstered her sniper rifle.

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

The Treaty of Shanxi: When the First Contact War came to an end, the Coalition and the Council spent days arguing and revising the Treaty of Shanxi, the treaty that both the Coalition and the Council signed establishing the relationship between the Coalition and the Council and confirming the Coalition's independence in the eyes of the Council. The treaty is multiple pages long and covers hundreds of situations and regulations, but it can be summarized by its eight main sections

I: Neither the Coalition or the Council may send military forces into the boarders of another without expressed permission. To do so will be seen as an act of war

II: The Council will permit the Coalition to continue to experiment with advanced artificial intelligences, so long as it is done 100 light years away from the nearest border or Mass Relay leading directly to Council territory.

III: Neither side will disclose the design of any technology considered classified, for the Coalition this includes energy weapons, and biotic implants for the Council.

IV: The Coalition will not hand over any Prothean artifacts found in their territory to the Council, but they will allow their scientists to examine them within the boarders of the Coalition. The Council will do the same for the Coalition.

V: Spectres will not have their status recognized within the boarders of the Coalition. They will be forced to answer to the laws of the Coalition.

VI: Meta-Humans, Deathclaws and Coalition civilian A.I.s, despite being technically illegal, will not be prosecuted for their presence in Council territory.

VII: The Turians will pay for reparations caused to the infrastructure of Shanxi and its defenders, as they were the ones who began hostilities.

VIII: The borders between Coalition space and Council space is established.

Coalition-Council relations: While technically at peace, the attitude between the Council and the Coalition can be describe as cold at best. The Turians attacking Shanxi, coupled with the Coalition refusing to join the Council has resulted in the two factions being wary of each other. While they maintain open trade resulting in high profits for both sides, they mainly trade in raw resources and basic civilian level technology.

What is more, the Coalition and Council are engrossed in what many refer to as a "small scale cold war". While attempts to improve diplomatic relationships are not uncommon, each faction is attempting to match the either in terms of the advantages the other holds over it, for example, the Coalition is pouring millions of credits into creating biotic implants, while the Council is attempting to find a way to either create their own energy weapons or counter the Coalition's. As of yet, both sides have had little success, as seen with the less than stellar implants with high death rates produced by the Coalition and all prototype Council direct energy weapons requiring too much energy to be portable due to design flaws.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Before anyone asks, yes John is partially (PARTIALLY, he can still act like an intelligent Human being, I swear to god I will establish that in the future) inspired by Monkey D. Luffy...sorta. He's not hopelessly stupid but he is lacking in certain fields. He's more of the thinks with his heart instead of is...you know what? If I tell you a person's character directly I am failing as a story teller, I'll do my best to make it clear in the coming chapters.

Once again the chapter is kind of short, but then again it told everything that I needed it to tell, and really does it need anything more than that? I subscribe to the quality over quantity camp of thinking. Also before you ask Had'dah is the name of an actual canon mass effect character, although I kinda hijacked his character. So, what did you think?


	12. War Hero

Chapter 12

War Hero

Author's Note: Well I think that it's time to get moving with the Blitz...not much to talk about him, other than I don't really care for EA or anything that they've done in the past couple of months.

XXXXX

"Not exactly how I was planning on spending my afternoon," Charon remarked as the Rhino that he and the others were sitting in bumped against a jagged rock on their way out of the city. "I wanted to reminisce about the First Contact War, not reenact it." There was an almost bitter tone to his voice, not that anyone could blame him.

"We're about five minutes out!" Jane called from the drivers seat, "I'd get ready if I were you."

"All right, here's how this is going to work," Anderson said, flipping the safety off on his rifle, the others doing the same with their weapons. "Be selective with you fire here, there are going to be civilians in cages or in binds all over the place. No grenades, and Fawkes, I want you to be conservative with your gatling laser."

"I understand," Fawkes said.

"If a Batarian puts a gun to a prisoner's head, that means he's panicking. It may be hard for you, but the second that you get a shot you take it. Get him while he's still disoriented and don't wait for him to gather his wits, if he does then we have a hostage situation on our hands and the chances of someone dying are too high. We need to eliminate any hostiles on sight and capture the vessel so that the techs can do a sweep of it."

"Here's the battle plan, I want the heavy hitters up front, that means Fawkes, John and Jane, you're going to be taking the bulk of the fire."

"Sometimes I wish I had gone with the light infantry," Jane groaned from the drivers seat.

"Adam, you're with me on flanking duty. When the Rhino stops, you and I will split off and attack them from opposite sides, me the right and you the left. Charon, I want you to get on the gun and mow down anything with four eyes. Sheryl, I want you to stay as far away from the ship as possible and pick off any hostiles that you can get in your sights. Enemy snipers, heavy weapons and gunners are your primary targets, everything else is secondary."

"Does everyone understand?" Anderson received a chorus of nods. "All right then. I'm not sure how much time we have until the damage to the ship is complete. From what I could tell it wasn't very major so we need to make this fast in case they try to make an emergency take off. If you see a chance to get inside the ship you take it.

"Thirty seconds!" Jane shouted.

"Ok, let's hit them fast and hard," Anderson said. There was a sudden jolt as the Rhino slid to a halt, swerving as it did so that it was parked parallel to their target. The back door slid open as everyone sprang to their feet, weapons in hand. Without a word, they all jumped out.

The Batarian ship looked like it had seen better days. Some of its plates were rusting and the paint had faded all over but it still looked flight worthy. Several scorch marks were visible over the rear section of the ships, near the engine, caused either by re-entry or by hostile lasers. Three mechanics had been working on it when the Rhino had screeched to a halt before dropping their tools and fleeing inside the ship. In front of the ship were a group of cages with Standard and Necro-Humans stuffed into them, desperately trying to claw their way out. A group of guards scrambled to take cover behind metal crates that had been placed on the snow covered ground in front of the ship, one of them grabbing onto a mounted machine-gun.

Anderson and Adam split off, each heading in their designated direction while John, Jane and Fawkes charged forward, firing their weapons. The Batarian on the mounted gun began to open fire, but before he could get more than ten rounds out, a bullet tore through his head, causing him to slump onto the ground. Right next to the Rhino in a prone position, Sheryl adjusted her aim as she lined up another shot.

The Batarians opened fire at the heavy infantry, only to have three of them swiftly killing by plasma and laser fire, forcing them into cover. However, mere seconds later, a stream of bullets hit them from the sides, downing their shields and killing two of them. Adam and Anderson ran past, weapons in hand, heading for the ship's open airlock. One of the Batarians still alive stood up and aimed at them, only to be gunned down by Charon, who was tightly gripping the Rhino's machine-gun.

As the handful of survivors, who were crouching behind a different set of crates, returned fire, Anderson and Adam ran up a ramp in front the ship into the airlock, entering a poorly lit metal corridor. "You take engineering, I'll take the bridge!" Anderson shouted at Adam before running off in one direction. "If they try to take off, kill the power core!"

Adam nodded before running off in the opposite direction, quickly coming to a ladder which he grabbed onto and slid down into the lower decks. As his feet hit the ground, three bullets hit the back of his shields, weakening them badly. Spinning around, he leveled his shotgun at a Batarian with a pistol no more than ten feet away from him and fired it. The alien had no shields and the blast killed him instantly.

Holding his weapon in front of him, Adam continued deeper into the ship, until he came across a door leading to the ship's core, which was currently inactive. A Batarian appeared in the doorway, aiming a rifle at him, but a blast from Adam's shotgun reduced him to a corpse on the floor.

"WAIT!" a voice shouted, "Don't shoot! I'm coming out, I'm unarmed!" A lone Batarian stepped out from behind the core, holding his hands over his head. "I surrender, ok? Please don't shoot." Warily, Adam stepped forward, his shotgun still level. "I'll do anything you want!" the Batarian begged, "you want access codes to the computer? I got them! You want names? You want to know who's on top of the food chain? I have that too, just please don't shoot!"

"If I lower my weapon," Adam began stopping directly in front of him, "do you swear on your life to come quietly?"

"Of course!" the Batarian almost shouted. "I'm just a mechanic! Those two were too, my job is just to fix the ship when it's damaged. I got called out front to take care of the blasts from those lasers when you people showed up, I...I don't even like slavery that much."

Adam hesitated, before lowering his shotgun and sliding it onto his back. "Very well. A life is a terrible thing to waste, I am glad that you decided to give yourself up." The Batarian let out a sigh of relief, his muscles slacking as his arms fell to the side. "However-" before the Batarian could even blink, Adam had slammed his fist into his gut, causing him to double over in pain.

Grabbing the alien by the shoulder, Adam spun him around so that his back was to him before wrapping his arms around the alien's neck in a sleeper hold. "Forgive me," Adam said, "but I must do this. I saw that pistol that you were hiding in your pocket." The Batarian thrashed wildly. "Please do not struggle, I do not wish to harm you."

"You...fucking...bastard," the Batarian croaked out as Adam continued to squeeze, his struggles growing weaker and weaker until he slumped over in Adams arms. Gently, Adam lowered the Batarian to the ground and grabbed the pistol that was strapped to his back before standing up and looking around. He couldn't see any evidence to suggest that there were any other places that Batarians could be hiding.

"Adam. Adam you there?" Anderson's voice said through his COM unit.

"Yes Captain, how can I help you?"

"The bridge is clear, only the Captain and the first officer were there, wasn't too much of a problem. How are things on your end?"

"The engines had no guards aside from three mechanics. I managed to take one of them alive, he is unconscious at the moment."

"Really? Keep an eye on him, he could be useful. I want you to stay down there, make sure that the engines stay offline. When the others are done clearing out everyone outside we're going to sweep the rest of the ship to make sure that there aren't any stragglers."

"Understood," Adam said as he lowered his hand. As he did, a metal crate in the corner with the lid hanging off. Approaching it, he lifted it off completely to find that it was filled with thick metal shackles with a combination lock. Taking a pair out, he gave them an experimental tug before turning to look at the unconscious Batarian. "Well...I should make sure that he does not hurt someone when he wakes up."

XXXXX

Saren found himself sitting on the bed in the quarters that had been given to him. It was surprisingly spacious and luxurious, the bed was clearly meant for two people, he had a private bathroom complete with shower, a massive screen around 50 inches long right across from his bed, a small kitchen and unless it had been a trick of the light, a mini-bar. Saren found it rather odd, not to mention slightly stupid, that Had'dah was using his private yacht as transport to this unknown ship.

At the moment though, none of this was managing to hold his attention. He was typing into an omni-tool, running scans on his cybernetics. He paused as the readout appeared in front of him. "My middle finger is slightly off," he remarked, glancing at his cybernetic hand. "I knew I should have gotten that upgraded model, this one always requires recalibration." As he continued to look at his metal arm, he felt a dull feeling in his chest. A feeling of loss.

"No," he whispered, looking away, "don't think about that, focus on the present." He was broken out of his thoughts when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," he said, getting to his feet.

The door slid open, revealing Had'dah holding a datapad in his hand. "Saren, it's good to see that you are settling in nicely."

"Yes," Saren said hesitantly, staring at the room behind him, "though I can't help but question the practicality of bringing a private ship like this so close to the Geth boarder."

"Warships would attract even more attention that my yacht, military forces this far away from Council space is something that rarely happens, but private ships can go wherever they want in the galaxy without it seeming odd. That's why I chose to use this ship, several military vessels disappearing for several days would've attracted attention."

"That may be the case, but if mercenaries or pirates attack us, we'll be hard pressed to defend ourselves."

Had'dah chuckled, "I highly doubt that we will have to deal with pirates so close to the Geth boarder, there aren't any settlements out here for them to raid. They might've come out here for something as large as a warship, but I'm hoping my ship will fly under the radar."

"And what if we happen to run into Geth?"

"If we run into Geth that we have much bigger problems to worry about, but that is highly unlikely, the Geth haven't been seen beyond the Veil in 300 years, I don't see any reason why they would suddenly reveal themselves now." Had'dah looked at Saren with interested eyes. "I must say, you seem to be rather paranoid."

"I am a Spectre of the Council, and since the formation of the Council there has been a species of insects that threatened to overrun the galaxy, a race of savages that attempted to do the same thing, a machine race that reduced their creators from tens of billions to seventeen million, pirates, slavers, warlords and countless other things. The galaxy is a dangerous place, I have every right to be paranoid."

"Perhaps. Anyway the reason that I wanted to see you is that I wanted to give you the data that my initial recon team was able to acquire on the ship that we will be surveying." He handed the datapad to Saren, "I am sorry to say that it was not very detailed due to the limited equipment that they had, but I imagine that you will find it very fascinating nonetheless."

"Thank you, now if you don't mind I would like to be left alone for a minute." Had'dah nodded his head as he stepped out of the room.

Saren sat down on the bed again and activated the datapad, a wall of text filling the screen. "Initial scans on the derelict ship are complete," he muttered as he read the report, "unable to confirm exact age of ship, but estimates suggest that it is at least several hundred years old." Saren paused, "it could be a Geth ship that was disabled during the Mourning War," he guessed before continuing to read.

"Initial scans also picked up a spinal mounted cannon and kinetic barrier generators, indicating that the ship is of military design. Oddly enough though, there is no sign of battle damage, the ship, in fact, seems to be perfectly intact. What makes this even more confusing is the ships massive size, well over two kilometers long...what!" Saren reread that last line, making sure that he had not imagined what he had saw.

"A...a whole two kilometers long? He stammered, "and it's a military ship?" Saren forced himself to take deep calm breaths, telling himself not to get too excited about it. But he couldn't help but imagine the possibilities that would spring from this, massive technological advancements for the Council and dreadnoughts that would make the Destiny Ascension appear tiny by comparison.

XXXXX

"Is that everyone?" Anderson said as Fawkes ripped off the lock to a cage that a teenage boy was in, who hastily scrambled out.

"Pretty sure, I checked all over the cargo bay and there were only a couple of people there," Jane remarked, looking up at the sky. "Funny, there weren't any dropships around when we showed up, any idea why?"

"It could be that they dropped off as many as prisoners this ship could carry and got called back to provide backup for their forces back in the city," Anderson suggested. He and most of the others were outside of the downed Batarian frigate, doing everything that they could to help the recently freed captives. Charon had managed to find the ship's store of food and most of the civilians were gathered in a small group, munching on bits of cold meat and sipping water.

"So...we have to stay put again?" John asked, looking at Anderson.

"I'm afraid so. There's around forty people here, they won't be able to fit into the Rhino. We need to stay here to make sure that the Batarians don't try and grab them again."

"Uh, I don't think that we will need to worry about that too much," Adam said, pointing at the distant city. Around a dozen dropships were flying upward, heading for the skies. "It looks like they're retreating."

"Hold on a second," Anderson said before putting his hand to his ear. "Anderson here, I need an update on the space battle. What? Confirm that please. I see...very well." He lowered his hand. "Well, it looks like we were able to hold out long enough. Our fleet was able to regroup and inflict heavy damage on the Batarians, they're running for it."

"Good to hear," John said. "What now?"

"Before we can make our next move, we need to find out where the slavers are taking their prisoners."

"Prisoners?" John asked.

Anderson sighed. "Sadly...despite our best efforts the Batarians were still able to escape with Coalition citizens. Our estimates say about a hundred. Maybe two."

"Well...we're going to get them back right?"

Anderson put his hand on John's shoulder. "Yes, we are. We are going to do everything in our power to hunt down the ones that got away, find out where they're hiding and get our people home. Speaking of which," he turned to face Adam, "how is our guest?"

"Last I heard, Charon was keeping him in the cargo bay. He should wake up any second now."

"Good, keep an eye on things out here, I want to have a little chat with him." Without another word, Anderson turned and walked up the ramp. He took a sharp right turn and walked into a massive room filled with empty cages. Charon and Sheryl were both sitting on metal crates, the Batarian mechanic not far away against a wall with his head slumped over, his arms behind him in heavy metal shackles.

"I don't believe you," Sheryl said bluntly.

"My right hand to God it's the truth," Charon said, "the kid shot the Behemoth right in the face with a Fat Man, the entire building behind it got covered in blood. It's a true story, I even threw myself in a radioactive river to get clean that's how messy it was."

"But you're a Necro-Human, how is that a big deal?"

"Well...yeah, but back then there was a popular theory that Necro-Humans that were exposed to too much radiation went feral," Charon explained.

"I see. I wasn't talking about that though, I was talking about the other time."

"That was true too, Fawkes took down another one all by himself with his gatling laser. I think he hung onto a blood sample from it if you don't believe me."

"Fine, fine, you don't need too...wow," Sheryl said, catching herself mid-sentence.

Charon cocked his head slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"No...I just...I just realized how easy this is."

"I don't follow."

"It's just...back in my village, many of the people who lived there...well they refused to talk to me. They were very superstitious and...I was...different." She pulled her face wrappings down slightly, revealing her pale white skin, which contrasted noticeably with her blood red eyes.

"I know the feeling," Charon said, gesturing to his swollen red face, "it's not fun, people make judgements about you and think that you're something that you're not because you look different."

A look dawned on Sheryl's face that was difficult to describe. It vaguely resembled a cross between surprise and happiness. "Yes...exactly," she said softly.

"Hope I'm not barging in," Anderson said, prompting the two of them to glance in his direction, "but I need to have a little talk with our friend here."

"Hold on for a second," Charon remarked reaching into a pocket and pulling out a small capsule. "I found this while looking through the ship, apparently someone sold these guys smelling salts somewhere down the lane." Approaching the unconscious Batarian, he flipped the capsule open and held it under his nose. Almost immediately, he began coughing as his eyes snapped open. He immediately began to struggle, but quickly stopped as he realized the situation that he was in."

"Don't hesitate to shoot if he tries anything funny," Anderson said as Charon backed away slightly. The Captain walked forward, stopping in front of the Batarian. "A lot of people got captured by your friends today."

"Good," the Batarian grunted, "that's what we came here for."

"I imagine that it is, but the thing is I find myself in a position where I need to get them back, so I would appreciate it if you could tell me where they were taken and where they are going to be sold."

"What makes you think I'm going to tell you anything?" the Batarian demanded. "I heard about what your ambassador said to the Council, how that slavery was a disgrace. Now you want me to help you obstruct my people's right to practice it?" He spat at the ground, "Slavery is an internal part of our culture you racist son of a bitch."

"Yes, well it's part of our culture to prevent our citizens from being sold as slaves and to kill those who try to do it," Anderson said dryly, "so we're at a bit of an impasse."

"So what? You didn't join the Council, you lost your right to complain. If I could have it my way, all three of you would be cages and on the market and there wouldn't be a damn thing that you could do about it legally." His eyes were drawn to Sheryl, who was sliding her face wrappings back into place, "especially that one."

In the blink of an eye, Sheryl slid her crossbow off of her back and fired a shot. It slammed into the wall an inch away from the Batarian's face, imbedding itself there. "Watch your tongue," she hissed, "I can't stand people like you. The next one won't miss."

"Not quite," Anderson said, ignoring Sheryl's actions, "the Coalition still has a voice in galactic politics even though we're independent. In fact that makes what you did even dumber," Anderson pointed out. "You attacked a sovereign power, you won't be answering to the Council's laws or the Hegemony's laws, but to our laws. You're looking at...I'd say twenty years in a Coalition prison, and that's if you're lucky. You'd be in the same prison as Meta-Humans and Deathclaws, and let me tell you, slavers are despised even among our criminals."

All four of the Batarian's eyes widened. "Deathclaws?" he whispered, "t-those things that can kill me with one swing of their hands?"

"Yup," Anderson said, "and if the warden of the prison you're sent to really doesn't like you, you'll probably end up sharing a room with one." Anderson talked about this in a way that could only be described as casual. His legs were crossed and he seemed to be leaning back in a slightly lazy manner. "And that's even if you get there. There's a couple dozen people out there that you tried to turn into property and I'm not going to shoot civilians if they try to attack you. And that's if this young lady right here doesn't slip your throat in your sleep."

"W-wait a minute-"

"I want to ask you something, is slavery something that you've spent your whole life practicing? Is it something that you want to hold onto until you die? Somehow I don't think so, you seemed more like you were hired for a one time job, if you were a regular you would've been more well equipped. I'll make you a deal, tell me where to find my people and I'll put in a good word for you, get you a lighter sentence. I might even be able to get you off completely if your information is really good."

The Batarian hesitated for a moment, bitting his lip. "If...if I talk, powerful people will be pissed at me. They'll want my head."

"There are dozens of other Batarians that served on this ship, any one of them could have been captured and interrogated," Anderson pointed out. "No one will know that it was you."

The Batarian hesitated again before talking. "Fuck it, you would've figured it out when you cracked our computers anyway. The gang that I was working for has a base on Torfan, it's underground."

"Underground, that's helpful. Do you have anything else to tell us?

"I...I...yes," the Batarian said hesitantly. "If you take out the base on Torfan you'll probably stop all raids in the Verge, pretty much all of them originate there...but by the time that you get there your people will be gone."

Anderson raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean by that?"

"There's a reason that this raid was so big, the demand for slaves, particularly from the Coalition, was through the roof, so much that the gangs were willing to pay big money to outsiders to help, like me."

"Why is the demand so high?"

"Because...because in two days there's going to be a fair on the planet Oenomaus, it's one of the largest colonies that we have. Every year there's a massive fair there, the wealthiest people in the Hegemony go there and they pick from the finest slaves that have been captured and bought over the months. The government wanted specimens from the Coalition, so they paid the slavers at Torfan to-"

"The government!" Anderson shouted, causing Sheryl and Charon to jump in surprise. "T-the Batarian government contracted you to attack this colony...how do I know you're not lying?"

"Don't believe me? Check the main computer to the ship, the password is 197254268426743."

Anderson paused before getting to his feet. "I'll be right back, don't let him out of your sight," he said quietly before turning and walking away. Even as he walked towards the main database in the ship, he had a gut feeling in his stomach. He knew that the Batarian was telling the truth.

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

First Contact War: In 2715 Humanity attempted to activate the Shanxi relay, but before they could do so they were discovered by a Turian patrol fleet. As the activation of any Mass Relay without the permission of the Council is illegal in Council Space, the patrol fleet responded violently and opened fire, starting the First Contact War.

General Desolas Arterius led the Sixth Fleet in an invasion of the Coalition colony world Shanxi, wiping out most of the defending ships and killing hundreds of ground troops. However, before Desolas could seize complete control of the colony, Vice-Admiral Marcus arrived with reinforcements and overwhelmed the Sixth Fleet with sheer numbers. Brigadier General Williams simultaneously launched a counter-attack on the ground, killing General Desolas and forcing the Turians to retreat. A few days later, Vice-Admiral Marcus led a raid on a Turian refueling outpost, destroying the station as well as many of the defenders before retreating.

The conflict was brought to an end when Matriarch Benezia led a diplomatic envoy to Shanxi, extended the hand of peace to the Coalition. This lead to the Coalition sending their own envoy to the Citadel, resulting in first contact with the Council and the signing of the Treaty of Shanxi.

Cybernetics: While there are many distinctions between Coalition and Council cybernetics, both technologies operate from similar bases. On average, cybernetics are self powered and made out of strong alloys. Cybernetic limbs tend to be stronger than the organic limbs of most species, although there have been exceptions when it comes to Elcor, Krogan, Deathclaws and Meta-Humans. Cybernetics do not necessarily need to be maintained on a regular basis, but doing so will increase the time they remain functional by several years. There are also unconfirmed rumors that the Coalition is developing cybernetic arms that have integrated energy weapons.

It is worth noting that receiving cybernetic implants is known to be a very traumatic experience, especially when it is done out of an emergency to save a person's life. This is not helped by the fact that most cybernetics are very noticeable to the average passer by. While cybernetics do posses artificial nerve endings, many cyborgs have described that touching someone with an artificial hand feels "dull" and lacks the same "feeling" as an organic hand. Also, cybernetic limbs take several weeks for the body to adjust to, as they have a different "feel" than organic limbs.

XXXXX

Author's Note: I've never played Tomb Raider in my life but I want to talk about it for a second. Even I know Lara Croft is a freaking sex symbol, so when I heard that the new Tomb Raider was going to make her a teenage girl with a reasonable chest size, and that her new storyline would be darker I thought "hey, that's a neat idea, I might actually buy this game". However, a couple of days later I found a bunch of people tearing up a storm that this new Lara was sexist...what?

Yeah, some of the arguments that I heard was that the new Lara suggested that women with big boobs were less Human (I...I...I don't even) that the statement that "We want you to want to protect her and not project onto her" was sexist because it made her less of a character and implied that the people playing would only be men...ok, that's a fair argument, I guess women don't give a shit about helpless teenage girls after all. I'm just saying, I never "projected" myself onto Master Chief or Commander Shepard, I felt like I was controlling them, maybe that's why this doesn't bother me. And let's not forget people saying it's sexist because she get's hurt and nearly gets raped. Ok, first of all, the main character getting hurt a lot is good, if the main character has everything go lovely for them and nothing bad happens to them I tend to care less about them. As for the rape thing, first of all it's more like she gets tackled and groped before the guy gets shot and second of all, it's a bunch of vicious killers on an deserted island and I'm pretty sure there aren't any women around, what the Hell do you want them to do to her? Ransom her? No wait, that'd be sexist too.

I don't know, I just get the nagging feeling that if it was a teenage boy in her boots we would be hearing a lot less complaints. Some people seem to think that anything bad happening to women in fiction is sexist, for crying out loud some people are comparing this to Metroid other M. First of all, the new Tomb Raider takes place at the beginning of Lara's journey, not at the end, and in the trailer I saw her kill 3 guys with a bow and arrow and 6 with a shotgun, she's hardly portrayed as weak and helpless, there aren't any big burly space marines with plasma cannons saving her, she saves herself. Also SHE'S A TEENAGE GIRL! Do you want her to gun down hordes of people without any trouble, spouting off one liners all the way? Would that make this game better for these people? That'd make the game bloody absurd, from what I can see it has a survival theme going for it and survival doesn't work when the character isn't portrayed as helpless. Fallout isn't survival because by level ten you probably have a nuke launcher.

Ugh, and people wonder why the majority of video game protagonists are 30 something males with brown hair, because every time a woman is in a video game it's sexist for some reason or another. I'm all for equality, but sometimes I think people take it WAY too far. Not every single video game character has to be an unstoppable badass you know, the Silent Hill games didn't need them. Why is it when they show a helpless male it's shown as riveting but when this game shows a helpless female it's sexist? I dunno, some people just seem to think that all women have to be strong and independent and if you decide that you want to write one that isn't you therefore hate women. It's not like this happens after all of her previous adventures as I said before, SHE'S A TEENAGE GIRL! She has, without a doubt, never killed anyone before and this is a whole new experience for her and she suffers a lot because the creators are trying to make her into a Woobie. No one complained when Tali was a Woobie but she's still badass.

Anyway, this is all just my opinion and this next bit is also my opinion. If you want to get angry about sexism, the new Hitman game is a far more serious offender. Seriously, the fuck was up with that trailer? It's 47 doing nothing but killing an assassination team comprised entirely of women dressed like strippers. It's made even worse by 47 putting on incredibly conservative clothing as the women strip, he even wears gloves for fucks sake. Those girls look liked they were dressed for BDSM, not an assassination mission, why did they ditch the normal nun outfits for BDSM nun outfits? The second one does nothing but look sexy at least with the first you can blend in, appear harmless and probably conceal a weapon. THAT is sexism.


	13. Big Boys

Chapter 13

Big Boys

Author's Note: Time for something a little more...interesting. Also on a side note, the Mass Effect 3 extended cut is coming out in America on the 26th, hopefully this chapter will be out before then. God, I want it to be good, I really REALLY do but...for the love of God, they seem to think that the only reason we didn't love the ending is because it didn't provide closure. Granted that was a problem but Bioware/EA seems to be ignoring the other dozen problems that we had with the ending. How the hell does the synthesis ending work? Why do I have to kill the Geth to kill the Reapers? Why was the Citadel/catalyst designed to do all of this shit? Why did the Mass Relays blow up? Why is the whole point of the series synthetics vs organics? Why does the catalyst prattle on about how synthetics will always destroy organics even though you can make peace with the Geth? I just...sorry. I pray to christ that I'll be eating these

words in a couple of days but frankly the extended cut seems to be less about cleaning up the pile of shit and more about explaining what they ate to make it smell. It's 1.9 gigabytes so it's possible that it could be good, but my faith in Bioware has just been shot to Hell. I dunno, we'll see.

XXXXX

"Is...is this really a good idea?" Jane asked, looking at Captain Anderson. She, John and Anderson were all standing in the cargo bay of a Coalition cruiser.

"I don't see what the big deal is," John replied, "the Batarian government funded pirates to attack us and killed hundreds of Coalition soldiers and civilians. That's more or less an act of war, so we're retaliating."

"That may be true but things are never that simple," Jane pointed out. "The Batarians are still a Council member race, don't you think that this will royally piss them off? I'd rather the Coalition be on good terms with the Asari, Salarians and Turians, they're kinda the strongest military forces in the galaxy."

"The Council has been attacked by the Batarians over and over again in the past and each and every time they've ignored it," Anderson replied, "Parliament decided that if they didn't even want to protect their own citizens, then they wouldn't give a damn about ours."

"And they're not even going to try talking to them about this? For all we know the Council could get off their ass this time and hand over the people responsible. They know that we were able to go toe to toe with the Turians in the First Contact War, they would probably prefer to throw the Batarians who ordered the hit to the dogs than risk a war with us. The Council is more stubborn than stupid, they just need enough evidence to give them a good shove to act. We've got all of those data records from that Batarian ship, the Council would be forced to act."

"That is a possibility, but it's not a risk that Parliament is willing to take," Anderson said. "There is always a slight chance that the Council could refuse, we have been competing with the Hegemony for territory out in the Verge and since we're not a member race, they could see it as an attempt to sabotage the competition."

"But we don't know for sure," Jane protested.

"True, but that isn't the main deterrent. The reason that Parliament has refused to take this matter to the Council and decided to take matters into our own hands is that if we went to the Council, we'd never get our people back."

Jane blinked, "What do you mean?"

"You're right Jane, the Council would go to great lengths to keep us from declaring war on them if it can be easily avoided. But the thing is, even if you were right and the Council did meet our demands, there's too great a chance that the Batarian Hegemony would launch a coverup. There's no way that the Council would move fast enough to demand the captured civilians back within a day or two, and by then they would've all been sold off to private warlords or companies and then when no one could find them the Hegemony would claim that we used A.I.s to forge the evidence."

"I...but," Jane said "the Council should know that they would've sold them. Besides, the data would still show the base on Torfan!"

"Yes, but there's a jump between a ship having a base on Torfan and that the pirates there were government funded. The Hegemony could simply claim that the Coalition was being racist towards them, using the stereotype that all Batarians are just thugs and slavers against us. And with no major backlash, the Batarians would see us as vulnerable and continue to launch raids against our colonies."

Anderson shook his head. "We're not going to sit by and let them get away from this. We're going to hit them hard and each them that we're not like the Council, we won't tolerate this. Afterwards our best bet is to go to the Council and present them the evidence that we have and hope for the best. After all, we're independent, we don't need their permission to defend ourselves."

"We almost got into an all out war because we didn't get their permission to turn on a Mass Relay," Jane argued, "they're going to be pissed off and our relationship with them is already icy at best."

Anderson sighed, "I know, but the way I see it this is the best course of action available to us. I admit that you have points Jane but either way Parliament's decision is final." He looked at her with a concerned face, "do you think that you can handle this?"

"Handle this? You mean do I think I can handle frying these sons of bitches?" Her hands tightened into fists. "Don't get me wrong, I'd rather avoid all out war, but if we have to fight then these people are taking Coalition settlers and selling them like livestock. I'm not going to feel a shred of guilt about vaporizing them."

"You really are my sister," John said, grinning slightly, before turning to look at Anderson. "One thing kind of bugs me though, how come they didn't try to grab any energy weapons? The entire galaxy is doing everything that they can to figure out how they work."

"They were mostly focusing on lightly defended areas, and those areas mostly had light infantry and therefore no energy weapons, mainly because in order to get energy weapons, they would have had to kill heavy infantry, which would've resulted in heavy causalities for them, probably more than they were willing to spare," Anderson explained. "I also imagine that they didn't bother grabbing them because while slaves being owned by Batarian criminals can't be traced back to the Hegemony, their military attempting to reverse engineer energy weapons can, especially if they get results. Besides, we have our suspicions that Salarian STG teams have managed to sneak a couple of laser and plasma rifles and their research on it is painfully slow because they've never dealt with that kind of technology before, they have no idea where to start. If the Salarian's best scientists can't figure out how they work, what hope do the Batarians have?"

"Just a quick question though Anderson, I know that we're attacking Oenomaus to rescue the people that were captured, but how do we know that we're not going to kill innocent civilians by mistake? The fair is being held in the center of a place called Capital City and from what I hear it's going to be packed, but not every one in the Hegemony is a slaver. People might die that don't deserve to."

"I doubt that will be too much of a problem," Anderson said as he activated his omni-tool, which began to project a flat map of a city. "The city that we're targeting reflects Batarian culture, in other words it's very heavily segregated. It's divided into three rings," as he spoke, two thick lines appeared, one near the outer rim of the city and one closer to the center."

"The outer city is where the industry and agriculture is, it's also where the lower class lives. I don't envy these people, they work hard long days to keep the Batarian economy going for what barely qualifies as minimal wage. They probably hate the Hegemony just as much as we do, but they're too scared to do anything about it. As bad as their lives may be, the Hegemony...well, I'd rather not tell you what they do to rebels and terrorists, it'd probably make you go on a killing spree the second we touch down."

"The mid ring is where the middle class live, or rather the military. Yeah, you have to join the army to get out of the lower class in the Hegemony. A lot of the mid ring is military bases and armories and the like, but there's also a lot of shops and restaurants owned by family of soldiers, who share their middle class status. All in all, not the worst place to live."

"Then you have the center ring, which is high ranking officers, aristocrats and their guards only. People there were born in to wealth and probably didn't earn a single scrape of it through hard work. That's also where the fair is going to be, and while it will be packed, intelligence suggests that the majority of the people there will either be salesmen or guards, and those who aren't will be buyers. This order will be relayed to everyone taking part in the ground offensive, but if you see a Batarian aristocrat, capture instead of kill him, if you can that is. Taking them alive and getting them to confess to buying Coalition citizens will make the political fiasco go a lot easier."

"So what's the plan?" Jane asked, "how are we doing this?"

"Well, the official briefing is in 30 minutes, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you early. Not far away from where the fair is being held, there's a ground based shipyard," a small patch near the center of the hologram of Capital City glowed brightly. "It's filled with cargo ships that were used to bring in the slaves, yachts belonging to the upper class, a couple of warships and some shuttles."

"What we're going to do is land en mass in the center ring and free as many slaves as possible, kill anyone who gets in our way, capture aristocrat if possible, then we make our way to the shipyards, load the civilians on board and take off. So not only do we save the civilians, the Coalition gets a couple dozen new ships," he joked.

"What about the other slaves?" John asked, "there's no way that everyone being sold here is from the Coalition."

"That's a good point," Anderson said, "and the brass thought of it too. While our primary orders are to evac our own people, if we get the chance we are to save every last person that is being sold here. Hey, we're already pissing off the Hegemony, might as well go all the way." John laughed and even Jane let out a small chuckle. "Any questions?"

"One," Jane said, looking at the map again. "If we land right in the middle, the mid ring will be all around us. In other words we'll be completely surrounded by the Batarian military. How are we supposed to do this if we're completely surrounded?"

"You focus on rescuing the slaves, the big boys will keep the main military off of your back."

"What do you mean the-" Jane stopped mid sentence as her eyes widened. "We're not."

Anderson grinned. "We are."

"Well...I guess if you want to make a point it's counter-productive to be subtle," Jane said weakly.

"Look on the bright side, we're not going to have any trouble from the mid ring," John pointed out.

"That's only because when we leave the mid ring is going to be a crater in the ground," Jane said dryly.

"Probably," Anderson admitted. "Anyway, you should probably get down to the shuttles, the others will probably we waiting for you there."

"You're not going to be with us?" John asked.

"Sadly not, I'm going to be taking part in the orbital battle." Anderson raised his hand to his forehead and saluted the twins, a motion that they mimicked. "So give them Hell for me."

XXXXX

On the Batarian colony of Oenomaus, the only way to get from one ring of the city to another was via a checkpoint. The checkpoints from the center ring to the mid ring were heavily guarded but the ones from the outer ring to the mid ring were only had a couple of guards due to it being illegal for the lower class to own weapons.

Currently, two Batarian soldiers were standing in front of a simple metal gate that led into the mid ring, watching as a group of construction workers walked past. "I hear that this year they finally managed to get some people from the Coalition," one of the guards said.

"Really?" the other replied, turning to look at his friend, "I thought that those people were paranoid about being attacked. How did we get our hands on them?"

"From what I hear there was a massive raid on one of the bigger Coalition colonies and they managed to bag a couple hundred of them."

"Well that's interesting to hear. Are any of the Meta-Humans or Deathclaws? They would fetch a fortune."

"Don't think so, just Standards and Necros."

"Well that's boring," the second guard grunted, "if they're all that's available you might as well get an Asari or a Turian, ones better looking and the other is more sturdy than both of them. Why are they so expensive?"

"Supply and demand, that's how economics works. There's a high demand for Humans and there's a low supply, therefor they're expensive." A grin flitted across his face, "besides, you know how arrogant the Coalition can be, having one of their people as your property would be damn satisfying."

"There's that. Still, I'm saving my money up for an Asari though, three more months ought to do it."

"You won't be able to get a Maiden if you're that impatient, you'll have to settled for a Matron, probably a used one."

"I'll manage I just-HEY!" The guard raised his assault rifle and pointed it at an approaching figure in a thick black cloak. "That's close enough! What's your business here?" The figure came to a stop as the second guard pointed his rifle at him too. For a moment he stood there not saying anything.

Both of the guards continued to aim their weapons at him. They quickly realized that he was too big to be a Batarian but too small to be an Elcor. "You heard him, what are you doing here Krogan?"

The Krogan spoke in a deep gruff voice, "I heard that there were slaves being sold here today. I'm here to make a purchase. Life out on the edge of space can get a little lonely sometimes, so I thought that I would buy a personal companion."

"You?!" one of the guards shouted, looking as if he was about to start laughing, "give me a break. You look like you fished your clothes out of a trash can, what makes you think that you can afford anything here? Only high class stuff is being sold today, even the cheapest purchase would cost you a good 100k."

"And what if I told you I had that kind of money?"

"Then I say, bullshit, there's no way that a fucking Krogan, especially one dressed like you, has that much cash."

"Really?" the Krogan said, cocking his head slightly, "then why don't you check my bank account? My name is Urdnot Wrex."

Both of the guards hesitated, looking at Wrex. "Hold on a second," one of them said, taking his hand off of his rifle and bringing up his omni-tool. "Urdnot Wrex...Urdnot Wrex...nice try pal, 25,000, now why don't you do both of us a favor and get lost. There's a lot of high class customers coming here today and the section of the city in between you and them is completely owned by the military. We're not letting you through and if you even think about trying anything-" the Batarian was cut off as Wrex reached into his cloak, drew a shotgun and fired it.

The Batarian that had been talking was blown off of his feet, dead before he hit the ground. The other Batarian fumbled with his own gun, but Wrex turned to face him and fired again, causing his head to explode. "Aw screw it, stealth was boring anyway," Wrex grumbled, grabbing his cloak and throwing it to the side, revealing his blood red combat armor and scarred face. He reached to his back and grabbed an assault rifle with his free hand.

"Oh yeah, now I remember, I dropped most of my cash on this thing," he remarked, looking at his shotgun. It was a M-300 Claymore, one of the most powerful shotguns every created. It generated a massive amount of heat with each shot and Wrex had burned tens of thousands of credits just to buy mods that would allow him to fire it twice in a row without it overheating.

"Aw well, it was worth it," Wrex said, looking at the two dead Batarians and grinning slightly, "their barriers didn't do a damn thing. So, now all I have to do is fight my way through a section of city that's basically a police state, break through another check point, fight the guards of the buyers and then fight my way out...sounds fun."

He chuckled dryly, "Aleena, you're easily the only one that I would ever do this for." As he began to think out loud, alarms originating from the city began to blare loudly. "Well, didn't think that I would attract that much attention." He said as he began to walk forward. Before he could take more than three steps though, there was a massive crashing noise that caused Wrex to look up.

His eyes widened as he saw a massive robot standing in the middle of the mid ring, straightening itself out. As it did, a deep voice thundered across all of Capital City. "LIBERTY PRIME IS ONLINE! ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL! KINETIC BARRIERS ACTIVE! WEAPONS HOT! OBJECTIVE?! THE LIBERATION OF ALL BATARIAN CAPTIVES!" As the machine roared, two more figures fell from the sky and smashed into the ground, several miles away from the gigantic robot. They rose to their feet as well, revealing that they were the same model as the first giant machine.

Wrex glanced up at the sky and saw three ships that had clearly dropped the robots. A swarm of shuttles and gunships were swarming through the air besides the ships, heading towards the city. Wrex cranned his neck back even further and balls of fire descending towards the surface of the planet, wreckages of Batarian ships.

It was then that Wrex recognized the design of the ships that were hovering above him. "The Coalition," he whispered, "all the way out here?" A grin spread across his face. "Well, this is going to be interesting." He then threw back his head, let out a roar, and charged into the city, weapons at the ready.

XXXXX

Admiral Hackett's eyes narrowed as he looked at the view-screen in front of him, which showed an image of the planet Oenomaus. He had been given command of the Coalition fleet tasked with attacking the planet, totaling eighty ships, with three of them dreadnoughts. They had apparently caught the Batarians off guard. While the planet had indeed been guarded, it had only had thirty-five warships in orbit, and only one of them had been a dreadnought.

"Fire!" Hackett shouted and another volley of slugs flew from the lines of his fleet, smashing into the Batarian ships. Already a dozen of them had been destroyed, the dead husks of their ships floating in orbit above the planet. The remaining ones were doing the best that they could to fight back, but there were massive holes in their defensive line, which swarms of Coalition Vertibirds and shuttles were streaming through. In addition to them, three Coalition carriers had managed to slip through and were now in low orbit over the planet.

"Status report on the surface," the Admiral said, looking at the navigator in front of him.

"I've just received word, the Liberty Primes have been successfully deployed, the carriers are maintaing safe distance from all ground based fire," the navigator reported.

"Good, tell them to provide support in whatever way they can and to keep launching shuttles and fighters. Once our objective is complete though, tell them to retrieve the Liberty Primes and to retrieve as many shuttles as possible before retreating, including ones that have been captured. It'll make things a lot easier if the shuttles are on board a warship instead of traveling at their own power."

"Understood sir," the navigator said, his fingers flying across the controls in front of him, "sir, the enemy dreadnought has taken heavy damage, but its main gun is still online." As if to emphasize his point, a shot was fired from the Batarian ship, which tore through a cruiser that was right next to Hackett's own dreadnought.

"Understood, target it and destroy it at once, we don't need it causing anymore damage." The navigator nodded and typed in a series of commands into the terminal in front of him. The ship shuddered as the main cannon was fired, the shot tearing through the center of the enemy dreadnought, which began to fall apart at the seams.

"It won't be bothering us anymore sir," the navigator reported.

"Good. What is the status of the rest of the fleet?"

"We've lost eight ships sir four frigates, three cruisers and a carrier. Several other ships are reporting damage but from what I can see it's not anything serious. Frankly we're doing remarkably well, but then again from what I can tell the Batarians weren't expecting for us to figure out that they were behind the Blitz, and even if they did know, there's no way that they could have known that we would have attacked them with this many ships."

Hackett nodded stiffly. "Yes...after all this is more or less a response to a declaration of war." Hackett's face looked tired and sunken in, as if what he was saying caused him great exhaustion. "Only twenty years...and we're trying to start a war," he whispered to himself. "Is there really no other path for us?"

"Sir, I'm picking up a transmission from the planet's surface. It looks like it's Batarian." The navigator turned to look at the Admiral, "should I patch it through?"

"We might as well hear what they have to say," Hackett grumbled, "put it through, but don't let up our assault." He looked up as the image on the view-screen was replaced by a Batarian wearing the uniform of the General.

"What is the meaning of this Human?!" the General shouted, "why are you attacking us? We've done nothing to warrant this!"

"Really? A couple of prisoners that we picked up on Elysium beg to differ."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Hackett said, anger spiking in his voice, "we know that you were behind the attack on Elysium, we know that you paid those mercs, and we know that there are Coalition civilians down there on the surface, we're here to get them back, no matter what we have to do."

"You really are stupid aren't you Human?" the General growled. "Maybe we do have a couple of slaves for sale down here that came from one of your planets, so what? What do you think is going to happen after this? You think that the Council is just going to sit by while you attack one of its member species?"

"We have evidence of you having a hand in the Blitz, the Council won't support war criminals. You're on your own, and while the Coalition is wary of the Council, we're more than confident in our abilities to make sure that you never attack us again."

"What makes you think that the Council is going to bend to every word that you say? The Council has been dealing with slaver raids for over a thousand years Human, and for a thousand years they've done nothing about it. You're out of your mind if you think that they're suddenly going to do something different, just because you demanded it. Then again I wouldn't expect anything else from someone as arrogant as you."

"Pardon me for retaliating when my people were attacked," Hackett growled. "We're just doing the very thing that you expect the Council to do for you."

"It's different," the General retaliated. "Ever since the Coalition has become a part of galactic politics, you've been acting like you own the fucking galaxy! The laws that we've all been following for three thousand years are beneath you, you're too important and special to limit your fleet, not study artificial intelligence, and refuse to share your technology with everyone else. In addition to that, you also pick random planets off of the galaxy map and claim them to be yours, even if other species have been planning to colonize them for years. The Council won't even tell you how to make biotic implants, what makes you think they'll side with you on this one?"

"There's a difference between charity and self interested preservation. The Council isn't willing to burn for the stupidity caused by your species."

"Our stupidity? We don't use A.I.s as slave labor and then give them guns. Then again you probably think that what happened to the Quarians could never possibly happen to you. But I'm wasting my time with you Human. Know this, your kind will come to regret this day, the people of the galaxy will rise up against the threat you present, and when the Coalition burns in the aftermath of the conflict, the Batarian people will be there, laughing."

"You assume we intend to fight a war that we can't win. Maybe we do, maybe we don't, but it really shouldn't matter to you General, because you really should be focusing more on the giant robots that are in the middle of smashing Capital City." Hackett made a gesture and the navigator severed the COM line. "Continue to push forward, smash their lines. I want a nice open lane when the evac beings. I don't want a single slave left behind."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Liberty Prime Corps: A subdivision of the Mechanized Infantry, the Liberty Prime Corps is one of the deadliest weapons in the Coalition's arsenal. Designed off of the robot found in the remains of the Pentagon by the Washington Confederacy, the Coalition designed a new and improved model, incorporating new advanced technology, as well as new ideas and concepts, making them faster, more mobile and more intelligent than their ancestor.

The new Liberty Prime model is much larger than the original, to the point where it is just short of 80 meters tall. Its primary weapons are three Tesla cannons, one lodged in its head and the other two in the palms of its hands. It also possess shoulder mounted rocket launchers with AA capabilities, and wrist mounted machine-guns. Liberty Prime is designed for siege warfare, and to take on the heaviest of opposition.

Liberty Prime units possess heavy armor and kinetic barriers, but they are not indestructible. Sustained anti-tank armor will damage and eventually destroy them. This is however, not as easy as it sounds, as Liberty Primes quickly target and destroy enemy units that posse the highest threats and work their way down. While they now possess enough sentence to think for themselves, many Liberty Primes have found that they enjoy shouting propaganda lines in an over the top voice during battle, as they find it amusing as well as helpful to the moral of friendly soldiers. It has also proven to be detrimental to enemy moral when combined with the devastation that Liberty Primes are capable of.

The Skyllian Blitz: After making contact with the Council, the Coalition became aware of the galactic community as a whole and began to spread outward and colonize new frontiers, including in the Traverse. However, in doing so, they found that they had colonized planets that the Batarian Hegemony had been planning to claim for themselves. Tensions began to rise between the two powers as they continued to compete for territory, until it burst with the Skyllian Blitz.

The Blitz was an invasion that occurred on the 20th anniversary of the First Contact war on the Coalition colony of Elysium. The Batarian Hegemony, paid thousands of mercanaries and pirates to attack the planet, killing and capturing hundreds of military personal and civilians in the process. Eventually the pirates were fought off, but the actions of a small team resulted in the Coalition capturing a downed frigate, which revealed the Hegemony's involvement in the raid. Tempers flared in the Coalition resulting in a swift and brutal retaliation.

XXXXX

WAR ASSETS UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

LIBERTY PRIME CORPS: MILITARY STRENGTH 100: The most powerful machines ever built by the Coalition, there are just over a hundred Liberty Primes at the Coalition's disposal, each and every one of them with enough firepower to change the course of an entire battle.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Let this be a lesson to you my children, if you're going to go to war with a faction that you've had tension with for the past couple of years, make as much noise as you can. Screw it, you're going to war anyway, you might as well hit them hard. Well...not much to say here...uh...hope that the extended cut DLC is ok...my hopes aren't high but still...huh, I'm usually not lacking for a topic here, oh well.


	14. Interesting Circumstances

Chapter 14

Interesting Circumstances

Author's Note: Well the Extended Cut is out and I have seen the new endings, but I'll get to that at the end of the chapter, please do not read that Author's Note if you want to avoid spoilers. In the meantime we have a battle to fight.

XXXXX

Wrex allowed himself a small smile as he fired his claymore again, sending a Batarian flying onto his back. He was running through the mid ring, shooting any Batarian that got in his way. He was surprised at the lack of resistance that he was facing, but then again he couldn't help but feel that he shouldn't be. He looked up and his smile widened.

One of the Liberty Primes was only a couple of blocks away firing Tesla cannon blasts out of its eyes. "THOSE WHO PRACTICE SLAVERY DO NOT DESERVE TO LIVE!" It roared, reaching towards it's back and pulling out an object which it threw at something that Wrex couldn't see. There was a deafening explosion and a small mushroom cloud rose up around the tops of buildings.

"Huh," Wrex said, continuing to move forward, "bet they cut that feature out of the Codex." He watched as streams of fire rose up from the city, aimed at both the Liberty Primes and the shuttles streaking overhead. He was about to continue forward when and AA shell hit a shuttle that was flying directly overhead. The craft began to smoke but managed to stay in the air, continuing forward. However, Wrex could just barely make out a shape that was falling from the shuttle.

As he watched, a purple aura surrounded the shape as it hit the ground, a pulse spreading outward as it did. "A biotic?" Wrex muttered, walking forward, "I thought the Coalition didn't have much of them." As he neared the figure, it got to its feet, allowing him to get a better look at it. It was a Human that was wearing red and steel colored armor, mainly metal plates that tightly hugged the human's body and red cloth. The Human's face was covered by black face wrappings that were presumably see through. The Human also had a sword and an SMG at its side.

"Woah," the Human said, getting to its feet and looking at the smoking shuttle, "I must have fallen fifty feet at the very least...I gotta do that again sometime!" Wrex cocked his head slightly. The Human's voice was soft and light, he couldn't be sure through all the armor, but he was pretty sure that it was a female.

"That was a neat little trick you did there," Wrex said, prompting the woman to spin around, drawing her sword in her right hand and her SMG in the other, aiming it at him.

"Wait," she said, lowering her pistol, "you're not a Batarian."

"Very observant," Wrex said dryly.

"Well...how do I know that you're not a mercenary that the Hegemony hired for extra security?" Wrex idly kicked the Batarian that he had just killed. "Oh...ok I buy it. But what are you doing here anyway?"

"A friend of mine bit off a little more than she could chew, so I decided to bust her out. I figured that I owe her so here I am."

"Aw," the woman said, "that's romantic. So what's your name?"

Before Wrex could reply, a stream of shots hit their barriers, causing both of them to turn around. A squad of four Batarians was making their way towards them, weapons raised. Wrex brought his shotgun to bear and opened fire, sending another Batarian falling limply to the ground. Raising his assault rifle with his other hand, he opened fire on a second one, riddling him with holes.

As Wrex acted, the woman charged forward, weapons in both hands. As she ran, she raised her SMG and fired three bursts. The bullets hit the Batarian that was farther away from her, whittling down his shields with the first two and blowing the upper right section of his head off with the second.

The last remaining Batarian opened fired as the Human woman closed in on him, his bullets impacting on her shields. As she continued to charge, a biotic aura appeared around her sword arm, completely enveloping it and her weapon. As she neared the Batarian, she thrust her blade forward, aiming at the alien's gut. The sword tore through his armor and exited out his back.

The alien's rifle clattered to the ground as he sunk to his knees, clutching the bleeding wound before falling forward onto his face, where he lay motionless. "How did you do that?" Wrex asked, prompting the woman to look at him, "last time I checked, a plain old sword isn't very good at piercing armor."

"That's the beauty of Mass Effect technology," the woman said, holstering her SMG and walking over to Wrex, holding her sword in the flat of her hands. "It can be used to make metals more dense which makes them more able to pierce armor and tough flesh. I'm a Reman skirmisher so my light infantry division can afford to get our swords, we get more funding than the average soldier, though from what I hear there are a couple of other divisions that can get swords like this, like Shanxi officers and-" Wrex tilted his head slightly.

"Ah crap," the woman said, "I was running my mouth again wasn't I?" Wrex nodded. "Sorry," she said, taking one hand off of her sword and grabbing a red cloth from her waist. "I get overexcited when I talk about things that I like sometimes. People say that I'm hyperactive."

"And they're right," Wrex pointed out.

The woman laughed. "I guess they are."

"DEATH IS A PREFERABLE ALTERNATIVE TO SLAVERY!" Both of them looked up to see one of the nearby Liberty Primes fire a missile at a nearby Batarian gunship, which fell burning to the ground. "FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AGO OUR FATHERS ABOLISHED THIS DISGUSTING ACT! WE SHALL DO SO AGAIN TODAY!"

"We should probably get out of here," the woman said, wiping the blood off of her short sword before putting the cloth away and drawing her SMG again. "With the Primes in the area the Batarians are going to be swarming all over the place. The main Coalition strike force is landing in the middle of the city, so we should get there. They're going to be hijacking ships to get out of here and I'd rather not get left behind."

"What is the Coalition even doing here?" Wrex asked as the two of them began to run towards the center of the city, weapons at the ready.

"Did you hear about the attack on Elysium? Turns out it was funded by the Hegemony. I think it's supposed to be a secret but...considering that you're here in the middle of our invasion it really doesn't matter that much."

"Well that'd do it. The Batarians always were a little on the cocky side. You might have held your own against the Turians but the Batarians have attacked Turian colonies in the past and gotten away with it, which is probably why they thought that they could get away with attacking you. Interesting to see that you're not pretending that they don't exist like the Council does. So what's the plan? Grab everyone that they took from you and make a run for it?"

"Actually, from what I heard we're supposed to rescue every slave that we can. The upper guys are really mad and since we're attacking a planet in the center of Hegemony territory, we might as well make the most of it." The woman flashed a grin under her mask. "So it looks like we have a common goal, I can help you save your girlfriend."

"She isn't my mate, she's an Asari and I don't go for them. Too fragile. She's just a merc friend who took a job that was too big to handle, even I wouldn't have taken it."

"She's not your...awwwwwwww," the woman said, sounding genuinely disappointed. "If she was this would've been so romantic. She took a mission but despite her throwing everything she had at it, her love comes in guns blazing, manages to free her from her shackles, gives her a gun, then they have to fight off a horde of slavers, back to back with them calling from all directions-"

"I get the idea," Wrex grunted.

The woman chuckled, "Sorry. Anyway I don't think I caught your name."

"Urdnot Wrex."

"Cornelia Lepidus."

XXXXX

Saren blinked as the shuttle that he was in slid to a halt. Around a dozen other people were in the same shuttle as he was, several of them Batarian's with assault rifles and Had'dah, but the rest were scientists wearing field gear, most of them Asari and Salarians. Had'dah turned to look at him, a wide smile on his face. "Well, we've docked. I hope that you didn't mind the long trip."

"No, I'm used to it," Saren said, looking around. "When is the rest of the team coming over from the yacht?"

"Oh, this is everyone," Had'dah explained, "anyone else who is working on this little project is already onboard.

"Really?" Saren asked, "seems like quite a skeleton team."

"Like I said before, I'm trying not to draw too much attention to this. Besides, with the people that took the initial scans already here and working on it, we should have enough resources to figure out what we're dealing with and once we do we can figure out where to go from there."

As the Batarian continued to talk, there was a hissing noise and the airlock slid opened onto a long winding corridor made out of black and gray material. Saren hesitantly took a step out of the shuttle and into the ship, looking up. "This doesn't look like Geth design, or any design that I've ever seen before."

"I thought that they Geth hadn't been seen in centuries, how would you know what they looked like?" Had'dah asked, walking to where Saren stood.

"The Council was able to acquire very thorough scans from the Quarians before they lost their embassy. We know what Geth ships look like, or at least what they looked like during the Geth War when they were designing them for the first time. I admit when I first heard about this ship I thought that it was a Geth but now that I see it up close...somehow I 't feel like it isn't. The Geth are supposed to be a race that design their ships in the most practical way possible while using as little resources as they can. This ship doesn't seem like that, the outside in particular looks a little off with those six metal arms that we saw on the way in. And let me ask you something, this air that we're breathing in right now, where is it coming from?"

"My first team was able to restart a couple of the ship's more basic functions, including life support and artificial gravity."

"Exactly," Saren said, "this ship recycles oxygen. Now let me ask you something, why would the Geth design a ship that produces oxygen, even though they don't need it to survive?"

"Huh. I see your point. Do you have any theories on who did build this ship then? Was it the Protheans?"

"Somehow I doubt that," Saren said as he and Had'dah began to walk forward into the depths of the ships, the others right behind them. "We've found caches of Prothean technology all over the galaxy and they don't resemble this ship in anyway."

"Perhaps a race that lived in-between our time and their time then," Had'dah suggested, "or maybe even before the Protheans...in fact the creators of this ship could have waged a war with the Protheans that wiped them all out. We never did know what happened to the them."

"Interesting ideas, but for the moment we don't have any evidence to back them up."

"I am of the mindset that one should always keep an open mind when exploring the unknown."

"I can understand that, but there is a difference between being open to unlikely possibilities and making conclusions before you have learned anything."

The group continued to make their way down a corridor until they made their way into a room that already had around half a dozen scientists working on portable terminals. "Have you found out anything else yet?" Had'dah asked as the scientists that he had brought with him began to spread out, setting up their equipment.

"Not much," an Asari said, getting to her feet. "From what we can tell this room used to be the bridge, but there's something particularly interesting about it. We've managed to detect that it is right above two massive data cores that make up a significant portion of the ship's center."

"Really?" Had'dah asked, looking interested.

"Yes. One of them seems to act as a databank storing all of the information that the ship has. We've only been able to get bits and pieces of data off of it though, the firewalls are still active and very strong. But we managed to get this." The Asari activated her omni-tool and brought up a map of the Milky Way Galaxy. Around two dozen red markers appeared in various places all over the galaxy. "We managed to find these, a series of coordinates that point out...something. I honestly have no idea what."

"Is there any pattern to those positions?" Saren asked.

"Not from what I can tell. Some of them seem to be near planets, some near Brown Dwarfs and some of them even point to the empty space between star systems. I have no idea what they are, but all of them seem to be a good distance away from habitited space, about the only thing that they have in common. Kind of like this ship."

"For the moment I would like to concentrate on this ship, but when the time comes I will be sure to investigate those positions," Had'dah said.

"I agree, but I also want to talk to you about something else. The second data core is...well it's completely fired. All the circuits have shorted out and what little scraps of data we can pull out are nothing more that bits of random code. I'm guessing that that has something to do with why this ship is derelict, but it's odd. There's no sign of damage anywhere else on the ship and we didn't find any traces of remains. It doesn't make sense to abandon a mostly intact ship, one that is a dreadnought class from what we've seen of it."

"Well, keep going. There's a lot to find out here and we all stand to gain much."

"Yes. Oh, just so your friend knows, some of the other scientists have come up with a nickname for this ship."

"Really? What would that be?"

"Sovereign."

XXXXX

"All right, everyone out, now!" the pilot of a Coalition shuttle said, looking over his shoulder at his passengers. Charon, Fawkes, Jane, John, Sheryl and Adam did not need to be told twice, and they all jumpws out, landing with a thud on the ground. As the shuttle's door slid shut, the team took a minute to take in their surroundings.

The upper class state of the center ring was obvious even from a distance. Every last building was a towering skyscraper that shone brightly in the evening sun. Many of them served as penthouses or as other forms of relaxation centers for the aristocrats of the Hegemony, but a few of them were clearly armored and meant for military use.

They were standing in the middle of a massive plaza, the very center of which had a collection of metal platforms gathered together in a circle. From what could be seen from this distance, the platforms had wheels attached to the bottoms and anchors for chains bolted into the top, a handful of people still attached to them. There were auction platforms. Behind them were massive cages filled with dozens of people each, along with countless smaller ones, each with an individual prisoner.

The plaza was in a state of chaos, Coalition soldiers of all calibers were landing everywhere, opening fire on any Batarians that had a gun. Many of the aristocrats were panicking and running in whatever direction that was open to them, having never been under the stress of fire before. The guards and soldiers that were present were standing their ground and fighting back, but they were massively outnumbered. Gunships of both Coalition and Hegemony allegiance clashed overhead, keeping a safe distance from plaza out of fear that they may accidentally harm those on their side. The Coalition had planned this attack out in advance, and they had decided not to give the Batarians any chance for victory, so that had made sure that the Batarians would be massively outnumbered and outgunned.

Before the team could so much as move a shot rang out and a Coalition soldier that had been taking cover behind a statue of a Batarian general slumped over dead. "Sniper!" Jane shouted, "Sheryl!" Her command was unnecessary though, the very second the shot had rung out, she had raised her rifle and aimed it at the origin of the shot, the tops of one of the buildings that surrounded the plaza. It took her three seconds to raise her rifle, find her target, and fire the shot. She watched as the alien soldier fell from his lofty position, heading towards the ground. Even if by some miracle the shot hadn't killed him, the fall certainly would.

Sheryl watched with cold indifference, feeling no guilt. The man that she had just killed had been defending slavery, she had no reason to feel sorry for him. Besides, she was a sniper, she could not afford to feel guilt about the targets that she killed, if she did she would've gone mad long ago. Many would cold her a psychopath for taking this mindset, but it was not uncommon among snipers, who were forced on a regular basis to kill. Front line soldiers could justify their kills by reasoning that they had been forced to kill in self defense due to the other soldier attempting to kill them. Snipers didn't have that excuse, their targets usually had no idea where they were and many times didn't even know that they were there. In many was it was cold blooded, but that was the job that she had. If she felt guilty for every person she ever killed, it would had driven her insane a long time ago. Her apathy for her kills was a defense mechanism, nothing more.

"Nice shot! I'm glad you're on our side!" Jane shouted. Sheryl jumped slightly, looking at the other woman.

"I-I, oh thank you," she stuttered, her face flushing slightly.

Jane frowned slightly under her helmet. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, fine. Just...just a little...surprised."

'She blows a guy's brains out without batting an eyelash, but starts stuttering when I give her a compliment,' Jane incredulously thought to herself. She found herself glancing at Charon, who Sheryl had been talking to over the past couple of days, who gave her an "I'll explain later" gesture.

"All right, everyone move up towards the center plaza. John, Fawkes, you're in front with me. Sheryl, you're in the middle, I want you to take down anyone that makes a move at us. Adam and Charon, you're in the rear, if anyone tries to sneak up on us or flank us they're all yours. We need to move up and get those cages open!"

As Jane had been given command of the team, all five of the others obeyed her orders without hesitation, quickly falling into formation. "Ah crap, we've got company!" John shouted, "Blood Pack!" Three Krogan wielding shotguns, who were standing over a small pile of dead Coalition soldiers, spotted Jane's team in the distance.

"Take them down!" Jane shouted as she raised her plasma rifle, the rest of her team following suit. The Blood Pack mercenaries did not seem intimidated by their opposition, if anything they seemed interested. All three of them let out war cries before charging forward, shotguns aimed. A wall of fire came crashing down on them, but Krogan armor was thick and they themselves were durable. Even though energy weapons could bypass kinetic barriers, only one of the Krogan fell during their rush.

One of the two Krogan smashed into John while the other one hit Fawkes, forcing both of them onto their backs. The Krogan standing over John leveled his shotgun at his helmet, pulling the trigger, but as he did, John reached up with one hand and swatted the gun away. As it fired, the pellets slammed into the side of his helmet, peppering it with dents and cracking the left eye plate. John pulled both of his legs back and kicked out, catching the Krogan in the chest.

The alien let out a grunt and stumbled back, aiming his shotgun and firing another blast as he did. John saw the Krogan preparing his weapon and deciding not to test his armor he rolled out of the way, the shots hitting the ground where he had been a second before. The Krogan recovered its balance and prepared to fire again, but before it could the butt of a rifle smashed into its face. It fell to the ground and had just enough time to see Jane straightening out her plasma rifle before she fired it into its face five times, killing him.

While this was happening Fawkes was dealing with the other Krogan. It too aimed its shotgun at its target's chest firing a shot. The pellets hit Fawkes' barriers and a few even pierced his skin, but Fawkes was unfazed. The Meta-Human let out a roar as he lashed out at the Krogan, releasing his gatling laser as he did. He smashed into the alien, forcing it to the ground with him on top.

The Krogan swung his shotgun like a club and managed to smack Fawkes in the face with it. He let out a roar of rage as he brought one of his fists down and punched the Krogan in the face, causing a loud crack to ring in his ears. Fawkes let out another roar as he began to rain down punch after punch on the Krogan's face. He spotted that the alien had dropped his shotgun out of the corner of his eye and grabbed it, raising it over his hand and smashing the Krogan in the face with it over and over again.

Finally, Fawkes threw the weapon away, looking at the mutilated remains of the Krogans face. Slowly, hesitantly, Fawkes reached towards his gatling laser, picking it up again. Charon silently approached him from behind. "You all right?" he asked quietly.

"I do not know," Fawkes answered. "Even after all these years, every time I fight I feel my savage side pulling at me. It is...deeply disturbing."

"Hey," Charon said, slapping Fawkes on the back, "you're not like the other East Cost mutants. You got the GECK for the kid when you could have just snapped his neck when you let him out. You went to Raven's Rock to save him, you marched on the purifier with us, and you've stuck by me, the Confederacy and the Coalition all this time. The rest of the East Coast mutants were mindless animals that lived for the slaughter, but you? You're one in a million Fawkes, there is literally not a single person like you."

A small smile spread across Fawkes' face. "Thank you...friend."

"You all right?" Jane asked, reaching down and grabbing her brother's hand, pulling him to his feet.

"Yeah, but just so you know I had that under control," he said, taking off his damaged helmet.

"Sure you did," Jane said dryly, looking at the helmet. "What, are you going to give that to your special other?"

"Maybe," John said, "that shotgun blasts fried one of the optics so it's kind of useless now. Do you think she'll like it?"

"I-wha-NO SHE WOULDN'T! She's not that type of person John. You can't just give her random pieces of equipment and call it a gift!"

"You have a girlfriend?"

John looked to see Adam looking at him with curiosity.

"Yeah," he said, a smile spreading across his face. "Gotta say I'm a real lucky man if a woman like her gives me the time of day. Her name is-"

"We can gossip later," Jane snapped, right now we have a mission to do.

XXXXX

Reman Skirmishers: The colony Remus, known to some as New Rome, was one of the first ever established by the Coalition, but unbeknownst to much of the galaxy, it began as a social experiment. When the Coalition was spreading into space, many still remembered the destructive force of Caesar's Legion and how they nearly defeated the New California Republic. Many agree that this was because of Caesar's policy, that everyone in a community works towards the same end goal. Remus was an attempt to mimic Ceaser's Legion, albeit with the more unpleasant aspects of it removed, such as sexism, slavery, conscription and the shunning of technology.

Remus is currently the Coalition's seventh largest colony, with a total population of two billion. It copies many aspects of ancient Rome, including architecture, clothing and a good deal of it's culture updated to match modern perspectives. The planet's greatest attraction is the Colosseum, an exact replica of the original one. Like the original, there is no charge for admission and it hosts everything from chariot races, to nonlethal elactrostaff combat, to concerts. However, the most popular sport on the planet are the races, which involve customized cars equipped with machine-guns, rocket launchers, oil slicks and all sorts of other weapons racing around the city. Because of the initial death toll, the cars are now controlled remotely from virtual reality pods. The Colosseum attracts millions of tourists each year, Coalition and alien alike.

Remus also has one of the largest light infantry divisions in the Coalition, the Reman skirmishers. Each one of them is equipped with a short sword and is well trained in using it. Their armor is similar to that worn by roman legionaries, but is much more compact and, thanks to modern technology, lighter. The skirmishers, as their name suggests, are built to move quickly and hit hard, making a hasty retreat if they have to. Because of their rigorous training, they are usually very fit and are not tired easily. They are considered by some to be the toughest soldiers in the Coalition.

XXXXX

Author's Note: I'm going to be doing my thing talking about the extended cut ending so if you want to avoid spoilers please leave now. Are they gone? Good. Now keep in mind that this is all just my opinion and I do not resent anyone for thinking differently.

Now then the extended cut. I...it's defiantly an improvement, but I can't help but feel like it's not quite good, it just isn't what I was personally looking for in the end to the Mass Effect trilogy. I know that some people are saying that this fixes the series for them but...it's just not cutting it for me. Don't get me wrong I'm glad that the Relays are only damaged and that the Normandy isn't stranded, but Synthesis still makes no sense and now that I think about it neither does control and it still bugs me that the only ending where Shepard lives (if you can call a body taking a single breath living. I don't care if they decided not to put his name on the memorial, it's still indecisive and wishy washy, this is the end of Shepard's story so don't pull that "use your imagination" card, I payed $80 to get a complete story) is the one where you commit large scale genocide. I don't get why after all the crap Shepard has been through, she/he still has to die. Also, the refuse ending is wasted potential. Bioware could have saved themselves there, made it so that everyone would forgive them. They could have made it so that the united fleet was able to destroy the Reapers without using the crucible, breaking free of the traps that were the Citadel the Relays and the Catalyst and forging their own path among the stars, a ending that could only be achieved with the highest possible EMS...but no, Bioware said "what, you don't want to use the Crucible? Fuck you then, everyone in the galaxy dies and you get to look at Liara's VI, now go back and pick one of our endings". For the most part while watching them I felt an odd combination of depression and apathy, but the refuse ending managed to get me to grind my teeth in rage again.

It really shows my problem with the ending when the whole point of the game, IE bringing the galaxy together, turns out to be pointless and a massive waste of time. What is the point of gathering all these people together if the Reapers are just too tough to beat? I know that we were relying on the crucible but if you look up the war assets you see that only a small fraction of them have to do with it, and Hackett flat out said that if it didn't work (which it didn't) then they would just have to hit the Reapers with everything that they've got, and they've got hundreds if not thousands of warships, why couldn't they make it so that if you've got the highest possible war assets then you can refuse to use the crucible and the combined powers of the galaxy are able to defeat the Reapers once and for all. Why not? People say "oh the Reapers can't be defeated by conventional weaponry" when I seem to recall seeing Reapers get destroyed in game and reading in the codex that the Turians were able to destroy quite a few Reapers by themselves, some of them capital ships. And when the Krogan helped them out, they were able to destroy countless Reapers on the ground, even when Thessia fell the Asari were able to rack up some kills, these things can be defeated. All of this is in the in game codex, google "Codex Reaper War" if you don't believe me. And this is a fleet that neither the galaxy nor the Reapers has seen before, it's the combined power of all the galaxy brought to bear, and need I remind you that the Reapers usually turn off the Mass Relays before each invasion? I'm pretty sure they did that to prevent such a thing from happening, meaning that it posed a threat to them.

I just...I just don't know what to think anymore. I don't get what modern writers have against a straightforward ending, they always need to throw a twist at us in the last ten seconds. I just feel so tired, Mass Effect used to have a special place in my heart, I cared about the characters and universe in a way that no other video game ever managed to do for me...but now there's just an empty hole. I'm done with EA, I'm done with Bioware, this isn't some sort of "let's teach them the errors of their way" boycott it's just...I'm sick of this. I'm sick of being disappointed, I'm sick of thinking about how a story that I loved was stepped on, I'm sick of being told that I'm entitled for not liking it and for wanting Bioware to change it, I'm just tired of it all. I can't even bring myself to get angry anymore, I just feel a hollow emptiness. Mass Effect used to encourage me to be the best writer that I could...it still does, but now it does for all the wrong reasons. The Extended Cut is just too little too late...pardon me I need to go cry.


	15. Freedom's Strike

Chapter 15

Freedom's Strike

Author's Note: Sorry about the long update time. I got my wisdom teeth out on Friday and after that I really wasn't in the mood for writing. Didn't help that I wasn't allowed to eat anything harder than pancakes and that I had to keep myself on painkillers. I got into a Dark Souls binge and started to lose my temper after getting my ass handed to me by the Four Kings so I decided to get back to writing after that.

XXXXX

"Aw man, we're late to the party," Cornelia whined as she and Wrex dashed through the smoldering remains of a thick metal gate that had separated the mid ring from the center ring, dozens of dead Batarians surrounding it. It looked like it had been hit by one the the Liberty Prime's mini-nukes.

"Well then guess we need to make up for lost time," Wrex said as they ran into the plaza, which was filled with thousands of Batarian and Coalition troops fighting. One of the Batarians spotted the two of them and started to turn to face them. Before he could though, Wrex let out a roar and smashed into him. The Krogan could hear the sounds of bones snapping as the alien soldier fell to the ground, even though he didn't pause as he continued to run.

"So this friend of yours, what does she look like?" Cornelia asked.

"Dark indigo Asari, has purple markings on her face. Nasty scar on her right cheek."

"What kind of scar? Gunshot? Knife? Burn?"

"Gunshot from the time I tried to kill her."

"Ok, I'll keep an eye out for-WHAT?!" Cornelia turned to look at Wrex, her mask hiding her widened eyes.

"What? We're both mercenaries. One time I got hired to take her out. We talked about it beforehand and even did it on a station filled with a bunch of assholes. She got away just fine and the guy who hired me died of old age. We laugh about it whenever we get together for drinks."

"Forget what I said earlier, you'd make a lousy boyfriend," Cornelia said, sounding horrorstruck. "No offense but if someone tried to kill me I don't think I'd ever be able to look them in the face again."

"That's because you only live a century and a half. When you live as long as Krogan and Asari do you learn to get over these kinds of things."

Cornelia resisted the urge to shake her head, swinging her sword at a nearby Batarian as she ran past him, silting his throat. "So...exactly how did she get caught again?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," Wrex said, laughing as he fired his shotgun, killing another Batarian. "She got contracted to kill a high ranking Hegemony military officer. Not sure who hired her though, probably some terrorist cell or insurgent with a grudge against the Hegemony. Aleena was never one to back down from a job and the payment was enough for year to take a century long vacation. She killed the bastard but she tripped the alarm on her way in and got swarmed."

"How did you figure this out?"

"Guy that hired her tracked me down. He managed to figure out where she was being held. He wanted me to rescue her for some reason he didn't tell me, he said he wanted the person who killed his target to get away, something about sending a message. He paid me a fair chunk of change too."

"Wait, you're only here because you're being paid to rescue her?"

"Of course not," Wrex said, sounding slightly offended, "I would've come here and saved her for free."

"Then how come this guy payed you?"

Wrex grinned. "Because I didn't tell him that." The two of them continued forward, most of the Batarians too concerned with fighting the masses of Coalition forces to focus on them. Before too long, they reached the center of the plaza, where the platforms were.

A couple of guards were standing nearby, looking at the battle that was taking place around them with looks of obvious fear in their eyes. Clearly they were the handlers of the slaves and they had been caught completely off guard by such a massive invasion with no idea of what to do.

Wrex and and Cornelia raised their weapons and opened fire, gunning them down within seconds. "Get us out of here!" A Turian with his arms chained to one of the platforms shouted, panic obvious in his eyes.

"Hold on!" Cornelia shouted, jumped onto the platform and taking her sword in both hands. A thick purple aura appeared around them as she thrust down, the tip of her sword shattering the base of the chain.

Wrex was right behind her, aiming his claymore at the bolt that was keeping a Standard Human fastened to the ground. both of them continued to work their way down the platform, which had about a dozen slaves on it, freeing them one by one. "Wrex, WREX! Get your oversized ass over here!"

Wrex turned to look at the end of the platform, a sly grin covering his face. "Aleena, gotta say I like the new look." The Asari at the end seemed to have been given special treatment and was wearing a skimpy outfit, not much more than pieces of purple cloth wrapped around her chest and nether regions.

"Ha ha ha, you're cracking me up," the Asari said dryly, "Are you going to get me out of here or not?"

"I dunno. I kind of like the way that you look now...then again if I don't help you soon you'll probably crush my testicles the moment that you get out of there,"

"All four of them," Aleena said, even as Wrex aimed his shotgun at her chains and pulled the trigger. The Asari stood up, stretching her arms both of the chains that had once been dug into the ground hanging loosely from both sides.

"Ah, that's better. You have no idea how uncomfortable that can get." Lowering her hands, she grabbed a black collar that had been placed around her neck and ripped it off.

"What was that?" Cornelia asked, glancing at the other freed slaves, "no one else is wearing it."

"It's a choker, represses biotic abilities. Don't ask me how it works I don't know." Jumping down off the platform, she grabbed an assault rifle that was lying next to one of the dead Batarians. "Wow, do these guys ever update?" she asked, looking the rifle over. "This thing is at least five years out of date." She looked down at the dead Batarian. "Must have been a private contractor down on his luck. Probably trying to make some cash off of my ass." She looked up, "So who's your friend Wrex?"

"Coalition trooper, but we can save the pleasantries for later when we-INCOMING!"

Cornelia and Aleena wheeled around to see a massive mech approaching them, its hands opening up to reveal massive machine guns. "Stand down or be killed," it said in a thick prerecorded command, "this is your only warning."

"What is that thing?!" Cornelia shouted, firing several bursts from her SMG at it.

"A YMIR!" Aleena replied, both she and Wrex opening fire. "Heavy mech! Batarians must have gotten desperate and started deploying them to keep things under control!"

"Situation has escalated, collateral damage now acceptable," the mech droned as it opened fire with its main guns.

"Get down!" Cornelia shouted as at the group of freed slaves, who were positively horrorstruck at the sight of the mech. Her words snapped them out of their stupor and the dove behind the platform. Fortunately, for them at least, the YMIR seemed more interested in eliminating the three armed individuals in front of it. Wrex Cornelia and Aleena dove behind a truck that had been used to ferry the slave as the mech opened fire.

"Any plans on how to deal with this thing?" Cornelia asked, looking at Aleena.

"It's got heavy shielding and thick armor but it's run by a VI so it's not too bright. Small arms can bring them down if you focus them enough, but one mess up and it'll rip you in half."

"I'm not equipped for something like this," the legionary grumbled, looking at her SMG.

"That's what makes it so fun," Wrex said, leaning out of cover and firing his Claymore at the mech, causing it to take a couple of steps back. It quickly recovered its balance though and opened fire at the Krogan, who was forced back into cover. Cornelia and Aleena hastily popped out of the other side of the truck and fired their weapons at the mech, who was distracted with the Krogan. It turned and began to fire on them as they scrambled back behind the truck.

"We can't hold out like this!" Cornelia said as more bullets slammed into the side of the vehicle, which was now beginning to smoke.

"The kid has a point," Wrex said, glancing at Aleena, "this thing is going to blow at any second. What do you say we hit this thing with everything that we got?"

"Unlike you Wrex I don't mind living for another couple centuries," Aleena snapped, "but then again I was planning on doing it free. If the alternative is being some Batarian's sex toy...aw what the Hell. What about you squirt?"

Cornelia let out a slight sigh, a small smile hidden behind her mask. "You two are freaking crazy. Aw well, if this works I'll have one heck of a story to tell the guys back home."

"All right then, you two go right and I'll go left, try to focus on this thing's head," Wrex said. "If we can take that off then maybe we can-" before Wrex could finish his sentence, a stream of lasers as well as a few orbs of green energy streamed through the air, hitting the YMIR in the chest. The mech stumbled back as the energy blasts continued to pummel it until it finally fell over, the lights in its face going out.

"Huh," Cornelia said, looking at the destroyed mech, "that...that was kind of anti-climatic."

"You almost sound disappointed," Aleena said looking at the Human woman.

"Well, when I get stuck in a situation where it's a matter of life and death I kind of expect the battle of my life no matter if I win or lose...this just feels kind of weird."

"You're certainly an odd one," the Asari remarked.

"I am not odd I'm...well ok maybe a little." Cornelia said. "Who did that anyway?" She got to her feet along with Wrex and Aleena to see a group of Coalition troopers heading in their direction. "Ah," she said, grinning widely, "backup."

XXXXX

"I have to admit I'm surprised that you came to see me here," Raul said, sitting down in a chair. He was on the Citadel in the Coalition embassy, a Quarian woman on the other side of his desk. "I would've though that it would be difficult to make time to leave the Migrant Fleet."

The woman smiled under her mask. "It was easier than you make it out to be. The Fleet isn't that far away and it is currently stopped for a week while we harvest a gas giant for Helium-3. Besides It's not like I made this trip purely out of personal pleasure."

"Ah. The Migrant fleet wants to make a trade with the Coalition again? Raul said.

"We do," the Quarian woman said, activating her omni-tool. "Our engineers are always looking for corners to cut when it comes to starships. We don't have very many resources so we do everything that we can to implement designs into our ships that will be easier on our limited supplies. Engines that use less fuel, weapons that use less metal, ships that take less to build and maintain, all sorts of things."

"I take it you came up with something that you're willing to share with us," Raul guessed.

"Correct," the Quarian said, pressing a button on her omni-tool and causing a hologram of a frigate to appear. "We have discovered a way to make ships theoretically invisible to radar. It could be possible to contain it's heat signatures within sinks to keep it hidden. It would be impossible to fire its weapons without giving away its position but it would still be able to conduct espionage and execute behind the line insertions."

"Hm," Raul said, clearly interested. 'The Coalition might be able to find a use for that, but I have to ask why you haven't built a ship like this yourself?"

"As I said before, the Quarian people have limited resources and this project will no doubt take billions of credits to complete. The stealth systems work in such a manner that they simply can't be added to a ship that has already been built, they need to be directly integrated into the main power core. This means that you would have to build a new ship from the ground up if you want this idea to work. The Migrant Fleet simply can't afford that kind of drain."

"I see," Raul said. "So, what do you want in return for this?"

"The Forced Evolutionary Virus?" the Quarian said, slightly jokingly.

"You know that the Coalition doesn't trust anyone with the-"

"I know, I know," the woman said. "I wasn't being serious. One of our scouting groups was ambushed by Eclipse ships while searching for resupply points. The patrol fleet was able to fight them off but several of our survey and mining ships were badly damaged and we may need to scuttle them. If you can give us ten mining barges and well ten survey cruisers, I'd be more than happy to give you these plans."

"I see," Raul said, absentmindedly staring into space.

"Is something wrong?" the Quarian asked, "you seem to have your mind on something else?"

"Oh it's nothing," he assured, "it's just that I have a nagging feeling that sometime in the next five hours the Council is going to be very unhappy with me."

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm afraid it's classified, or at least it is now. Trust me in a couple of days I'm pretty sure you'll know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I'm certain I can arrange that."

"Excellent," the woman said smiling and getting to her feet. I'll be sure to send you the coordinates for the trade. It isn't going to be where the main fleet is docked of course. You understand, the Admiralty board is very concerned about security. One raid that does too much damage will push us over the edge."

"I understand. Thank you for your time Ambassador 'Zorah."

"Oh for Keelah's sake said call me Sirona. Whenever someone calls me 'Zorah I look around for my husband,"

Raul grinned slightly. "Very well. Thank you for your time. If you don't mind me asking, how is your daughter?"

Even through her mask, Raul could see Sirona's eyes practically light up with pride. "She finished her pilgrimage last month. Her father insisted on sending her out earlier than most. I suspect that the Coalition's appearance has had something to do with that. I mean no offense," she added, "it's just that with a power like yourself in galactic politics, everyone is being more careful."

"I understand. How did that go? I heard that since she's an Admiral's daughter her gift had to be above par."

"She managed to bring back some of the Coalition's agricultural technology. If she's telling me the truth, and she's not a very good liar, she spent some time on a farming colony and helped repair a reactor there that was on the brink of failing. One of the locals gave her a device that would allow us to grow plants that would bear more fruit and use up less nutrients. I think it was called a...GECK."

A small played around the edges of Raul's face. "Well, I'm glad to hear that she's doing all right."

"Yes, but it is a little odd. You people are so heavy handed with your technology, then you simply give my daughter a gift that allowed her to complete her pilgrimage."

"Well, we're more concerned about the FEV and our energy weapons being used against us. You can't really wage war on someone with crops." Raul was about to continue talking when his COM unit beeped. Putting his finger to his ear, he as someone on the other end spoke to him. As he did, a grimace spread across his face.

"Is something wrong?"

"Forgive me ambassador, the council wants to speak with me. I'll be in touch with you." Without another word, Raul got to his feet and stepped out of his office.

XXXXX

"Sheryl is it down?" Jane asked, looking at the albino sniper to her left, who was raising her sniper scope to her eye.

"Yeah, it's not moving," she said, lowering her rifle. "You got it."

"All right, everyone move up!" Her team began to move forward again, heading towards the platforms and the downed mech. "Hey! You all ok?!"

"We're fine!" A Reman skirmisher said, standing up from where she had been taking cover from behind a badly damaged truck. "You're the ones that took that mech down? Man, that was freaking awesome!"

'An overenthusiastic one,' Jane thought as they approached the truck, an Asari and a Krogan. "What's the situation here?"

"Well, this is Wrex, a mercenary that got hired to free Aleena over here," the skirmisher said. "I ran into him on the way here and he helped me free her and some others that are hiding behind the platform other there. That's the short version anyway. I'm Cornelia by the way."

"I see," Jane said, looking at the platform that Cornelia had been talking about and spotting several people nervously sticking their heads out from behind it. "All right then, I'm going to need your help. We need to get to the these people to the shipyard."

"What about the other prisoners?" John asked.

"I wouldn't worry about them too much," Adam said, "look around. Haven't you noticed that we've been able to stand here and talk without being interrupted for the past five minutes?" As he spoke the others lowered their weapons and turned on the spot, gazing around them. The Batarians that they could see were all running away heading away from the plaza and towards the mid ring. Many Coalition troopers were firing on the retreating forces put most of them had made their way to the center of the plaza

"They're...they're all retreating," John said, "why?"

"They probably took heavy causalities when we launched our initial assault. Besides, I think those guys probably had something to do with it," Jane said, sticking her thumb at the edge of the city where one of the Liberty Primes was firing tesla blasts downward.

"ANALYSIS COMPLETE! ESTIMATED SLAVE COUNT ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THREE! PROBABILITY OF SUCCESSFUL EXTRACTION! ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!"

"Ever since we landed they've been pounding the crap out of the main military forces on this planet and stopping them from reinforcing their position here. That would dishearten anyone, especially people who didn't even know that Liberty Primes existed ten minutes ago. Still that doesn't mean we should start patting ourselves on the back. We're in the middle of Hegemony territory, we need to get out of here just in case a fleet is on the way or reinforcements from another city."

Jane stepped forward, looking at the freed slaves who were poking their heads out from behind the platform nervously. "Everyone, I am 1st Lieutenant Jane Shepard of the Coalition military. I know that you're all very scared but we are here to help you. We are going to take you to the spaceport of this city and use the ships there to get you off planet. From there we can get you back home, ok?"

One by one the slaves began to climb out from behind the stage, shaking slightly. "All right then," she said looking around and spotting several other trucks, similar to the one that Cornelia and the others had been taking cover behind. It looked like it was specifically designed to move the slaves, it's cargo section was big enough to hold at least fifty of them. It was currently closed with a thick metal lock.

"Fawkes, get that open," Jane said before turning to look at the small group in front of her again. "I need you all to get in the truck. I understand that many of you probably don't want to go in there but we need to get you out of here as fast as possible." As she spoke, Fawkes walked forward and grabbed the lock, pulling on it with a loud grunt, but nothing happened. Grimacing in frustration, Fawkes pulled even harder, the veins in his muscles plainly visible.

"Let me get that," Wrex said. Fawkes glanced at the Krogan with a surprised look on his face before taking a step back. Wrex leveled his Claymore so that it was no more than a foot away from the lock and pulled the trigger. The blast was so powerful that it was blown clean off, falling to the ground. "That thing was probably meant to hold Meta-Humans," Wrex explained, pulling the door open, revealing the inside of the truck to be little more than empty space with two long metal benches on both sides. "They probably wanted to get some of your kind up for sale. I can see the appeal, but after today I know for a fact that it was a stupid move." He grinned at Fawkes, "you people don't mess around."

"No, we don't," Fawkes said softly. "If we are attacked, we will strike back with everything that we have."

"I think I like the Coalition." As they continued to talk, the slaves slowly began to climb into the back, gently sitting down on the benches. One of them, a Turian with dark red markings on his face, looked inside the only other thing in the truck, a thick metal crate. As he did, he let out a small yelp and hastily kicked it out of the truck. It bounced off of the ground and it's contents, dark gray shackles, spilled everywhere.

"John, you're with me in the front," Jane said, "I want everyone else in the back." She looked at Wrex and Aleena. "You're not technically with us but you did help us. I'd be more than happy to give you a ride off of this planet. Aleena gave her a brief nod before climbing into the truck along with Wrex and the Coalition soldiers before Jane gently shut the door. Both she and John walked around to the front of the truck and climbed in, Jane in the driver's seat.

"Gotta say, John said, taking off his helmet and looking out the window as Jane started the truck, seeing Coalition soldiers loading more slaves onto other trucks, "what we did today? It feels pretty damn good."

"You certainly have a lighthearted way to think about it," his sister said, slipping off her own helmet as the engine roared to life and the vehicle began to move forward. "The Batarians aren't going to take being invaded very well and we still don't know how the Council is going to react to this."

"Oh come on, you heard what the Liberty Prime said. There were a thousand slaves at this place, the Batarians were going to sell a thousand people as objects, and only some of them were Coalition. We're giving the Council their own people back, even they would have to be ungrateful sons of bitches to retaliate for that. Besides, because of what we did every last person that was captured here today gets to go back home. They get their lives back, they can see their families again and live free. You're honestly going to tell me that you're not glad that you had a part in that?"

"Well," Jane said, the corner of her lips faintly moving upward to form the ghost of a smile, "it's not the worst feeling in the world. But I'm not like you, I need to keep a level head and focus on the smart thing to do. I may not like it John, but doing what feels right and doing what I need to do are sometimes very different things. I can't just run off and do whatever I feel like doing."

"Jane, you've always been the smart one, the one that always told me that I need to stop acting like an idiot all the time and think things through more. If it wasn't for you my stupidity probably would've gotten me killed before I hit eighteen and I acknowledge that. But you don't always need to be so uptight you know. All life isn't going to end if you relax every once in awhile and just take it easy. We're not at war you know."

"I know!" Jane shouted, "it's just that...the galaxy is a dangerous place. There's pirates, mercenary groups, the Council hates our guts the Batarians want to turn us into their pets, the second that we let down our guards-"

"Jane, please just stop," John said. As he spoke, the truck slid to a stop in front of the spaceport, dozens of ships clearly visible just from the front. "It's true that we're not on the best of terms with everyone, but the Council wants peace with us, they're not going to try and risk war with us. The Batarians are just like a playground bully, they shove other kids when no one else is looking because they think that they can get away with it, but today we showed them that if they mess with us, we'll hit them back. Hard. We've got proof of what they did, the Council isn't going to stick their necks out for people that stupid."

"Things aren't as bad as you think they are sis, so I'm begging you, please just relax a little bit. We did something pretty good today, it's not an invitation for another attack, it's ensuring our security. We showed the galaxy that we're not going to let fear rule us. Besides if the Batarians want war, let them try to fight us. We gave the Turians a bloody nose and they have five times as many dreadnoughts as them. We fought the Hegemony off when they tried to take one of our boarder colonies but they couldn't even defend one of their biggest worlds from us. What are you so worried about?"

Jane let out a sigh, a full fledged smile appearing on her face. "You know, you can be pretty smart when you want to be," she said, looking at her brother, "I don't get why you aren't more often."

"I really couldn't, even if I wanted to. You remember what I was like back on Elysium, I wanted to run off and take that downed ship without a second though. I need someone to keep me in line, thank God I have you. I'm just begging you Jane, don't act like a total stick in the mud all of the time."

"I'll make you a deal," Jane said, looking at John. "I'll lighten up some more if you promise not to be such a loose cannon. Deal?" She stuck her open hand out towards John as she asked the question.

"Ouch, you drive a hard bargain," he said, eying the hand. "But then again...it is a fair deal...ok." He grabbed her hand and shook it. "Thanks Jane. I love you sis."

She chuckled slightly. "I thought that there was only one person that you liked saying that to."

"Oh shut it. Just because I have her doesn't mean I'm not allowed to care for my family."

"I know. And I love you too John. Frankly I should tell you that more than I do."

"Listen, when we get out of here we should try and get some leave time as soon as we can and go out to lunch with Mom and Dad. We haven't had a chance to do that in a long time. What do you say?"

"I think I like that idea."

"Hey!" Both of the siblings looked forward to see Aleena standing in front of the truck, a few of the passengers from the truck walking past her. "Are you two coming or are you going to start making out?"

"Ok, that's just disgusting," John said stiffly, earning a nod from Jane as they both jumped out of the truck. A line of Coalition soldiers were standing in front of the spaceport, clearly having seized it from the Batarians. The others were all walking up the ramp to one of the closer ships, which appeared a bit sleeker than the rest.

"Looks like a personal ship," John muttered as he and Jane reached the top and entered what appeared to be a lounge. Many of the members of Jane's team as well as quite a few escaped slaves were sitting on elegant looking couches or armchairs, looking relieved. "Damn. Wish that military ships could be this nice."

A Coalition engineer walked up the ramp behind them. "We managed to hack into the controls and power up the ship, same with everything else in the shipyard. We can take off whenever we need to, we're just going to wait until we have some more people on board." As he finished speaking, he stepped down onto the ramp again and exited the ship.

"Everyone! Check out what I found!" Heads turned to see Cornelia standing up from a cabinet in a corner, several bottles of bright golden liquid in her hands. "Whoever owned this ship kept a pretty big stash of booze, and after today I say we all earned a little celebration. Who wants some?"

One of the freed Turians gave a weak chuckle. "Hey, if you can find some dextro stuff in there I'll take a drink." John and Jane glanced at each other, grinning as they approached the lounge. They were still on duty after all, but one drink wouldn't hurt.

XXXXX

Author's Note:...huh, I really can't think of anything to talk about here...well I've got around $50 in gift cards and I'm looking to add a new 360 game to my library. Can anyone make suggestions? Well tell me what you think about the chapter...yeah that's all I got...uh...Dark Souls is awesome, I totally recommend it.


	16. And so it Begins

Chapter 16

And so it Begins

Author's Note: Well, not much to talk about here, let's get going. I just want to make something very clear though. Anything that happens in this chapter is not the result of Indoctrination, I'm going to spoil this right now, Sovereign is dead and unlike the dreaming God, he isn't still Indoctrinating people. Ok, glad that's out of the way.

XXXXX

Jane frowned as she sat in one of the bedrooms of the captured Batarian ship, her omni-tool active. It had been three days since the Coalition raid on the Hegemony, and the captured Batarian ships as well as the invasion fleet were docked at a Coalition military outpost. A holographic screen was floating in front of her face, constantly switching from channel to channel. Word had gotten out about the Coalition's attack on the Hegemony, and Jane was trying to see how the galaxy as a whole was reacting to it.

"Where do these people draw the line?" an angry Turian said, glaring at the screen. "Do they think that they can just fly around the galaxy doing whatever they want whenever they feel like it? First they break the law and activate a Relay without Council authorization, they constantly authorize projects that could threaten us all, like this super A.I. that we've all heard rumors about, and now they're actually attacking other races? These people need to realize that the galaxy doesn't belong to them, we've worked three thousand years to create a stable galactic society, and now the Coalition is trying to destroy it all because they don't like to follow rules."

Jane frowned as she pressed a button, causing the image to change to a Salarian standing on the edge of a street. "So I just speak out loud?" he asked.

"Yes, we're live now," another voice said. "So tell me, what do you think about the military action that the Coalition has taken against the Hegemony?"

"That? Well...I'm going to be honest. I'm not really that upset."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well...I'm not racist or anything, but the Batarians do a lot of things that the Council lets them get away with. Slavery's been illegal for a long time but the Batarians keep making raids into Council space, kidnapping people and selling them at their auctions. I heard rumors that the Coalition was saving civilians that were being sold. If that's true then I can't really blame them. I mean, if the Batarians want to practice slavery so badly, why do they need aliens to do it? What's wrong with their own people?"

Jane pressed a button again, causing the image to change to a Batarian. "Really when you get down to it, the Coalition only attacked my people because they disapproved of our culture. It doesn't matter what angle you look at it from, when you let a galactic power attack another species because they think poorly of their culture, you have a bomb waiting to go off. How long until they attack the Turians because they disapprove of them practicing conscription? The Hanar for treating the Drell like second class citizens? The Salarians for spying on everyone? I know these kind of people, they don't play favorites, if someone acts the way that they don't like, they attack them. I'm warning you all now, my people were just the first victim."

Jane changed channels again, this time to two Asari sitting in chairs. One of them began to speak. "If you're uncomfortable with this we can always do it again when-"

"No...no I'm ok," the other one croaked, "I just needed a minute. I...I need to say my part."

"Ok then. Tell us your story, but don't hesitate to stop if you feel like you need to."

"Ok," the second Asari said, taking a deep breath. "Two weeks ago, I was on vacation with my sister, we were staying at a resort on a beach. I...I had come off of a really bad breakup with my bondmate and she took me out there to cheer me up. T-thats the person my sister is, she's willing to drop thousands of credits just t-to cheer me up."

"I-I...sorry." The Asari stopped to wipe her eyes before continuing. "Halfway through our stay, the planet was a-attacked by pirates. T-they tried to grab me, but they got her instead. F-for two weeks I thought that I would never see my sister again but...but I got a message not too long ago. She was on the planet the Coalition attacked...the Coalition rescued my sister...s-she's coming home, my sister's coming home and all people can do is s-screech about what horrible people the Coalition is." The Asari's hands tightened into fists and her voice rose, "just because the Council is a bunch of spineless cowards who can't protect their own colonies, people think that the Coalition is a bunch of morally bankrupt thugs!" she shouted, "they're pathetic! The Coalition is doing what the Council should have done centuries ago! These people are whining little spoiled little brats and I...I-I-I'm sorry," the woman said, tearing up again.

"That's ok," the other Asari said, getting to her feet and handing the now silently sobbing woman a tissue. "You were very brave to do that. I'll think we'll take a break now." She turned her head. "Can someone get a glass of water?"

"Jane, you in here?" Jane looked up to see John entering the room. "What are you doing?"

"Not a whole lot, just trying to figure out where the public opinion on the Coalition is," she said, deactivating her omni-tool.

"And where is it?" John asked, sitting down next to his sister.

She shrugged. "To be honest it's all over the place. Some people are royally pissed at us, some don't really care, some think that we had a good reason to do what we did and I even saw a few people that were praising us for what we did."

"I take it that had something to do with a couple hundred of the people that we saved weren't Coalition right?"

"Probably, but others are royally pissed. Some even think that we might attack another Council planet."

"What? That's stupid, we only attacked the Hegemony-"

"Because they attacked us, I know," Jane interrupted "I was there. I understand where you're coming from but you need to understand something John. The Council has never trusted the Coalition, from day one we've refused to play by their rules. People are paranoid that we might do something violent, and it doesn't help that our history can hardly be called peaceful."

"So...what do you think is going to happen?"

"I don't know. All we can do is pray for the best and prepare for the worse. As cliche as that sounds it really is good advice."

"Knock knock." The two looked to the side to see Cornelia standing in the doorway, her mask removed to reveal short black hair. "Hey, Anderson said he wanted to see you two."

"Did he say why?"

"No," Cornelia said, shaking her head. "He did say that it was important though, and he's already got everyone that was with you on the surface. He even said that he wanted to talk to me." Glancing at her brother, Jane got to her feet and the two of them followed Cornelia out of the bedroom. They walked for a short distance and entered the lounge, where Anderson, Charon, Fawkes, Adam and Sheryl were already sitting.

"Captain? What's all of this about?" Jane asked as the three of them sat down.

Anderson gave a small sigh before leaning forward in his seat. "I'm not going to lie to you people, after all you all risked your necks to rescue over a thousand people, and most of you did the same on Elysium. Things don't look very good for the Coalition right now. Our diplomats have been in and out of sessions with the Council for days and while it happens behind closed doors, the rumors aren't promising. Even if we don't go to war because of this, tensions between us and the other races are going to be higher than ever."

"So...did you call us all here just to give us the bad news?" John asked.

"Not quite. You see, around the same time that we were launching our attack, one of our ambassadors traded some merchant ships with the Quarian Migrant Fleet for some very advanced ship schematics. The Coalition wants to use them to create a one of a kind ship that can hide itself from enemy radar."

"An invisible ship?" Cornelia asked. "That's...that's freaking awesome!"

"The Coalition wants more than that though. They're planning on pouring years of our own research into it. This project is still being outlined, but from what I've heard they're willing to spend hundreds of billions of credits on it. Literally hundreds of billions."

"Damn," Charon whispered, "with that kind of funding you could build a dreadnought. What class of ship is it going to be anyway?"

"I don't pretend to know, but when it's complete it'll probably be the most advanced ship in our navy. I've even heard rumors that they're going to attempt and replace the spinal mounted gun with a plasma cannon."

"A plasma cannon?" Adam asked, sounding shocked. "They've been trying to make a plasma cannon big enough to be a ship to ship weapon since I was a teenager and they never got anywhere. The power drain is just too much."

"I know, that's where a lot of the funding is going, to design the most powerful drive core possible. There was funding for it before, but it was just a trickle compared to now. There have been some political obstacles in the way ever since the Coalition moved into space over creating a ship with a plasma cannon as the main weapon, they just weren't willing to spend the money. They are now though. The brass wants this ship developed and built as soon as possible, and that's where you all come in."

"I don't understand," Sheryl said.

"When this ship is finished, she's going to need a crew. The brass is only going to let the best of the best on board. I think you all qualify."

"What makes you say that?" Fawkes asked.

"The Coalition hasn't had much conflict between other races, at the very most only a few thousand of our men have combat experience. You all fall into that category, and I am impressed with the performance I have seen from all of you. That being said, you're not going to automatically get a spot on the ship, other commanders like myself are going to forward hundreds of names to command and they're screen them all. I plan on doing that with your names, unless anyone objects to that." He looked around at the gathered crowd. "Anyone?"

"I...not really," Sheryl said softly, "I...I wouldn't mind serving with all of you."

"That's the spirit!" Cornelia shouted, smacking Sheryl on the back and causing the sniper to practically jump a foot in the air. We're all pals here...well actually I don't really know any of you, but I want to!"

"Oh my," Adam said, smiling as he shook his head. "This will be an interesting journey should it ever happen."

"Well then," Anderson said, getting to his feet. "I'll do that now. Don't get your hopes up but keep an eye out. After all this ship will take years to build. By then one of you might even be qualified to captain it."

XXXXX

Raul resisted the urge to growl as he stood in front of the Council. "The sheer fact that three days have passed without you taking any course of action is beyond insulting!" roared a Batarian wearing combat armor and a set of medals. From what Raul could tell he was some sort of high ranking military official that was representing the Hegemony. It also furthered his suspicions that the Hegemony was a military dictatorship.

"With all due respect General," Tevos said, "this is a very complex situation and needs to be thoroughly examined."

"Examined? What needs to be examined? The Coalition launched and unprovoked attack on a Hegemony planet. Tens of thousands of Batarian soldiers are dead because of them, and yet you're content to just sit back and talk about it as if nothing has happened."

"With all due respect General, you're lying through your teeth," Raul said dryly. "We had every reason to do what we did. Hegemony funded pirates attacked one of our colonies and captured hundreds to be sold in slave markets. We took them back."

"Not only is slavery an internal part of our culture and this invasion of yours is nothing more than an attack on our culture, but the evidence that you have presented to support this claim cannot be confirmed," the General countered hotly. "For all we know it could have been manufactured by one of your Artificial Intelligences. What is more," the General said, turning to face the Council, "over a thousand Batarian slaves were taken from us and are being held at a Coalition military base. They are our property and I demand that they be returned."

"Oh, so you admit that you were selling our people as slaves," Raul said, "you see, the thing is you have no right to be doing that, you have no right to be selling any aliens as slave. As a matter of fact, you don't have the rights to have slaves as all. It is against Council law, so please tell me something." Raul looked up at the Council, "why is it that the Batarians are running unchecked? Countless people are kidnapped and sold at the heart of Batarian territory every year, yet you just standby and watch?"

"Frankly, it's none of your concern," Sparatus said coldly, "you are not a part of the Council, the laws that we pass within our boarders have nothing to do with you."

"You have a point there," Raul admitted, "it's none of my business the laws that you pass for you citizens to follow. The thing is, when the Batarians attack our planets and sell our people like cattle, it becomes our business."

"You should have presented this evidence to us before you acted," the new Salarian Councilor Valern said, Veemus having died of old age. "If you had done that we could have launched an investigation to see if your claims were true. Now it seems like you simply used this as an excuse to attack the Batarians."

"We weren't going to risk the chance that our people would be sold by the time you pulled yourself out of a mountain of red tape and that we would never find them again. We are not going to ask for your permission to defend ourselves." Raul's tone was cold and harsh.

"I'm also concerned about something else," Sparatus said, glaring at Raul. "During the invasion you used massive automatons to attack the military installations on the planet. These machines were heavily armed, heavily armored and were responsible for the majority of deaths and destruction."

"Liberty Prime." Raul said.

"Yes," Sparatus said darkly. "What is more I have reports that suggest that these synthetics are, in fact, completely sentient?"

"They are. Would you like to talk to one?"

"Talk to one!?" Sparatus practically shouted. "When will you people finally understand it? The galaxy does not revolve around you! You constantly act without giving any thought to the consequences, you activate Mass Relays without considering what might be on the other side, you attack sovereign powers without warning, even if you might start a war, and you give massive synthetic lifeforms capable of leveling entire cities sentience! What happens if they decide that they don't like being your pets! You've even given them nuclear weapons! Are you trying to kill yourselves?"

"You see, while what you said about us not having any say in the laws that you pass is quite true, so is the opposite. The Coalition is independent, we shall do as we please whether you approve or not." Raul glanced at the Batarian. "Including retaliating when we are attacked."

"Why you-" the General began before being interrupted.

"Gentlemen please, let's try to keep our heads here!" Tevos said. "We will not accomplish anything if we continue to claw at each other's throats." Raul grunted but did not say anything else. "Now then, as I was saying before I was interrupted, the Council has reached a decision."

"Not unanimously," Sparatus added angrily.

"You have?" the General said.

"Yes, STG teams have triple checked the data what was given to us by the Coalition," Valern said. "We can find no evidence of forgery and therefore must conclude that what the Coalition telling us is true. Therefore the Council finds no reason to retaliate against the Coalition as the Hegemony provoked them without Council support or authorization."

"This is unacceptable!" the General shouted. "My people were attacked and you intend to stand by and do nothing! I won't stand for this! I will have justice!" And without warning, the General reached for a pistol at his side and aimed it at Raul, his finger tensing on the trigger. He was about to fire when he saw that the Necro-Human had already drawn his revolver and was aiming it at him. The Batarian froze as the two of them aimed their weapons at each others.

"Do all high ranking Hegemony officers always act without thinking?" he asked.

"So you think that the Coalition is special?" the General growled, ignoring Raul's taunt. "You think that you can do whatever you want and get away with it?"

"We just want to be left to our own devices pendejo, I fail to see how that makes us special. You on the other hand, you're a real piece of work. You attack us then go crying to the Council when we hit back, you want the Council to punish us even though you've been breaking their laws for centuries, and you have the guts to say that WE think we're special?"

"Let me tell you something, after the Great War, Earth was filled with people like you, people who thought that they could rape, murder and enslave whoever they wanted to and go on their merry way. The Coalition didn't tolerate those people and we hunted them down like the animals that they were. I spent centuries of my life killing people who were just like you, power hungry outlaws that managed to carve out a little bit of power and thought that they were invincible because of it. I'm damn good at it because I got a lot of practice. I may be old now but my eyesight is still good, so please do me a favor and pull that trigger. If you think you're faster than me that is. I won't mind another person like you dead."

For what seemed like an eternity, the two of them stood there, their weapons pointed at each other. Then, hesitantly, the Batarian General lowered his pistol before holstering it. "Smart move," Raul said, putting his own revolver away. "But know this. If the Hegemony tries anything against us again and if you had anything to do with it I will personally hunt you down and kill you myself."

He turned to face the Council. "The people that will rescued will not be turned over to the Hegemony, within a couple of weeks we will send them wherever they please after they have received therapeutic treatment for what they have gone through. If any Hegemony or Council forces attempt to take them away from us, we will respond with deadly force. I suggest that you will remember that...I don't think I have anymore to say to you."

With that Raul turned and began to walk away. "I trust that you realize that while we are not going to retaliate against you, the actions of the Coalition will affect our future relationships, most likely not for the better?" Tevos asked. Raul let out a tired sigh as he continued to walk, not looking back.

XXXXX

"Amazing," Had'dah whispered, "are you certain that this is accurate?"

"Yes sir," one of the Asari scientists said. "It appears that each of the arms that this ship has are actually weapons. Each one of them appears to be designed to fire a stream of molten metal at a fraction of the speed of light." Both she and Had'dah were standing on the bridge of the derelict ship, along with the rest of the scientists and guards. "What is more we discovered that this ship was once capable of producing an undetectable signal."

"Once?" Had'dah asked.

"Yes. It appears that it was directly wired into the second data core, the one that was damaged. Anyway, we were able to scavenge some more data that suggests that that signal was able to control the minds of organic creatures."

"Control? How is that even possible?"

"I'm not sure. From what I can tell the signal works very subtly. The victim does not even know that he or she is being affected at first, and by the time they do, the grip the signal has on them is too strong. Thankfully I ran some tests and there is no way that the signal should be able to activate now. The damage is simply too much."

"Ah, I see," Had'dah said. "Now about those weapons you mentioned, how do they compare to mass drivers?"

"Compare?...Sir there is no comparing the two, these weapons completely dwarf mass drivers. A signal shot from one of these cannons would completely obliterate a fully shielded cruiser."

"Amazing."

Saren smiled as he sat down in the corner, his omni-tool active in front of him. He was reading the daily news in order to keep up with that was going on in galactic society while he was away helping examine this ship. So far he was liking what he was hearing, this starship was far more advanced that he had ever he had ever hoped for. Looking down, he read the main headline for the news site that he was on. His smile could not have slid off his face any faster.

"No," he said, his eyes darting down, reading the main section of the report, "no no no, that can't be possible."

"Is something wrong?" Had'dah asked, looking at Saren.

"I...I...look at this!" Saren shouted, standing up and sticking his arm out forward.

Curiously, Had'dah walked forward and read the floating article. His face seemed to pale as he read it. "The...the Coalition attacked my people?"

"Read further," Saren growled, "they used massive synthetics to do it, and the Council isn't doing anything."

"I...I don't believe it," Had'dah said, "I can't believe that this is happening...at this rate the Hegemony will withdraw it's embassy from the Council, and if the Council seems weak then the Volus Elcor and Hanar may do the same. This could set galactic civilization so far back...we need to do something. If we can bring this ship to the Council, they could implement the technology on their warships within a couple of years. It would give them an edge over the Coalition and-"

"That wouldn't work," Saren interrupted. "Didn't you read the article? The Council isn't doing anything, they don't have the will power to stand up against the Coalition. And we have no idea how long it could take to reverse engineer this technology, it's like nothing we've ever seen before, it could take decades. How many more planets could the Coalition have sacked by then?"

"What else can we do?" the Batarian asked, "the Coalition has a fleet that rivals the Turian's in size and has technology that gives them a major edge. What are we supposed to do?"

Saren didn't reply. An idea had occurred to him. The Council had obviously proven that they wouldn't stand up against the Coalition. The Coalition was a threat to galactic society as a whole and they had to be stopped. With this ship, he could do major damage to them."

"I'm going to report what we've found to the Council," Had'dah said.

"Don't!" Saren said, "if we do they'll just take this ship for themselves and let it gather dust in a museum."

"I'm sorry Saren but I'm in charge of this expedition and that is my final decision." The Spectre felt anger tear through him. Why couldn't Had'dah see the seriousness of the situation? Didn't he care that his people had been attacked. "Now then, either fall in line and do as I say or go back to the ship. You're here to provide security, not-" Saren lost his temper and grabbed his assault rifle off of his back and aimed it at Had'dah, pulling the trigger. The bridge filled with the sound of rifle fire as Had'dah fell to the ground, his chest filled with holes.

Saren heard a shriek and turned to see the scientists diving for cover while the guards hastily drew their weapons. What followed almost felt like a dream to Saren as he aimed his rifle and picked off everyone in the bridge one by one. He didn't discriminate, killing everything that fell into his sights, armed or not. He wasn't sure how much timed passed or how many times he fired his gun but the next clear memory that he had was of him standing in the middle of the bridge, panting heavily, everyone that Had'dah had brought to examine the ship lying dead on the ground.

As he looked around, he realized exactly what he had done. "Oh...oh Spirits," he said, his grip slackening and his rifle clattering to the ground. "I...I did this. I'm supposed to protect the people of the Council, not slaughter them. I...no." He shook his head violently. "No, I did what had to be done." As he spoke, words that his brother had once said to him filled his mind. "Sometimes you must abandon the more obvious path of action to accomplish what must be done."

"Yes," Saren whispered. "This is what needs to be done. With this ship I have the potential to stop the Coalition from doing any more harm from the galaxy...I'm on my own now though. I...I need somewhere to start." He bent down over Had'dah, pulling his omni-tool out and inserting it into his armor. "Maybe he has contacts that can help me..." Saren trailed off as he activated the omni-tool, accessing Had'dah's files. He found a list of names marked under the file "sell new technology to at discounted price." Saren recognized all of the names, they were the leaders of crime syndicates that he had had run ins with in the past.

"So, you were planning on doing a little trade on the side were you?" Saren said, looking at the dead Batarian. "It seems like that friendly little attitude that you were giving me was just an act." Saren felt a little better as he spoke, Had'dah had been planning on providing criminals with deadly weapons. Already he had done the galaxy a great service.

He looked around at the massive ship around him. It was the first step in stopping the Coalition from being a threat, but it wasn't enough. No matter how advanced the ship was it was still just a single ship, one that he didn't even have a crew for or knew how to work. He would need allies, ships to support him and technicians to work on the ship. Shocktroops to run ground operations and benefactors to fund him.

It would take time for him to gather his allies, just finding those that would support him would be a chore. But he was a patient man, it would take years for him to gather the resources that he needed and form a specific plan, but he would get it done. In the meantime he already had to act. He had to come up with a cover story for the deaths of Had'dah and his research team as well as hide the ship's existence and true form. He had a lot of work to do.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Tried to make it so that Raul didn't completely dominate the Council, tried to make it so that everyone else got a few good points in too because when you're writing, having the main hero always be right can be kind of grating. Also quick question has anyone played the 360 port of the Witcher 2? Can I get a recommendation?


	17. Eden Prime

Chapter 17

Eden Prime

Author's Note: I didn't really see a whole lot of purpose in sticking around after the invasion of the Batarian colony so I decided to jump ahead to Eden Prime because...really what else could you possibly want in between? Also I hope the author of Renegade doesn't mind if I rip him off again like I did with Garrus in New Origins.

XXXXX

November, 22 2735: After much debate, the Batarian Hegemony withdraws its Council embassy. This action has shaken the Council, member species and non member species alike. Many of them now feel that the Council is less stable than it used to be and while public opinion is divided right down the middle, many believe that the Coalition is responsible for the Batarians leaving and may be responsible for future races leaving. Also, Saren Arterius returns from a mission from the brink of Council space, saying that the rest of his team was killing by pirates and the ship they were examining nothing more than an old Rachni scouting ship that had been destroyed in the attack.

April, 9 2736: Construction of the _Normandy_ begins, billions of credits being pushes to create the most advanced starship that the Coalition is capable of. Experimental weapons technology and A.I. research are also made a part of the project.

June, 14 2737: As part of their unofficial Cold War with the Coalition, the Council doubles the number of allowed Spectres, selecting many talented raw recruits who are given Spectre status almost at once. Many have noticed that this process is much quicker than normal for Spectres, and while many of the new Spectres volunteer for additional training to hone their skills, most of them neglect to and perform their duties as they are. This has caused the older and more experienced Spectres to look down on these newcomers with disdain.

December, 17 2739: The Normandy is finished and recently promoted Captain Jane Shepard is given command of the ship, her brother John Shepard also becomes her XO.

February, 2 2740: Farmers on Eden Prime unearth a fully intact Prothean beacon. This sends the Coalition into a state of frenzy, with them pulling thousands of off world soldiers and a dozen additional warships to defend Eden Prime from any possible attack. Eden Prime is also, until further notice, not allowing anyone who is not a resident or has authorized permission within a hundred miles of the beacon. In accordance with the treaty of Shanxi, the Coalition permits Council scientists to study the beacon.

XXXXX

"I don't buy it. You must have forged that. The whole colony is supposed to be on lockdown. I don't care if you've got a brat missing, no one is getting anywhere near this beacon unless there here to examine it, and last time I checked you weren't on the guest list, so fuck off."

Tali'Zorah vas Neema bit her tongue to keep herself from lashing out. She was standing at the outskirts of the Coalition colony Eden Prime at a checkpoint to enter the city. A soldier wearing work clothes and a combat vest while holding a rifle was standing in her way. "I really don't see what the problem is," she said, using every last bit of self control to keep her voice level. "I have authorization, I got approval from your government to search for the pilgrim on your planet. We haven't heard from him in a week and I need to check if something happened to him. I even had to come by myself instead of bringing a team because apparently the Coalition is so paranoid that they're afraid that half a dozen Quarians can overrun an entire colony, so why aren't you letting me in?"

"Look lady, I already told you, I'm not letting you in. We're not letting anyone in, especially not a Quarian, who probably only wants to take apart the beacon for scrap metal, so do me a favor and go-"

"That's enough Sergeant." The soldier turned around to see another one in silver armor approaching him. Tali noticed that the newcomer had a black visor with a red light in the center and a sword at her side. "I've been expecting her. She spent a couple of days getting the clearance."

"But she's a-"

"I know," the second soldier growled, "and I'm supposed to help her find her friend. And you know Sergeant, I think that the latrine needs a good scrubbing, so either shut up or you're going to take care of it." The soldier gestured to Tali who walked past the first soldier, who had a disgruntled look on his face.

"Sorry about that," the soldier said, taking off her helmet to reveal tanned skin and hair that was tied up in a bun. "The Coalition can be pretty paranoid when it comes to dealing with military forces from other races. I'm Ashley by the way. Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams."

"Tali'Zorah vas Neema. It's not too much trouble. I'm used to it, I can't really go anywhere without someone thinking that I'm going to steal something."

"It's nothing personal, the Coalition is just really cautious when it comes to aliens. Even if officially we're on ok terms with the Migrant Fleet, you're still going to meet a lot of individual people who don't trust you."

"I can't say I entirely blame you, after all you did come from a rather brutal planet and you don't have the best relationship with the Council. Still, I think you described them better when you called them paranoid."

"Well, what can I say?" Ashley said, chuckling slightly. "We've gotten into a couple of scraps with other races, now they don't like us and we don't like them that much."

"You know, there are other way to solve your problems besides guns you know. No offense but you could try a little harder to get along with aliens. The galaxy isn't as big as it used to be and you're going to have to deal with them whether you like it or not."

"All right all right I get the idea. You didn't deserve to have to go through that, heck, I'd be upset too if I had to deal with the bullshit that you've probably been putting up with since you've gotten here. I'm just an NCO though, I can't control the way that the Coalition or the public acts towards aliens so can we please drop it?" Ashley said as they began to walk towards the colony. A moment of uncomfortable silence passed before she spoke again. "So what's the story with this Veetor guy?"

"Veetor'Nara, he's a pilgrim. We haven't heard from him in awhile. Quarians can't always afford to call up the fleet every day just to make it clear that they're ok so for the first few days we didn't worry too much, but he's been silent for too long now. It doesn't help that Veetor is neurotic and tends to panic in crowds. I can't help but be worried that he did something to hurt himself."

"I'll call this in," Ashley said, activating her omni-tool and hastily typing out a message. "We get the occasional pilgrim out here every once in awhile and a lot of colonies tend to keep tabs on any alien that visits. You know, just to make sure they don't try and smuggle a laser pistol off planet. If anyone has seen him, we should get a lead in a couple of minutes."

"Kind of creepy, but right now that will be pretty helpful." As she spoke, Tali noticed the sword at Ashley's side. "Uh...is that part of your...light infantry uniform? Is that what it's called? Sorry, I'm not very familiar with the structure of your military."

"Well, I'm a sentinel, the main light infantry division of Titan. That's a moon back in our home system, one of the first places that we've colonized. We got some pretty heavy armor and damn good weapons, but this thing-" she grabbed the sword and gave it a small shake "-isn't standard issue for us. It's actually a family heirloom, my grandfather used it during the First Contact War. He even said that he used it to kill a Turian General...pretty sure that he was bullshiting me when he said that though."

"I see. I only asked because I've only even seen a couple of weapons like that on the extranet and most of them were Krogan or Turian. I just always thought that carrying around massive melee weapons like that just seemed weird in a time period were pretty much all armed forces have guns."

"Well, I don't go charging in with this thing as a first resort," Ashley explained, "It's more of a replacement for a knife."

"Still seems weird. I mean-" Tali was cut off as a group of soldiers in pitch black armor came into view. They were walking in the opposite direction as the two women were and within a couple of seconds, they passed each other. As they did, Tali saw that their helmets had glowing red eyes with what appeared to be skulls painted around them.

"A Quarian? What are we running a petting zoo now?" one of them jeered. "What's it feel like to have to wear a stupid ass helmet all the time?"

"She dies if she takes hers off, what's your excuse?" Ashley snapped back.

"Heh, lucky her, she's got a knight in shining armor to protect her," a second soldier, this one sounding female jeered, "she must feel so safe. Must know what'd happen to her if she walked around alone."

"This coming from the person that doesn't feel safe taunting unless she has five people backing her up?" Tali questioned. "Coming from you that doesn't really bother me."

"Fuck you bucket head," the second soldier snapped as they passed each other and headed on in opposite directions.

"Nice one," Ashley whispered.

"Thanks," Tali replied. "Who were they? They didn't look like the other local soldiers."

"Moriean shock troops." Ashley's face wrinkled as she spoke, looking as if she had just smelled something particularly foul. "I'd never met one before in my life before until a couple of days ago and to be frank I kind of wish that it had stayed that way. They're a pain to work with."

"I take it they're here because of the beacon?"

"Bingo. The brass has called in more soldiers than I can keep track of to keep this thing safe, including those assholes. You rarely see them off of their home planet any they usual only get called off for pretty damn important assignments. From what I've heard they're damn good on the battlefield, but I've also heard that they're total savages."

"Savages? In what way?"

"They've been caught doing all sorts of things that would cause any soldier with a shred of dignity to resign. Executing prisoners, not accepting enemies that are attempting to surrender, torture, using illegal weapons, blackmail, all sorts of stuff. I admit there's not a lot of solid evidence to back this up and most of it is just rumors. Every time I talk to them my conscious just tugs at me and says 'you can judge people that you've never met properly, give them a chance.' And I do, I honest to Christ do, but every single time one of those pathetic excuses for Human beings open their mouths I get no evidence that these rumors are false, and a fair bit that suggests that they are true."

"You really don't like them do you?"

"Oh, that's an understatement," Ashley growled. "I come from a family that has been in the military for generations. Since I was old enough to string more than two words together, I've heard pretty much every day, how important what we do is, and the level of dignity that I have to conduct myself with. On Titan and on a lot of worlds that I've been to, there have been standards, you step out of line, an officer smashes down on you like a hammer. But for every Coalition colony with a good set of standards, you've got one with the Morieans, who, from what I've seen and heard, are glorified thugs with uniforms! Imagine a Quarian who spits on centuries of your tradition and practically giggles while doing it, that's what the Morieans are to me."

"I...I see," Tali said, a little taken aback from Ashley's outburst. "So you think that they're all like that? They're all the same?"

"I keep reminding myself that I don't know that for sure, but like I said I haven't seen a whole lot of evidence to think that they're not all the scum of the galaxy. Tell you what, if I even meet a Moriean shock troop that I can respect, I'll french kiss a Turian."

"Really," Tali said, sounding interested. "Be careful Williams. I just might hold you to that."

"I think I'll be all right," Ashley said dryly as her COM unit beeped. "Ah, that's probably someone who found your friend. Yes?" she said putting her hand to her ear. "Did you find anything I...what? Say that again? Are you sure? Is that even-" Ashley was cut off by a deafening explosion, followed by static over the COM line. "Are you there!" She shouted "do you read me? Is anyone there? This is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams I need a sit rep, I repeat I need...I need a...oh God."

Ashley let her hand fall to her sides as she looked up at the sky. Tali did the same and felt the bottom of her stomach drop out. What appeared to be balls of fire seemed to be falling from the sky, but if she squinted, Tali could make out the rough outlines of starships. Coalition ships to be precise. Even as they continued to fall, other ships began to descend into the atmosphere. Most of them were dark purple ships that vaguely resembled centipedes, but one of them, a black and red starship that had what seemed like pincers, dwarfed the rest. Tali had no idea what it was supposed to be, but she instantly recognized the ships from vids that every Quarian had seen while studying the Morning War, albeit modified. "Geth," she whispered.

XXXXX

Jane Shepard moved her hair out of her eye as she walked out of the cockpit of the Normandy heading towards the CIC. The ship was currently traveling at FTL towards Eden Prime. Currently, as a token of good faith, the Council had asked the Coalition to ferry a team of elite scientists and their security guards to Eden Prime and the Coalition had agreed to, even using the Normandy to do it. Contrary to popular belief, the Coalition and the Council genuinely tried to cooperate and make peace, the main cause of the tension between the two powers was how fundamentally different they were and how they pretty much disagreed on how to approach everything.

Jane was broken out of her train of thought as she passed the galaxy map and she spotted two people standing near the door to the CIC chatting. "I'm telling you doc, you're gonna love it. It's absolutely beautiful, they call it _Eden_ Prime for a reason," a man in work clothes and a combat vest said.

"I understand that you're excited to see your home Jenkins but we're only going to be there for two days," a woman with silver hair in a white jumpsuit said.

"Oh I know, but two days on Eden Prime are two days that you're never going to forget. How come you've never been there before doc? You're part of the Followers of the Apocalypse and while you were hopping around the galaxy you never went there?"

"There was no need to Jenkins. The Followers go where people need help, and Eden Prime is a relatively peaceful and prosperous place. I haven't gone there before because no one there needed my help."

"Oh. Yeah, when you put it like that I'm glad that you never went there...wait I didn't mean it like that-"

The woman laughed. "It's quite all right Jenkins, I know what you mean."

"Chakwas, Jenkins," Jane said politely, stopping in front of them and prompting both of them to turn and face her.

"Captain, I didn't see you there," Chakwas said.

"Hey Cap, is it really true that we've got two Spectres on board?" Jenkins asked.

"Yeah, they're going to be acting as security for the science teams."

"Wow. They're really going all out aren't they? I know they don't really like us but...two Spectres? You think that one would be enough. What? Do they think that we're going to try and ambush them at the beacon?"

"I don't know Jenkins, but everyone's worried about the beacon and that someone is going to try something, so just make sure that you're ready for anything. Weapons loaded and sharpened. Including that museum piece that you have there."

"Hey, this thing has saved my rear more times than I can remember," Jenkins said, grabbing the weapon at his side. It was a silver colored sickle with a long chain wrapped around the hilt.

"That may be true but I just want you to remember that you've also got a gun and I'd prefer it if you stuck to it if you could."

"I'm not stupid enough to charge people with this. It's pretty much our equivalent of a combat knife. Last resort and CQC only. I have to admit I'm not that great with it but I at least know how to use it without killing myself."

"Well I'm glad you know what you're talking about," Jane said, smiling slightly, "stay safe Jenkins. You may be a little green now but I know you have a lot of potential and one day you'll tap into it. I'm looking forward to that day."

"Really?" Jenkins said, sounding excited. "Wow I...thanks cap."

"No problem. Now then I really need to be going. Anderson's having a chat with our guests and he wants John and I to be there. I'll catch up with you later. Jane walked past the two of them and passed through a doorway, walking down another short hallway and then another door before emerging into the Normandy's CIC.

Four people were standing there, John, Anderson and two Turians, one in black armor and one in blue. "Admiral," Jane said, nodding to Anderson before turning to face the Turians. "Nihlus. Garrus."

"Jane, I'm glad that you could join us," Anderson said. "We were just going over how things are going to play out when we reach Eden Prime. The Normandy is going to land outside of the colony so we don't violate the no fly scenario that's now in effect and we'll disembark along with the passengers."

"How are they?" Jane asked.

"They're a little strung up but they're all right," Garrus said. "Your chief is getting them something to eat right about now. I hope for your sake he doesn't try to poison them."

"When you say try, you make it sound like he has to do it intentionally," John joked. This earned a dry chuckle from Garrus.

"We'll be escorting them into the colony afterwards after the boarder teams have screened them for weapons," Anderson continued "Nihlus and Garrus will be taking up the front while you and your team take up the rear. We'll continue until we reach the beacon at which point we'll head back here. Under no circumstances are any Coalition civilians to get anyway near the scientists if it looks like they may pose a threat, the last thing that anyone needs here is a diplomatic incident. Any questions?"

"Yeah, one," John said, turning to face Nihlus and Garrus. "No offense, but why did the Council send two Spectres? I thought that they were the best of the best, you'd think one would be enough. Does the Council not trust us that much?"

"Oh, it's got nothing to do with you," Garrus said. "Couple of years ago, a Spectre named Saren was on a mission to guard a team that was doing a deep space survey. Thing is, he didn't do a particularly good job, pirates raided the group and most of them got killed, guess after that the Council lost confidence in just sending a single-"

"I'd stop if I were you," Nihlus growled, turning to face Garrus. "Saren is ten times the Spectre you'll ever be rookie."

"The day I hear that from someone other than his prized pupil, I'll take that into consideration," Garrus said dryly.

"Cocky little bastard aren't you. Get into the Spectres the easy way and all of a sudden you're better than all of us who got in with hard work. Name one thing that you've done that he hasn't."

"Oh, you mean besides not getting the people I was supposed to be protecting killed?"

"How about years and years of serving the Council and completing missions that would get most people killed, including yourself? Did you do that?"

"No, but I thought of something else. I managed to go through life without needing cybernetic implants to keep myself alive. Also I didn't try to pick a fight with a race I never met before because they broke a law they didn't even know existed."

"I think that's enough," Anderson said, prompting both Turians to look at him. "Whatever inter service rivalry you have can wait until later. Now that we've covered the rough outline, I want to go over the specifics of-" Anderson was cut off as a hologram of a blue sphere with multiple lines running through it appearing in the middle of the table in the center of the room. "Yes EDI, what is it?"

"There is an incoming transmission from Eden Prime, it is being broadcasted on all frequencies." EDI said, even as Nihlus wrinkled his nose at the sight of her avatar. "Admiral, unless I am mistaken, this is an SOS."

"An SOS?" Anderson shouted as everyone else jumped, "play it, now!"

There was the briefest of pauses before a static filled recording began to play. "This is...Eden Prime under attack...heavy losses...defenses gone...after the beacon...the...my men...think that they're Geth...help!"

"That is all that there is to the transmission," EDI said. "I am detecting no further communications from Eden Prime, civilian or military."

"I thought that Eden Prime was supposed to have a fleet protecting it and...wait, did that recording say something about the Geth?"

"It did," EDI confirmed.

"Are there any other warships in the area that can get to Eden Prime in a reasonable time?" Anderson asked.

"All those that were within a reasonable distance had already been transferred to the planet to protect it. We are the only other warship in the area."

"All right then, change of plans. John, Jane armor up and get your team together. I don't care if it's a Geth attack or not, whoever's behind this is obviously after the beacon and we need to get it out of there."

"We're going too," Nihlus said, looking at Anderson. "Garrus will stay with you while I scout out ahead. I'll radio in what I see and he'll take it out. As much as I hate to admit it the cocky bastard is damn good with a rifle."

"I can't afford to say no to extra help right now," Anderson said, "everyone get moving. I want you all to be ready to deploy the second we reach the planet."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Titan Sentinels: Titan has long since been a major source of Helium-3 for the Coalition. Even before the discovery of Mass Effect technology many had made plans to colonize the moon to tap into its resources. Countless people live in cities or in stations that orbit the planet, making it a major source of commerce and resources.

It is also home to one of the first light infantry divisions, the Titan sentinels, usually referred to as simply the sentinels. The sentinels, as their names suggest, specialize in defensive warfare, but are trained to be prepared for any situation that a soldier can find themselves in. They are some of the best equipped soldiers in the Coalition, with powerful weapons and armor with powerful shields. With thick silver full body armor and a solid black visor with a red light in the center, they are referred to by some as the "knights in shining armor" of the Coalition, sometimes affectionately, sometimes not so much.

The Sentinels are one of the largest divisions in the Coalition, and are commonly requested by countless commanders for support, and for them to be folded into units. As a result, the sentinels can be easily found as they are spread across the Coalition.

Note: Not to be confused with the slang commonly used to identify soldiers that combine the use of tech based attacks with biotics.

Moriean Shock Troops: One of the Coalition's older and more prosperous mining colonies is the planet Moriea. The planet itself lacks an atmosphere of any kind, forcing the inhabitants to live within domed cities until the terraforming process is complete, which many estimate will take several decades. While Moriea produces all kinds of valuable metals and even some Element Zero, living conditions are harsh. Rent is high, only a handful of corporations control practically all business on the planet, conditions in the mines are subpar despite countless safety protocols constantly being introduced, and it is on the edge of Coalition space. It is also an attractive target for pirates, forcing the planet to form an elite defense force to fight off frequent pirate attacks. This force is the Moriean shock troops.

The shock troops were organized with the specific intend of striking fear into the hearts of pirates in mind. Their armor is pitch black and mostly featureless with the exception of two glowing red eyes (which can be turned off for stealth) and a white skull painted on the face plate. The shock troops are rigorously trained and merciless in battle, rarely taking prisoners, and commonly mistreating those that they do. In fact, in recent years, the shock troops have been involved in several torture scandals that, combined with their ruthless tactics, have caused them to be viewed as morally bankrupt killers, even by other Coalition soldiers.

They specialize in counter ops and front line assaults. They are commonly known throughout the Coalition but are rarely seen off of their home planet. Many officers prefer the assistance of other light infantry divisions over the Moriean shock troops because of their reputations. However, they have been requested in a handful of occasions, which usually means that the need for their skill outweighs the negative repercussions that comes with them. The situations that call for this are almost always high level.

Eden Prime Troopers: Eden Prime is a flourishing farming colony on the boarder of the Terminus Systems. Despite it's dangerous location, the planet is a lush garden world that attracts many farmers looking to find a piece of fertile land to call their own. A majority of the colonists are farmers, which reflects in their soldiers.

The troopers wear their combat vests over work clothes that are commonly wore by farmers during their working hours. While it is known that the troopers are at home in wide open fields with plenty of room to maneuver, they are, for the most part, unremarkable by light infantry standards. However, what stands out for them is their melee weapon which replaces standard issue knives, a sickle and chain. Used only as a last resort, the sickle and chain can be used for close quarter combat and, unlike most melee weapons, at range. It takes a good deal of training to learn how to use and even then it is only used in place of a knife, but the sickle and chain is undeniably an impressive weapon, and an intimidating one at that.

The Normandy: A prototype stealth frigate, the Normandy is arguably the most advanced Coalition ship in existence. Commissioned after the Coalition's short conflict with the Batarian Hegemony, billions of credits were devoted to researching and building the Normandy. This shows in the ship's design, which holds several experimental systems not seen anywhere else in the Coalition.

One of the most notable factors about the Normandy is its stealth system, which contains the ship's heat signatures, rendering it practically invincible to detection. The Normandy also possess a heavy plasma cannon as a main weapon which admittedly has a noticeable cool down time, deals heavy damage and bypasses kinetic barriers. The Normandy is also equipped with an artificial intelligence codenamed Enhanced Defense Intelligence (EDI) which has processing capabilities that puts other Coalition A.I.s to shame, although it does have restrictive programing as the Coalition is uncertain what an A.I. of this caliber is capable of.

All of the Normandy's systems are powered by a start of the art drive core, which is easily twice the size of what is standard for frigates. Many Coalition officials are outraged at the price of the ship, a staggering 250 billion credits, but many believe that it was worth the price. The ship is currently commanded by Captain Jane Shepard and her XO Lieutenant Command John Shepard.

The Followers of the Apocalypse: A nonprofit organization that was formed long before the founding of the Coalition, the followers are dedicated to helping society in every way that they can, from providing medical care, to relief effort, to simple education. It is a volunteer only force that has members scattered across the galaxy. It is commonly called the modern Red Cross.

It is worth noting that while it was founded on post-war Earth, the Followers commonly operate outside of Coalition space, providing assistance to aliens. The Followers go so far as to actually allow aliens to join their ranks, something that is unheard of in the Coalition. While the Followers have a fairly positive reputation among the races of the Council because of this, it has hurt their image in the eyes of the Coalition, many view them as traitors to the Coalition. Despite this, the Followers continue to receive enough funding from both the Coalition and donations to continue operating.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Sorry that there wasn't too much going on in this chapter, I hope that the above average number of Codex entries makes up for that. Also, I know I know I made Garrus a Spectre again, but really what else can I really do with him? It suits him. Also it's going to have a pretty different spin on it than what I did with him in the last story. What do I mean? I don't want to spoil it for you, but don't worry, you'll know in a couple of chapters. Also rumors of a Halo 2 HD remake? The only game in the series that I haven't played? I am interested if these rumors turn out to be true. Also something sad that I noticed. The online population of Halo 3 is down to 5,000, or at least it was when I checked. The really sad thing? Halo Wars had 6,000...the RTS Halo game had a thousand more people playing it online than Halo 3...well maybe it's because Wars is younger than 3 and there aren't many other RTS games on xbox that work very well. Thought I'd share that with you.

EDIT: To my anonymous reviewers, I am trying out the new moderate review function, which allows me to approve anonymous reviews before they are sent through. This is nothing personal and I will probable approve most of them, this is only to filter out spam.


	18. What Must be Done

Chapter 18

What Must be Done

Author's Note: Well, Eden Prime continues. Not really a whole lot to say right here so let's cut to the chase.

EDIT: CRAP! Forgot to put in Jenkins the first time around. Well he's in there now, sorry for the hiccup.

XXXXX

Tali grit her teeth slightly as her shotgun bucked, the Geth that she had fired at falling to the ground. "Remind me, what we're doing again?"

"We had defensive satellites in orbit that should have opened fire on the Geth ships the second they came into range!" Ashley shouted, downing a Geth trooper with a well placed burst of fire as the two women ran through Eden Prime. They found themselves right in the middle of the main Geth attack force. Two frigates were floating above the city, dropping troopers and armatures on the city. "They're not responding though. The Geth must have hit them with a viral attack. We can't activate them wirelessly so our best bet is to try and find the control center and reboot it from there."

"Will they be able to target the Geth ships while they're in the atmosphere?!"

"They were designed to do that. In fact, we'll be able to hit targets on the ground too, including troopers and armatures. In other words, it's definitely in our best interest to get those things online. Think that you can do that?"

"Hard to say!" Tali shouted, both of them opening fire on a Geth destroyer as it aimed its weapon at them, their combined firepower bringing it down within seconds before they continued forward. "I'd like to my skill with computers are above par, but we're dealing with the Geth here. They ARE computers, computers that have had three centuries to improve themselves since we've last encountered them. I'll do what I can though."

"That's all I'm asking," Ashley said. "I sent out a signal on all frequencies asking for backup. The Geth will probably be swarming the command post and trying to plant charges on it, I haven't gotten a response yet, but with any luck we won't have to deal with them alone."

"Ok. Do you have much farther to go?

"No. In fact it should be right around the corner," Ashley said as the two of them rounded an apartment complex and what was very obviously a military base came into view. "Hold up," Ashley said, sliding up against a the far side of a nearby building in between them and the base, Tali mimicking her moves. Hesitantly, Ashley peeked out from behind her cover. Around four Geth were in front of the facility, planting explosives to the walls.

"We're outnumbered two to one," Ashley hissed. "We might be able to take them if we bunker up and pick them off, but by then they'll have blown the place and we'll have no way to get the satellites on."

"What if we can get them in a pincer move?" Tali asked, "would that give us enough of an edge to take them down quick and fast?"

"Well yeah, but I don't see how either of us could get on the other side of those things without them noticing us. Why, do you have a plan?"

Tali smiled behind her helmet as she raised her hand that held her gun out, activating her omni-tool with the other hand. "You know, I didn't bring this up earlier, but your people have got all the races in the galaxy training their soldiers more before sending them out to the front lines, and giving them better equipment than they would have before and teaching them how to use it. Every race." Tali pressed a button, causing her entire suit to glow brightly before she turned completely invisible. "Even Quarians."

"Tactical cloak," Ashley whispered. "You know, that actually makes a lot of sense for a Quarian to have. All right, sneak around to the other side of the Geth and give me the signal when you're in position. I'll hit them with everything I have. That's going to include a grenade so be sure to clear out once you've hit them."

"What's the signal?" Tali's voice asked, coming from where she was still standing.

"You blowing a Geth's head off with your shotgun."

"Ah. So take a couple of shots then got out of the way?" Ashley nodded. "Got it." Ashley pressed herself against the wall, rifle in hand as she heard the gentle footsteps as Tali walked past her. Ashley reached down to her side and grabbed a frag grenade with her free hand, her arm tense. She looked up at the Geth as they continued to plant the charges, waiting.

There was a loud bang and the optic of one of the Geth exploded, the platform falling to the ground as a result. The remaining three geth turned and opened fire at the direction that the shots had come from. A handful of shots made impact, causing the rough outline of Tali to shimmer in the air as she dove around the corner of the building, out of range of the Geth's weapons.

Not hesitating, Ashley threw her grenade at the remaining Geth, it detonating as it smashed into the back of the closest one, blowing it to pieces and taking off the legs of another one that was nearby. Stepping out, Ashley raised her rifle and fired five bursts at the last Geth, each one hitting it in the chest. The synthetic desperately attempted to raise its rifle and return fire, but a sixth burst caused it to fall forward, dead.

"Little too close for comfort," Tali said, getting to her feet, her cloak deactivating. "Next time, you get the be the distraction." She and Ashley walked towards each other, stopping in front of the door to the complex. "Are those charges going to be an issue?"

"No, looks like they're inactive. I better get them down just to be sure, you get inside and get the satellite back on."

"Right," Tali said, heading through the door. She walked into a control room, filled with consoles and a massive screen that took up most of the far wall. Dead scientists were everywhere, some in chairs at their work stations, some dead with their hands reaching towards the door, and a few piled together in a corner, probably where they had huddled in terror. There were a few dead Geth near the front, but there were easily twice as many dead Coalition soldiers.

"Keelah," Tali whispered, taking in all the dead. "The Geth outside must have been all that was left of the unit that swept here...is...is this what the Morning War was like?" Unbidden into her mind, images of swarms of Geth, massacring Quarian soldiers by the millions entered her thoughts. She shook her head. "Focus, you have a job to do."

Approaching a terminal at the front of the building, Tali holstered her shotgun and activated her omni-tool, connecting it to the terminal in front of her. "Firewalls," she whispered as the terminal attempted to contact the satellite, "Geth too by the looks of it." Her fingers furiously flew across her omni-tool, typing button after button, launching a handful of viral attacks at the firewall, but to no avail. "Frontal assault isn't going to work...maybe I can bypass the firewall." She began to type again, "If I upload enough junk data, maybe it will be distracted enough for me to...yes!" She allowed herself a slight grin as she managed to slip pass the firewall, gaining access to the satellites controls, deactivating the firewalls in the progress.

"Ashley! I have control!" she shouted.

"Good," the Gunnery Chief said, walking inside as she did. "Target those frigates before they can drop off anymore forces."

"Working on it...and...that should do it," Tali said, typing in a series of commands. From the windows alongside the wall, both of the women could see as a thin blue line appeared above one of the Geth frigates, only to be swiftly replaced by a massive beam of blue energy. It tore a gaping hole straight through the center of the frigate, which began to fall downward, smoking as it did. The second frigate reacted quickly, its engines flaring as it began to climb upward, ascending into the heavens.

"Damn. That settles it, after this is all over I'm buying you a drink," Ashley said. "I just need to contact command and tell them that we've got the satellites back under control. Hold on."

Tali nodded, idly looking around as she did. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotting something shift behind a desk. Her hand flew to her shotgun as she raised it and moved forward eying the movement. She took a large step forward to the other side of the desk, aiming her gun at what was behind it. It was not what she had been expecting. "Veetor?"

Veetor was huddled up against against the desk, tightly clutching what looked like a Geth rifle. "Hide...must hide...monsters coming...monsters kill me...hide...must hide...can't die...no no no no," he babbled, rocking back and forth

"Veetor snap out of it," Tali said, dropping down to one knee and gently shaking him by the shoulder. "It's me, Tali."

"T-Tali?" Veetor said, his eyes snapping forward to look at her. "I-is is really you?"

"Yes Veetor. I came here to take you home. Are you ok?"

"I-I came here to help with the satellites, the scanners were off but I fixed them, t-then the Geth showed up and I panicked. I grabbed one of their guns and I just kept shooting, I couldn't stop, couldn't stop, even after they left."

"Veetor, calm down. The Geth are gone, they can't hurt you anymore." Tali glanced down as she spoke and saw dark purple blood trickling down his suit and a recently sealed rupture.

"What's wrong with him?" Ashley asked, noticing where Tali had gone and walking over.

"His suit was punctured, he's probably running a fever. We need to get him out of here so that he can get medical attention."

Ashley nodded. "Gotta make it quick though. Command just told me that some more Geth got dropped not that far from here. They're probably going to head in this direction. Command has managed to establish a new connection so this place won't be worth that much to them now that they can't connect from here."

"But they can, the terminal-" Tali was cut off as Ashley drew her pistol, firing several shots at the computer, causing sparks to shoot out of it as it died. "I...fair enough." She grabbed Veetor by the arm and pulled it over her shoulder, helping him to his feet. "Come on Veetor, let's go home."

"Home," the Quarian whimpered as they slowly moved forward, still gripping the Geth rifle like it was a life line.

"Hurry, enemy reinforcements are going to be here any second!" Ashley said, aiming her rifle out of the door before stepping out, Tali right behind her. "We've got to find a place to bunker down and regroup with any other Coalition forces in the area. With any luck they'll have a doctor that can take care of him I-" Ashley trailed off as she heard the unmistakable sounds of gunfire, not that far away.

"It...it sounds like someone else is fighting the Geth," she whispered. "But there weren't any reports of other soldiers nearby. What the Hell?" She and Tali moved forward, Ashley with her assault rifle ready and Tali aiming her shotgun as well as she could with one hand. They made their way towards the corner, Ashley rounding it with her gun aimed straight ahead. The sight that she saw made her mouth drop.

Around a dozen dead Geth were lying on the pavement, a handful of survivors firing desperately at their opponents before being drowned in a mob of fire. Ashley looked at the source of the volley and saw a group of people making their way towards here. A Reman Skirmisher, a Left Hand Commander, a Coalition Ranger, an Eden Prime trooper, and a heavy infantry trooper. "I got a distress signal saying that someone in the area needed help," the heavy trooper said, "are you the one that...that...Ashley is that you?"

"Jane?" Ashley said, sounding surprised, "Jane Shepard? What the Hell are you doing all the way out here?"

"Long story, I promise I'll tell you later," Jane said, looking past Ashley at the cloud of smoke made by the downed Geth frigate. "Did you do that?"

"Technically she did," Ashley said, gesturing to Tali.

"A Quarian?" Jane asked, "what's she doing here?" Tali was surprised to hear that Jane sounded more confused than anything else.

"Tracking down a pilgrim," Ashley explained "I was helping her when the Geth hit. We were trying to get the satellite back up and use it to counterattack. I wanted some backup so I sent out the SOS."

"It was pretty brief. You didn't even say anything, it was just a raw signal," Jane said.

"I was in a hurry. Anyway where's your brother? He may be a complete idiot but I'll be very upset if he gets himself killed."

"We split up when we got your signal. Our team was more than big enough to afford some divide and conquer tactics. Still, if the situation here is dealt with I'd rather go and back him up. I'd grateful if you two could join us."

"Wait a minute!" Tali shouted, "what about Veetor? We can't just drag him into the middle of a warzone! He can barely stand."

"Hm," Jane said, sounding as if she was biting her lip. "I'd rather not risk using shuttles, there's too much chance that the Geth set up AA emplacements...but the frigate you downed and the one you chased off only got into the area and started dropping troops recently, so maybe they haven't had time to dig in...all right. I'll take a chance." She raised a hand to her COM unit. "Cortez, lock onto my coordinates. I need an emergency medical evac, bring Chakwas along. Tell her we have a wounded and infected Quarian who needs treatment."

"Understood!" the pilot replied as Jane lowered her hand.

"I...thank you," Tali said uncertainly.

Under her helmet, small smile crossed Jane's face. "You destroyed a frigate that was attacking this colony, quite possibly saving a couple hundred lives. It's the least that I could do."

XXXXX

Nihlus ducked down his head as he ran across a street, passing a burning Rhino and ducking into an alleyway. He was slowly making his way towards the dig site where the beacon was. He had encountered minimal resistance along the way, only a couple of Geth scouts and snipers that he had managed to dispatch with minimal difficulty.

Even though he had managed to avoid running into any main Geth forces, the devastation of their attack was everywhere. Even as Nihlus vaulted over a fence at the end of the alleyway and run along the sidewalk to a deserted street, burning cars and dozens of corpses were very obvious. Civilians and soldiers alike covered the ground, blood still pouring from their wounds. There were also a fair amount of destroyed Geth as well, but there was obviously much less of them.

"Odd," Nihlus muttered as he continued to sprint forward. "This is the way to the beacon and there are barely any Geth. Why come here and not go after the beacon? Then again, Coalition reinforcements won't be getting here anytime soon, they're in no rush. Yes, that makes sense, and it also explains why I've only seen scouts so far. The Geth are probably concentrating on the military bases in the area, making sure that there aren't any hostile forces left before they move out."

Nihlus continued to run, the pavement underneath his feet giving way to soil as he entered the farms. He continue to move, stopping only for a second to shoot a Geth who had been perched on top of a barn before continuing forward. Eventually, the earth began to tilt downward as the dig site drew closer, massive piles of loose soil around him. Before long, he came to a stop.

At the center of the dig site there was a massive pile of corpses, both Geth and Coalition. Deathclaws and Meta-Humans were also among the dead, all piled in front of the beacon which was, remarkably, still there. "Thank the spirits," Nihlus said, walking forward before putting his hand to his ear. "Garrus, it's Nihlus. I'm at the dig site, the beacon is still here. No sign of anyone though, Geth or Coalition. Get over here so that we can extract it."

"On it."

"I don't get it," Nihlus whispered, looking at the beacon. "They attacked the beacon and just left it here? Why?"

"I was wondering the same thing." Nihlus spun on the spot, his assault rifle aimed at the voice that had just spoken. His finger tensed on the trigger, but slackened as he saw the speaker.

"S-Saren?" The cybernetic Turian walked towards him, gun in hand "What are you doing here? What's going on?"

"The Council sent me ahead of you to scout out the area before you arrived. It was a clearly smart move."

"That doesn't make any sense," Nihlus said, "They would have told me if you were sent ahead. They put Vakarian on the same ship as me, so why wouldn't they even tell me about you?"

"The Council is scared of the Coalition, I don't blame them. I was sent here but I was undercover. No one knew that I was here. I was spying on the Coalition, learning everything that I could from them without them knowing about it."

"You? Spy? With all due respect Saren, someone like you sticks out."

"Nihlus," Saren said, walking forward and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I promise that I will explain everything later. Everything that I did had a purpose to it, but right now we need to deal with the current situation. Do you understand."

"I...yes," Nihlus said, relaxing slightly. "Sorry, it's just with the Geth here-"

"I understand."

"Well, now that I think about it, you being here is actually good news. Now we have three Spectres. Anyway the team that I was with is en route to this place to extract the beacon. I still don't understand why there are so many bodies but it's still here."

"It is possible that a handful of soldiers were able to defeat their attackers and then chose to flee before more Geth arrived. But that is just speculation...Nihlus."

"Yes?"

"I do believe that only one of us needs to keep an eye on the beacon. A single Spectre can make a large difference in this battle and the Geth are everywhere. There's an outpost a mile away from here that's under heavy attack, I picked up the distress call. I was about to answer it when you showed up. I think it would be for the best if I were to go after that while I stay here."

"What?" Nihlus said, looking surprised. "Saren, this beacon takes top priority. We're pouring every available resource that we can get into making sure that the Geth don't get their hands on this. If you're right about the first wave of Geth simply being wiped out then it's only a matter of time before they come back. Even if I could make it to that outpost before it's wiped out the Geth could strike here en mass any seconds. The two of us need to stay here until backup arrive."

"Nihlus, are you saying I can't handle this on my own? I really think you should go help those men. Even as we speak they're probably dying by the dozens."

"If the Geth get their hands on this beacon, they could advance their technology by decades, maybe even centuries. They've shown that they're clearly aggressive now, I don't know what's changed over the past three hundred years but if they're attacking organics now the beacon will give them an edge that we can't afford."

"Nihlus, please everything is under control. I have everything planned out, I'll even destroy the beacon if I have to."

"That's not going to work Saren, we need the beacon just as much as the Geth do. If they're coming out from behind the veil to declare way on us, then the beacon might help us beat them."

"Nihlus, I'm telling you-"

"I'm not leaving," the Turian growled.

"I...I see," Saren said slowly. "Very well. If you're going to stay here then guard the back while I guard the front."

"Fine," Nihlus said, as he turned to walk towards the rear of the big site. "I don't know why you were so adamant that I leave, it's almost like you want to get me away from...the beacon." Nihlus stopped dead in his tracks. "Saren, how did you get on this planet without the Coalition detecting you?"

There was a loud bang and a shot impacted on the back of Nihlus' shields. With a jolt, he spun around to see Saren holding a pistol in his hand, aiming it at him. Nihlus' hand flew forward as he raised his rifle, but before he could fire, Saren squeezed off several more shots, draining Nihlus' shields completely. Before he could even think, there was one last shot and Nihlus' felt a bullet tear through his throat.

He stumble backward, his rifle slipping from his hands and clattering to the ground before he fell over. "Damn it," Saren swore, walking forward, the hand around his pistol shaking violently, "Damn it." He stopped in front of the wounded Turian, who was desperately grasping at the hole in his throat. Saren raised his pistol and aimed it at Nihlus' head. The weapon shook in his hand and he attempted to line up a shot. The seconds slowly ticked by. A shot rang out.

Saren panted heavily as he looked at Nihlus' now lifeless body, purple blood pouring out of a gaping hole where his temple had used to be. "DAMN IT!" Saren roared, aiming his pistol at the corpse in front of him, firing shot after shot, riddling it with holes as he continued to shriek. "DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!" Before too long the pistol overheated, causing the fire to stop, even as Saren continued to pull the trigger. Stopping, he stared at Nihlus' body, blood pouring out of the countless holes in his chest.

"Do you think I wanted to do that?!" he shouted, "do you think I wanted to kill you Nihlus?! I tried to send you away so that nothing would happen to you, but you just had to be so FUCKING STUBBORN! I only wanted to attack the Coalition today! I didn't want...I didn't want...damn it." Saren looked down at the ground, his fist tightening around his pistol in anger. "I wanted more time, more time to prepare. But I had to act now, I couldn't let the Coalition tap into the beacon."

Saren's eyes flew to the beacon, his eyes narrowing in rage. If the Coalition hadn't dug up that infernal thing, none of this would have happened. "FUCKING THING!" he shouted, bringing his pistol and aimed it at the beacon. He was about to shoot when the unmistakable sound of assault rifle fire filled the air, a handful of bullets hitting his barriers. A biotic aura flared around Saren as he dove forward, taking cover behind an excavator as he did.

Peeking out from behind cover, he saw one of the many corpses get to it's feet, aiming a rifle at where he was hiding. His armor was pure black, with the exception of two blowing red eyes and a white skull on his helmet. "Wow, I have to admit that was fucking low," a gruff obviously male voice said. "He trusted you and you stabbed him in the back."

"I wouldn't talk if I were you!" Saren snapped, "you just laid there while I did it!"

The man chuckled. "You're a good actor if nothing else, you had me fooled too. Just so you know, you were half right earlier. Around a dozen other Moriean shock troops survived your first attack. Too bad they were all fucking pussies and ran off the second we learned who we were dealing with. I had to guard this thing all by my self. And now," he said, aiming his assault rifle where Saren was taking cover. "It's just you and me." As he spoke, Saren shot out of cover, both of them taking aim and firing at the same time.

XXXXX

"Do you really think that it was a good idea for us to split up?" Sheryl asked as she, John, Fawkes and Garrus all sprinted along the streets of Eden Prime.

"There were eight of us," John pointed out, "and we're just trying to grab the beacon, it's not going to take that many men. Besides we're not going to just let this colony burn when we had the chance to do something about it."

"You didn't say where they went. What exactly are they trying to do?" John was about to answer, but before he could, a blinding beam of energy came crashing down from the sky, ripping through a nearby Geth frigate. All four of them gazed at it in astonishment. "I...I take it that was them?"

"Yeah, they were going to help get that thing online," he said, watching as another Geth ship began to pull up in response, heading for orbit. "Looks like it worked...kinda wish that I went with them."

"You're certainly an odd one," Garrus remarked, looking at John.

"Yeah, I kind of get that a lot. Anyway, we should probably keep moving forward. The faster that we get the beacon out of here, the faster that we can start helping people getting this thing under control and-" he was cut off as something massive fell from the sky, smashing into the ground in front of them and kicking up a wall of dust. The four present aimed their rifles at the wall, opening fire at it. They were only able to get off a few shots before a massive ball of what appeared to be energy shot out, forcing them to dive for cover as it hit the ground and exploded with frightening force.

"Oh great, a Geth tank," John grunted as he and Garrus took cover behind a car, Sheryl and Fawkes doing the same with a burning tank. Sure enough, a long metal leg stretched out of the smoke as the Geth armature it belonged to began to walk forward, its optic glowing brightly as it charged up another shot.

"MOVE!" Garrus shouted as another blast flew from the Geth. The both he and John ran as the ball hit the car and causing it to exlode in a ball of fire.

"How are we supposed to deal with that thing?" John shouted as he dove behind a metal building, Garrus right behind him.

"We need to wear it down," Garrus said, "that main weapon of its is powerful but slow, probably designed for anti-tank purposes. If we keep hitting it and then get out of the way, we can chip it down, bit by bit. We're gonna have to spread out though, and it'd help if one of us could get up high."

"On it!" Sheryl shouted, drawing her crossbow and firing it at the top of a nearby building, the grapple catching on the side. She hastily tied the end around her waist and began to climb up, reaching the top and drawing her sniper rifle. She dropped down to a prone position and fired a shot directly at the armature's torso.

The synthetic registered the shot, but before it could do anything to react to it, Fawkes let out a roar as he shot out from behind the tank, firing his gatling laser at the armature, leaving black scorch marks all over the front and forward right led. The armature targeted Fakwes and fired another ball of energy, forcing the Meta-Human to take cover again.

Sheryl fired another shot at the Geth as John and Garrus both exited their cover, firing a laser rifle and an assault rifle respectively. Their shots hit the front of the armature, John's laser rifle passing right through its shields. It turned and fired another blast at John and Garrus, forcing them back into cover as it passed by.

Sheryl fired two more shots at the Geth, both of them hitting it on the head. It responded by looking upward and firing another ball at the top of the building that she was on. The Alaskan threw herself off of the building as the ball hit it, exploding and taking a fair chunk of it off.

Fawkes risked stepping out of cover again, firing his gatling laser at the armature again. It swiveled around to target and fire on him, but before it could do so, Garrus swapped out his assault rifle for his sniper rifle, popped out of cover, took aim and fired. The shot hit the armature in the optic, causing it to shatter into dozens of pieces and causing it to jerk as it fired. The ball hit the ground directly in front of it, blowing off its legs and most of its forward body, causing the now lifeless body of the armature to fall smoking to the ground.

"Ouch," Sheryl said, getting to her feet and rubbing her shoulder. "Got to remember to role the next time."

"I have to say that that was some pretty good sniping," Garrus said, walking over to where she stood. "Did you receive special training?"

"I...I uh, not really," Sheryl stuttered. "J-just had to get my own dinner since I was thirteen."

"Are you ok?" Garrus asked, "you seem a little tense."

"I...I'm just...yeah I'm fine," she said, looking slightly uncomfortable. "We should really get going." Garrus nodded uncertainly as Fawkes stepped out of cover. He gently nudged the Meta-Human as Sheryl walked away. "Is she ok?"

"Her? Yes, she's fine. Why do you ask?"

"It just seems a little weird. She shot at an armature that was firing anti-tank blasts without flinching, but when I try to talk to her she stutters like she has a condition. Do you know why?"

"I have a theory, but I feel that it would be rude to tell you it, especially if I turned out to be misinformed. If you wish to find out more about her, I suggest that you talk to her personally."

"Come on!" John shouted, discarding a spent microfusion cell and slapping in a fresh one, "we need to keep moving!" Garrus and Fawkes exchanged brief looks before they began to move forward again, along with Sheryl and John, heading in the direction of the beacon.

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Archimedes Defense Satellite: It became apparent as the Coalition continued to expand that it could not produce enough ships to defend all of its colonies, even when they were placed closer together to allow for reasonable travel times. When presented with this problem, many scientists looked to a Pre-War satellite that orbited Earth for inspiration, the Archimedes satellite.

The Archimedes satellite is capable of firing a continuous beam of energy at any target within geosynchronous orbit. A concentrated shot has proven to be lethal against frigates but multiple shots are required against heavier ships. Archimedes satellites are commonly deployed above planets to act as defenses against hostile raids, but are lightly armored and easily destroyed. They are also capable of targeting ground units if they are painted.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Well I was an asshole got myself banned from the Escapist for a couple of days, so I guess I've got some more time to work on this. Gah. I try not to be a jerk, I swear I really do but it seems like every time I put my fingers over a keyboard and read something I disagree with or think is dumb, then I lose my temper and do things I regret. I really am just a stupid teenager aren't I? Basically I can never figure out when I should keep my fucking mouth shut. Well, hopefully 3 days will be enough time for me to clear my head. But enough of my bitching.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm really trying to give Saren are more...for lack of a better word "human" side to him. Also I played the demo for a video game called Vanquish, which is kind of like Gears of War on speed. In other words it's pretty awesome. Does anyone have it? Your opinion please? Also what about Spec Ops the Line? Sorry to turn you all into a reference guide but when you hear Yahtzee, a guy who always rips on military shooters, talk about how good a military shooter's story is, my interest couldn't be more peaked...I'm not joking, Yahtzee reviewed a military shooter and say that he actually liked it...holy crap it must be good. So any opinions?


	19. Savage Fight

Chapter 19

Savage Fight

Author's Note: Not a whole lot to be said here, so let's just get right into it.

XXXXX

Saren raised his pistol and fired five shots at the Moriean shock troop as he ran across the battlefield, three of them missing but the other two hitting him in the chest. The shock troop was also running in the same direction, firing his assault rifle at the Turian, quite a few of the bullets hitting him. Saren snarled as he slid to a halt and extended one of his hands, sending a Stasis at the Human.

The Human threw himself back to avoid the orb of biotic energy, Saren using the opportunity to take cover behind a tree. Recovering his balance, the Human looked up just in time to see Saren lean out of cover and fire four more shots, all of them hitting him dead in the chest. Stumbling back slightly, the soldier raised his rifle and opened fire, but before he could Saren had slid back into cover again, causing all of the bullets to steam pass harmlessly.

"Slippery little fucker," the shock troop whispered "Got to find a way to corner him and crush him." As he spoke, Saren poked out of cover again and sent another biotic attack at the soldier again, this time a Singularity. It hit the ground not too far away. The shock troop dove forward in an attempt to avoid being caught in the Singularity, smashing into the ground as he did so.

He hastily scrambled to his feet as Saren poked out of cover again firing his pistol at him. As a few shots landed on him and took out the last of his shields, the shock troop raised his rifle and managed to get a few of the bullets to hit Saren before the Turian ducked back into cover. "Ok," the soldier whispered, reaching down and grabbing a grenade from his side, "enough of this hide and seek bullshit." With a grunt, he tossed the grenade as hard as he could, it landing just behind the tree. Saren, spotting it, hastily abandoned his cover, running out into the open as the grenade detonated, clipping his shields in the process.

The soldier didn't hesitate, raining down a hailstorm of bullets on Saren, many of them hitting the Turian. Realizing that he was in trouble, Saren took the only option that was open to him. A frontal charge. Biotic energy enveloped him as he executed a Charge, covering the distance in-between him and the soldier in a matter of seconds. As he impacted the ground in front of the soldier, he stumbled back from the force of the shockwave, and Saren took the opportunity to act.

He made to raise his pistol, but one of the soldiers hands shot out and grabbed his wrist like a vice grip, forcing him to keep the gun pointed down. He and Saren struggled for what felt like half a minute before Saren drew a combat knife with a flourish and stabbed the arm that was holding him. To his surprise, the soldier didn't recoil or even flinch as he did. In fact, a smirk spread under his helmet. "Ouch," he said in a mocking voice, raising his rifle with his spare hand and firing it.

Saren barely had time to think as he jumped back, releasing his grip on his knife and wrenching his captured arm as hard as he could, luckily it had been his cybernetic one. 'I don't understand!' he thought as he dropped to one knee and fired three shots from his pistol, forcing the shieldless shock troop to take cover behind a makeshift barracks. 'There wasn't even any blood! How could he have-' Saren stopped as he caught sight of his artificial arm out of the corner of his eye. "He's a cyborg," Saren whispered.

"BINGO! You win a prize!" Saren looked up just in time to see the shock troop leaning out of cover and extended his arm with the knife embedded in it out to face him. It was at this point that Saren realized that while that arm was the same black as his armor, it wasn't actually covered by it. It was a cybernetic implant. There was a green light at the center of the palm and Saren was forced to run for cover as a green blast flew through the air, narrowly missing him.

Recognizing the green energy to be plasma, Saren ran across the excavation sight, desperately attempting to avoid the blasts as he slid behind the narrow beacon, five shots barely missing him as he did. The shock troop extended his hand again, only for nothing to happen. "What!" he shouted "six shots already? Fucking piece of-" he was interrupted as Saren took advantage of his moment of vulnerability, enveloping himself in biotic energy and preformed another Charge, once again propelling himself forward and landing in front of the shock troop. This time Saren raised his pistol the second that he landed and hastily squeezed off two shots. A slight smile of satisfaction spread across his face as the bullets from his heavy pistol pierced the armor, causing trickles of red blood to trickle out.

"FUCK!" the shock troop shouted, rage heavy in his voice as he swung his cybernetic arm at Saren's face. A sharp pain tore through Saren as he felt claws digging into his cheek and tearing away at his flesh, leaving three deep gashes. He fired a third shot into the soldier's chest, earning another spurt of blood, before enveloping himself and biotic energy again and propelling himself back to behind the beacon.

"What was that?" he whispered, rubbing the blood off of the side of his face. "Humans don't have claws...did he sharpen the fingers of his cybernetic arm? And some people call Turians savage. Then again it doesn't matter, he's badly wounded, finishing him off should be easy now."

"Motherfuck!" the shock troop swore, leaning his back against the wall of the barracks, clutching the wounds in his chest. Grasping for a canister of medi-gel, he hastily sprayed it on his wounds, plugging them. "Crap, well that should hold me together for now. I'm going to kill that little bitch." He leaned out of cover and took aim at Saren, only to immediately be forced back down by suppressing fire. "FUCK!" he roared, smashing his fist into the side of the barracks in frustration.

'Just a little more,' Saren thought, leaning out of cover with his pistol aimed at where the shock troop was hiding 'just a little-' Saren's line of though was broken as he spotted a speck of yellow out of the corner of his eye and, on reflex, sank into cover again. This decision may have very well saved his life, for no sooner had he crouched behind the beacon than a stream of lasers breezed passed him.

"Reinforcements," he snarled, peaking out the other side of the beacon and seeing a squad of around four approaching his position. "I don't have time for this." He reached down and grasped a timed explosive at his waist and slapped it onto the base of the beacon. He then activated his omni-tool and hastily typed in a set of commands.

Around half a mile away, a shuttle activated and rose up from where it had been hidden in the hills. The VI on board piloting it to where Saren was, speeding through the air at top speed until it landed directly in front of him, the door sliding open. Without hesitating, Saren threw himself inside, countless shots streaming pass him and hitting the side of the shuttle as he did. Pressing another button on his omni-tool again, the door slid shut and the engines fired, propelling him upward as fast as the shuttle could go.

Saren slumped against the side of the shuttle, his chest heaving. "All forces, the mission has been accomplished, I repeat, the mission has been accomplished. Withdraw at once," he said, pressing his hand to his ear before letting it fall to his side. "I...I did it," he whispered. The charge that he had planted only had three minutes until it went off, and when it did it would completely destroy the beacon and any secrets that it held. He had robbed the Coalition of a very valuable asset. A faint feeling of accomplishment flowed through him, only to be swiftly snuffed out as he remembered what he had had to do in order to accomplish his goal.

"Nihlus," he whispered. "I...I didn't...no," he said, shaking his head. "You did what you had to do. Nihlus was in your way, he was going to make it so that the beacon would stay there, in Coalition hands. You...you tried to make it so that he would go to where there weren't any Geth, to where he would be safe, but he was just too stubborn to listen. It's...it's his fault that he died." Saren's words did nothing to dispel the horrible empty feeling inside of him as the shuttle continue to head upward.

"Enough of that, you have more important things to worry about." Getting to his feet, he activated his omni-tool and pressed a button, causing a map of the milky way to appear. All across it where approximately two dozen red dots. Years ago, he had taken it from one of the scientists of Sovereign and examined all of the coordinates. What he had found there would be his key to winning the coming war. But until then, he needed time, he needed to divert the Coalition's attention elsewhere.

"The beacon has made everything more complicated," he hissed, "it appears that my allies will have to move now."

XXXXX

"COWARD!" Fawkes roared as he fired his gatling laser at the retreating shuttle, even as it continued to speed away.

"Screw it, the assfuck is gone." John hesitantly approached the Moriean shock troop as he gingerly got to his feet. "Oh yeah, thanks for the save...I guess," he said dryly.

"Uh...you're welcome?" John said hesitantly. "What's your name?"

"Roger Andrews."

"I'm John Shepard."

"Do I look like I care?" the shock troop said scathingly.

"So, we save your life and you have an attitude," Sheryl said, her voice low and icy. "I'm starting to regret that we helped you."

"Oh, cry me a river," Roger said, pressing a button on his cybernetic arm, causing it to eject a spent microfusion cell. "And you? Save me? Pft, don't pat yourself on the back too much. The little bitch was already hiding like a coward, you just lay down some suppressing fire and made him ran, don't act like I would've died otherwise."

"Those holes in your chest say otherwise."

"Scratches, I would be a pretty shitty soldier if I let paper cuts like this slow me down," Roger said, reaching up and taking off his helmet, revealing his face. His hair was short and brown, but what really stood out was his right eye, which glowed a bright red

"All right, everyone just calm down!" John shouted "the Geth attacked and we're all under a lot of stress, the last thing that we need is to tear each other apart." He turned to look at Roger again, "Who was that Turian?"

"Oh Spirits," Garrus said, walking forward. "Nihlus." Heads turned to look where Garrus was heading, bringing Nihlus' bullet riddled corpse into view.

"Yeah," Roger said. "He got caught off guard by the other Turian, a guy named Saren. Shot him in the back, no idea why though."

Garrus turned to look at Roger. "Please, I'm begging you, tell me everything that you saw."

As the two of them continued to talk, John noticed that the beacon had begun to emit a faint green glow. Curiosity getting the better of him, he began to walk forward, starting at it. "Huh, that's weird," Roger said, noticing the beacon "it wasn't doing that when we got here. The battle must have caused it activate." John didn't say anything as he continued to slowly move towards the beacon, eying it wearily.

"Shepard, I'm not sure you should be getting too close to that thing," Garrus said cautiously. "We don't know what it-SHEPARD!" The beacon let out a flash, glowing bright as John was pulled forward and three feet into the air by an unknown force.

"The fuck!" Roger shouted as John began to writhe in the air. John grit his teeth in agony as image after image flew through his mind, too fast for him to make out, an incomprehensible red blur.

Garrus, Sheryl and Fawkes all started forward, heading towards the beacon, but before they could take more than three steps John fell to the ground, the green light that had enveloped the beacon disappearing. "Is he ok?" Garrus asked as the three of them reached him.

Sheryl knelt down and pressed her index and middle finger against his throat, feeling for a pulse. "He's alive, but his heart rate is damn high," she said softly.

"So this whole time I was guarding a seizure machine?" Roger asked, sounding annoyed. "Oh that's just peachy, glad I stuck my neck out for that one." He shook his head in disgust and was about to speak again when he heard a faint beeping noise, coming from behind the beacon. "What the..." he said, walking forward and edging around the beacon to look at the origin of the noise. The others looked up as he did, hearing the noise as well. Roger came to a stop and looked at the rear of the beacon, spotting a small metal device planted onto the back.

"Oh shit, BOMB!" he yelled. No sooner had he done so than the device detonated. The explosion was a fairly small one, but it still consumed the beacon in a ball of force and fire and caused the shields of all those nearby to flicker. Roger raised his arm to shield his eyes from the explosion. When he lowered it, saw that all was left of the beacon was a small metal stump with sparks shooting out of it.

"That son of a bitch," Roger hissed, "he left that there."

"Listen to me," Garrus said, getting to his feet and walking to where Roger stood, "I know that you're angry, but if what you're saying is true that we have a big problem on our hands. Saren is one of the oldest Council Spectres and one of the most highly decorated ones. If he had something to do with helping the Geth attack this planet then he's gone rogue and we need to bring this to the Council so we can strip him of his Spectre status. If we're going to do that, we're going to need proof though."

"So...you believe me when I say that it was him?" Roger asked, looking at Garrus and sounding slightly hesitant.

"I know for a fact that I saw a Turian get into that shuttle and Nihlus didn't shoot himself in the throat. I don't get the feeling that you randomly said a Turian sounding name and happened to get one that was the same as a pretty well known figure in the Council. Besides, this actually makes sense when I think about it. Saren has gone on public record saying that he thinks that the Coalition is a threat to galactic society as a whole. But we need evidence to prove that he was here, otherwise the Council won't act. Do you have anything that could help do that?"

Roger paused for a moment, clearly deep in thought, before a smile spread across his face. "Well, I did scratch him," he said, holding up his cybernetic arm. The fingers had all been sharpened into brutal looking claws, which were drenched in Turian blood. "Think that'll do split jaw?"

"What? I...never mind. Yes, if that's Saren's blood, it should be enough evidence to prove that he was here. Even if we can't connect him to the Geth, he was still within Coalition territory without authorization, which is in direct violation of the treaty of Shanxi. This should work nicely."

"Quick question, how come you've got such a massive hate boner for this guy?"

"Saren? Let me tell you something Andrews, I joined the Spectres because I care about the people of the Council, I want to do everything that I can to protect them. Not only did Saren just spit on all of that, he might have very well just started a war that could get who knows how many people killed, and killed one of the best Spectres that I have ever met in my life, even if we agreed on nothing."

"Whatever," Roger said, "So long as we get a chance to nail this prick, I'm happy."

"Admiral," Garrus said, putting his finger to his ear, "we have a situation down here. The beacon was destroyed and Commander Shepard is unconscious."

"What?" Anderson replied. "Is he all right?"

"As far as we can tell. He should still be examined though. I know that it's probably a risk but you should send a shuttle for him. We'll bunker down until there is an opening in the Geth fleet."

"Actually...I was about to contact you about that. The Geth are retreating."

"What? As in a full withdrawal?"

"Yes. It's actually quite unnerving, reinforcements are still hours away at the very least and Eden Prime's defenses are all but gone. You said that beacon was destroyed? Do you think that might have had a connection?"

"It might have. It was destroyed by a Turian named Saren. He...he killed Nihlus."

"I'm sorry Garrus," Anderson said sincerely. "Were you good friends?"

"I...not really. We mainly butted heads all the time but...he was a good Spectre...he deserved better."

"Are you certain that it was Saren?"

"We have a sample of blood down here, not to mention an eye witness."

"Damn it. If it's really Saren that we have a big problem, and we already have enough on our plate with the Geth coming out of nowhere en force. Garrus...is Saren with the Geth?"

"The second he blows up the beacon they make a full retreat? I doubt that can be much of a coincidence...he needs to pay."

"I agree. The beacon is gone, countless people are dead, and he's brought an ancient threat back to the forefront of the galaxy. He has a lot to answer for. The shuttle is on the way. We're taking this one directly to the Council."

XXXXX

"Christ," Jenkins whispered. He was standing in the starboard observation room of the Normandy, looking down at Eden Prime. His hands were hanging loosely at his sides as he looked at the planet, some of the damage one the surface was visible from orbit and the wreckage of starships were still orbiting the planet.

He didn't even react as the door slid open and Jane walked in, her helmet gone. "You ok Jenkins?" she asked, stopping next to him.

"I...I don't know," he said honestly. "Cap...where are you from?"

"To be honest John and I spent a lot of our lives on spaceships, but we also spent a lot of time on Mars with our relatives. I'd like to think of that as where I was raised."

"Ok. Imagine...imagine if you were there a couple of months ago, but when you came back it was being attacked by Krogan. Everyone that tried to defend it died or was wounded, who knows how many civilians were killed, and the people that did it, did it like it was easy. It's just...it's just a lot to take in."

"I admit I don't know what you're going through," Jane said softly, "but I do understand that it's got to be hard on you. I'm your Captain Jenkins, and I just want to let you know that if you ever need to talk to me about anything, you don't need to hesitate."

"It's just...Eden Prime is my home. I've lived there my entire life, even when I became a soldier I didn't leave Eden Prime for over a year. The...the Normandy was the first time I ever got stationed off planet. I always thought that when I got back to Eden Prime it would be just the way that I left it...but...but it's never going to be the same now is it?"

"I'm not going to lie to you, no it isn't. People aren't going to forget what happened her for a long time." She reached out and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "But that doesn't mean it can't be great again. Eden Prime will recover from what happened today. Wounds can heal and buildings can be rebuilt. I'm confident that the people of this world can unite and put their planet back together if they've got even a tenth of the spirit that you do. So don't lose hope Richard, because frankly now you need it more than ever."

Jenkins cracked a nervous smile. "Thanks cap."

"Don't mention it," Jane said warmly. As she did, her COM unit beeped. "Yes?" she said, putting her finger to her ear.

"Captain, the Admiral said that he wanted to speak with you in the CIC," said the voice of Samantha Traynor.

"Got it Sam." Jane lowered her hand and glanced at Jenkins one more time. "I have to run, Anderson wants to talk to me. Just remember that if you ever need to talk to anyone, don't hesitate to come to me or Kelly."

"Right. Thanks cap."

Jane smiled slightly. "We're going to make the people who did this pay Jenkins, I promise you that," she said as she turned and left the room, heading for the elevator. She let out a slight sigh as she stepped inside, the doors closing behind her. Jenkins had always been a reliable source of enthusiasm and optimism. Seeing him depressed like that was disheartening, and Jane couldn't help but bite her lip as the elevator continued upward.

"Stop it," she said, chastising herself. "It's not your fault that he's like this. You did everything that you could, Hell, you even helped get one of the defense satellites back online. You can't snap your fingers and make an entire invading fleet blow up." Despite her reasoning, Jane couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt at seeing one of the men under her command in so much agony.

She let out another sigh, this one of frustration, as the elevator stopped and the door slid open. "Captain." She looked up to see Garrus waiting for her by the door.

"Garrus," she said politely as she fell into step with him, heading for the CIC. "How is everything holding up? How's John?"

"Your brother is in the infirmary. The Doctor says that apart from some increased brain activity, everything is completely normal. He's expected to wake up in a couple of hours. Also we brought a Moriean shock troop on board. He's being treated for gunshot wounds right now, but he got a good look at Saren and a sample of his blood. He's not exactly very pleasant though, if I were you I'd dump him the second I don't need him anymore. Anyway I heard that you picked up a couple of passengers too."

"Yeah. Two Quarians. One of them is an engineer who helped in the defense of the colony and a pilgrim. The engineer probably saved quite a few lives so I figured the least that I could do is get her friend some proper medical treatment. We brought a Gunnery Chief along too. She's a family friend and she helped the Quarian get one of our defense satellites back on. She...insisted that she come."

"So that pilgrim is in the same med-bay as the shock troop...I don't envy him right now."

Jane gave a weak chuckle as the two of them stepped into the CIC, where Anderson was reading from a datapad. "I'm glad that the two of you are here. We don't have too much time to act. Jane, I take it you understand the situation?"

"Sheryl filled me in over the COM lines. We've got a renegade Spectre attacking us the same day the Geth poke their heads out of the veil for the first time in three centuries. You don't think it's a coincidence do you?"

"No, I don't," Anderson said. "Spectres aren't allowed anywhere near Coalition territory. It took a couple of weeks of debating for Garrus and Nihlus to get authorization. What's more, the Geth started retreating the second he destroyed the beacon. What's more I've done a lot of reading on Saren and I don't like what I've seen."

"How come you know about him? Garrus asked. "A good portion of Spectre missions are classified."

"The Coalition gathers every last scrap of data that they can on the Spectres. I have a file on Saren, I had one on Nihlus and, to be honest, I have one on you Garrus."

"I'm not sure I appreciate every last high ranking officer in the Coalition going over every bit of my life that isn't classified," Garrus said, his eyes narrowing.

"We can discuss that later. Saren isn't exactly eager to be friends with the Coalition, and if he's somehow found a way to control the Geth, millions of lives could be at risk. But there's another reason that I called you two up here." Putting down the datapad, Anderson approaching the table in the center of the CIC, pressing a button that activated a holographic projector.

A flat screen of empty space was projected into the air, facing them. "This was taken by one of the satellites in orbit of Eden Prime before it was destroyed. Ground teams managed to salvage this and...well look." As the recording continued to play, a massive ship over a kilometer long came into sight. A series of projectiles smashed into the front of the ship, but its shields did not waver. A shot from a Tesla cannon flew forward and passed through the shield and hit the center of the ship, but the vessel did not seem to be harmed by the blast. The ship then raised what appeared to be tentacles and fired a massive beam of red at a nearby Coalition ship, tearing right through it.

"The Coalition lost thirty ships today," Anderson said grimly "Fifteen of them were destroyed by this particular vessel. Direct shots from mass accelerators did no noticeable damage, Tesla cannons did nothing to damage it's electronics, and its weapons tore through our defenses like it was nothing. This ship has kinetic barriers, hardened electronics and weapons like we've never seen before."

A moment of silence passed as Jane and Garrus drank in the monstrosity that they had just seen. "Is...is it Geth?" Jane asked.

"I'm not certain to be honest. It doesn't look like any of the other ships that we say during the attack and there's a massive gap in size and effectiveness between it and the other ships. If the Geth had this kind of technology, why wouldn't they put it on all their ships? They're machines, they don't have limitations of budget."

"So what is it?" Garrus asked.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it's clearly hostile. And I don't doubt that one day, we'll have to fight it again."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTIRES ADDED

The Attack on Eden Prime: While Coalition colonies have been attacked before in the past, they have never been attacked with the same ferocity or destruction that Eden Prime was. The battle began when a frigate detected Geth ships exiting FTL and opening fire on all defensive ships with deadly efficiency, with a massive ship of highly advanced technology leading the charge. The ships defending the planet were mostly destroyed, with a handful fleeing as they realized how hopeless it the fight was.

Afterwards the Geth then launched ground units, which attacked Eden Prime's main settlement with unrelenting force. Military and civilian structures were attacked, heavy causalities were suffered and a recently unearthed Prothean beacon was destroyed. At time of writing, the exact death toll is unknown, but is easily within the thousands and possibly even the tens of thousands.

XXXXX

Author's Note: "Sigh" You know, I thought for the longest time that mankind had evolved beyond petty hatred, but simply dipping into the religion and politics sections of the Escapist proves that wrong, and there's plenty of other evidence hiding around the internet. Europeans hate Americans, Americans hate Europeans, whites hate blacks, blacks hate whites, men hate women, women hate men, atheists hate religious people, religious people hate atheists, heterosexuals hate homosexuals, it's really depressing.

Now some people have arguments for their hatreds like "men are the cause of all the world's evil" and "all religion is corrupt" and let's not forget the stupid "God wouldn't want this." It really gives me a headache that people can give themselves in to such pettiness. Some of these things you can't even tell about a person by looking at them, you could be having a decent conversation with a guy, and he could idly let it slip that he was gay, or religious, or an atheist, and someone would hate him for it.

You know, contrary to many think, a major rule in my faith (Catholicism, or at least the way I practice it) is treat others the way you want to be treated. And as someone else once said, "that doesn't mean waiting for them to go first". We're going to be stuck on this planet together for at least another century, probably longer, and if we can't figure out how to do something as basic as learning to get along, then we're in serious trouble.

Look I'm just trying to say this. It's pretty much impossible for a Human being to go through life without getting mad or hating someone, but if you're going to do that, just try to do it because the person that you hate is a dick and simply unpleasant and not because he believes in God, or doesn't believe in God, or because he likes men. I know this is really elementary level stuff, but the way some people act in the world, I think we could all use a refresher course, myself included. Hell, maybe this is why so many people watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic nowadays, myself included. In fact, I highly recommend the show...I know I know, but it's surprisingly good. Good characters, good humor, good references and while the morals are kinda cheesy, like I said apparently we could all use a good refresher course, myself included. Just give the show a try, watch the first couple of episodes. It doesn't insult your intelligence like other shows do. You want convincing? Well in one episode they make a shout out to Big Lebowski...I'm serious. Well, I hope you give it a shot, and remember, try to look at your fellow man and try to see another person, not an atheist or a Christian, or a homosexual, or an African, or anything like that.


	20. Fragile Agreement

Chapter 20

Fragile Agreement

Author's Note: Got this one out as fast as I could. It was a little slow but I hope that the length makes up for that. Hope that you enjoy.

EDIT: Something really weird happened and the chapter didn't show up the first time. Let's try it again.

XXXXX

Roger hissed in pain as Chakwas injected a syringe into his neck, injecting him with painkillers. "GAH! FUCK!" he swore, rubbing his skin as she syringe was pulled back. "For christ's sake that's the third damn needle! Are you just going to keep doing this until I'm a freaking pin cushion?"

Chakwas frowned slightly as she walked towards a small table, discarding the used syringe as she did. "If you must know, that was the last one. Your wounds are cleaned and bandaged and I injected you with some chemicals that should speed up the local regeneration. Just don't take things too hard and you should heal up within a couple of days. You can put your armor back on now."

"Gee, thanks," he said dryly. He was sitting on one of the beds in the med-bay naked from the waist up, bandages covering the places where he had been shot. This caused his cybernetic arm to stand out even more, as it contrasted rather noticeably against his bare skin. "How's the DNA scan coming along?" he asked as he slid on a tank top and then began to place his armor on bit by bit.

"Almost done," Chakwas answered curtly, "it should be finished by the time that we get to the Citadel. If that blood really is Saren's, we'll have undeniable proof that Saren was behind the attack."

"Good," Tali said. She was sitting next to Veetor who was sleeping in one of the beds, two away from Roger. In between the two of them, John Shepard lay on a bed, his eyes still closed. "But do you think that the Council will really listen to you? I've heard that they have a tendency to not listen to people."

"Yeah, I heard that too," Roger said, slapping on his chest piece. "But there's a line between stubborn and mentally retarded, and while the Council has done some really stupid ass shit in the past, I don't think that they're retarded, just as stubborn as they come. They do act if you can get them undeniable and solid evidence they tend to get off their fat asses. Like a DNA test."

As he slid the last of his armor on, Roger reached down to his side and grabbed a microfusion cell, inserting it into a small slot in his cybernetic arm. "I've never seen a weapon like that before," Tali commented.

Roger chuckled. "Yeah, well it's not exactly standard issue. You'd need to cut your arm off and get a replacement to use it and not many people are that keen to do that. Besides, I can only fire it six times before I need to reload, and even then it only packs as much punch as a plasma pistol. It's a core part of my arm though, so it makes a good concealed weapon." He slid the slot in his arm shut, forcing the microfusion cell into place. "So how come you're here?"

"My friend needed medical attention and the Normandy was willing to provide it, but now that he's here it's not exactly safe to move him until he's made a full recovery. He has a pretty bad infection, he's running a fever and he can't even keep down nutrient paste, he has to have nutrients injected directly into him. The whole reason I even went to Eden Prime in the first place was to find him. I wasn't going to just leave him behind."

As she talked, Tali could have sworn that she saw something behind Roger's good eye and see his hand tremble slightly. "That's...that's admirable of you," he said. Tali blinked. Overall the shock troop had been rather unpleasant from the moment that he had come onboard but...there was no sarcasm in his words. He had been rude and insulting to just about everyone at all times, why was know so different?

"I...pardon me. I haven't had anything to eat since the attack started." Without another word, Roger got to his feet, grabbed his rifle and made his way out of the med-bay.

"What was that all about?" Tali said, looking at Chakwas.

"I wish I knew dear, but I'm a surgeon, not a physiologist," the doctor answered honestly.

Both of them turned their heads as the door opened again to see Ashley walking in. She paused for a second before sticking her thumb behind her. "Am I seeing things or was that a Moriean shock troop that just walked past me?" Tali nodded. "Oh...God damn it," Ashley swore. "This is going to be a pain in the ass."

"He seemed ok...if a little weird," Tali said. "Though to be fair I wouldn't mind if he stopped swearing every other sentence."

"I'm not kissing Vakarian because of the guy you've known for all of five minutes and because he wasn't particularly rude to you."

"I...what?" Chakwas said, looking back and forth between the two women.

"I'd rather not talk about it. It's...something I'd rather keep a surprise," Tali said, her voice sounding slightly sly.

Ashley smirked. "Keep dreaming 'Zorah."

"Dreams have a funny way of coming true if you're willing to put your back into them Williams," Tali countered. "And Quarians are many things, but lazy isn't one of them."

"Huh? Williams?" Both of them looked to see John snapping into a sitting position in his bed his eyes scanning the room before coming to rest of Ashley. "Ash? I...what are you doing here?"

A small smile spread across Ashley's face. "I was on Eden Prime and I decided to stick along when I heard that you had gotten yourself into a coma. Your sister has got to be busy running this ship, so I figured she could use someone to make sure that you didn't get yourself killed."

"Oh, haha," he said, getting to his feet. "I...ow." As he attempted to take a step, John staggered slightly, clutching his head.

"Commander? Are you all right?" Chakwas asked. "I detected several abnormalities while you slept including increased eyelid activity, usually indicative of dreams. Did you see anything while you slept?"

"I...kinda," John said hesitantly. "I defiantly saw something...but I haven no idea what it was. Everything was just a blur. It...it looked like a war, complete and utter chaos. That's all I can be really sure about." He looked up. "Maybe we'll be able to understand what it means better once we get someone to take a look at the beacon."

"Uh...Commander," Chakwas said slowly. "I...I'm afraid that's not going to happen. The beacon...well...you see-"

"It got blown up," Ashley said bluntly. "Timed charge. The Turian that you fought planted it."

"I...what?!" John shouted.

"Yeah. From what I heard we're heading to the Citadel right now," Ashley said. "Apparently the Turian who did it was a Spectre named Saren. The Admiral is going to try and prove it to the Council and get him kicked out of the Spectres and put on trial for war crimes. We've got some pretty solid evidence too."

"Yeash, I take a nap for a couple of hours and when I wake up there's threat of war with the Council. As if the Geth wasn't bad enough."

"The Admiral told me that he wants you to be present at the hearing. He wants you to testify."

"Why me?"

"Uh, it might have had something to do with the team that was supposed to safely extract the beacon and fought the Turian that blew it up being lead by you," Ashley said dryly. "Maybe, I'm not quite sure."

"Oh yeah," John said. "How long till we get there?"

"Not long, only half an hour," Ashley said.

"Tali, I think I saw your suit get nicked in the battle," Chakwas said. "You should come with me, Adams probably has something that can patch it up."

"What? My shields never even got breached why-" out of the corner of her eyes, Tali saw John and Ashley looking at each other with a certain...desire in their eyes. Something clicked in her mind. "Oh, wait a minute, that's right. My leg did get scrapped. I probably should take care of it before it gets worse." She glanced at Ashley. "Do me a favor and call me if Veetor wakes up. He's stable, but I just want to be safe." The two women got to their feet and hastily exited the med bay.

Ashley groaned loudly as the door closed behind them "Christ. Are we really THAT obvious?"

John chuckled before leaning towards her and pecking her on the check. "I guess we are."

"Oh goody. By the way," she said, turning to face him. "I had a quick talk with Garrus and he told me some very interesting things. How come when you saw a glowing alien artifact your first thought was to walk towards it? What the Hell were you going to do? Lick it?"

John shrugged sheepishly. "I dunno. I thought that it might have been damaged in the battle or something."

"Which is why it was glowing green," Ashley said. "You're an idiot."

"And?" he replied, a confident smile on his face.

"Oh Jesus Christ, don't give me that look," she retorted, unable to control herself as she began to smile. "Would it kill you just to be a little more careful? One of these days you're either going to get yourself seriously hurt, maybe even killed. You may have power armor and a Meta-Human backing you up but you're still not invincible. Honestly, I really wish Jane knew how to keep you on a shorter leash."

"Ash, I can honestly tell you that I'm never trying to get myself hurt. I'm a soldier, I'm just doing my job. I'm going to have to put myself at risk in this line of work."

"There's a difference between being in a firefight and running into the middle of one bare ass naked with a bulls eye painted on your forehead. Guess which one you tend to do more often?"

"And have I ever gotten seriously hurt? To the point where it was life threatening?"

"No, but not for lack of trying. Look, just be a little more careful from now on. You've got a sister, your parents and me in your life. Don't get yourself killed because you wanted to be a hero."

"Ok Ash," he whispered softly leaning in and pecking her on the lips. "I'll be a little more careful from now on."

"Good. Because if you don't you're going to be stopping at the pearly gates with my boot up your ass."

"Kinky," John said, earning himself a playful punch from Ashley and prompting both of them to laugh. "Anyway, I should probably get ready. I doubt that the Council will appreciate me showing up in heavy combat armor."

"Wait, if you're not going to wear that what are you going to...you're not."

John shrugged. "It's the only other thing that I have, besides, the Coalition doesn't have a dress code for off duty soldiers and officers. I'm a soldier, not a fashion model. Besides, I don't know if I ever told you this, but heavy infantry troopers don't wear their armor while they're not in a combat zone or on a ship. In public it's just way too bulky and a little tricky to maneuver in. Plus it tends to intimidate people."

Ashley chuckled. "That settles it, I'm coming along. I need to see the look on the Council's faces when they see you in that damn ugly thing."

XXXXX

"Why are you staring?" Jane asked, looking at Cornelia.

"I...nothing," the skirmisher said, "It's just that...I don't think I've ever seen you wear that before. It doesn't look bad or anything, in fact you pull off the hoodie look really well. Just kinda caught me off guard is all." Jane was sitting at a table in the Flux, along with Cornelia and Charon, an hour after the ship had docked at the Citadel. She had removed her power armor and was now wearing a black hoodie with matching sweat pants.

"I got it a year ago as a present and it's pretty comfy. Besides, unlike my brother I don't like to stick out in a crowd and this thing is pretty damn plain and ordinary. So...yeah, it's pretty much my favorite outfit."

"Ah. Ok." Cornelia glanced at the bar, where Adam and Jenkins were getting drinks. "How come we're here again? And how come the others aren't here?"

"John, Fawkes, Ashley and Sheryl are busy right now with Saren's hearing. I don't know when they're going to be out. You guys may not have done a whole lot on Eden Prime, but you still risked your lives down there and I say you've earned your Captain buying you a couple of drinks." She gave a small smile. "I'll be sure to grab a couple of bottles for everyone else. I should probably get a couple of dextro amino acid ones too. Tali did help defend the colony and Garrus was with John so they've earned it. Besides, I thought something nice would help take Jenkins's mind off of what he saw on Eden Prime."

"So...how come you aren't drinking?" Cornelia asked. While the Reman had a shot glass filled with whiskey in front of her, Jane was holding a simple glass of ice and water.

"Oh, I'm not big on booze. It tastes like crap." She hesitantly glanced from one side to the other before leaning in and whispering in Cornelia's ear. "And...uh...between you and me...I really can't hold my liquor."

"Ow," Cornelia said as Jane leaned back.

"Do me a favor and please don't tell anyone. It's enough of a chore keeping my idiot brother's mouth shut."

Charon chuckled as Cornelia gave her a thumbs up. "You can count on me, I'm really good at keeping secrets."

"Uh, where did you get the money to pay for all of that?" The three of them turned to see Adam and Jenkins heading back towards their table. "Couple hundred credits isn't something that most people carry around."

Adam smiled as they sat down, Jenkins holding a shot glass of something green while Adam had a bottle of Nuka-Cola. "Every time I get a paycheck a put a little to the side, just for something like this," he said, popping the cap off and taking a sip.

"Uh, what happened?" Cornelia asked.

"Adam...just ordered three crates of Nuka-Cola to be delivered to the Normandy...with cash he payed out of his pocket." Jenkins said, staring at the Left Hand commando.

"They have Nuka-Cola here?" Charon asked, looking surprised.

"I had a hard time believing it myself, but it was right there on the menu," Adam said, taking another swig from the bottle before putting it down. "The bartender said that enough Humans visit the Citadel and enough aliens drink it to make carrying it profitable. I'm not complaining."

"Ok, now would you care to explain the part where you decided that it would be a good idea to buy three crates of the stuff," Jane said, narrowing her eyes every so slightly.

"You see, I may be a soldier, but I'm also a priest of the New Catholic Church. I'm took an oath when I became one and I'm not allowed to drink alcohol, unlike the rest of you. Still, just because I'm a man of the cloth doesn't mean I need to completely deprive myself of pleasure, so while everyone else gets drunk, I keep a stash of Nuka-Cola wherever I go. I bought three crates today because...well to be honest my stash is about to run out and I don't know when I'll get another chance to stock up again." He looked around, "But just so you know I'd be more than willing to share."

Jane gave a slight chuckle. "I appreciate the gesture, but frankly I'm fine with water."

Adam smiled and was about to reply when a shout tore across the entire bar. "What the Hell is this supposed to be?! You call this scotch you little dwarf?!"

All of their heads snapped in the direction of the voice, which happened to be coming from the bar. A Standard-Human in a naval uniform was standing in front of the bar, shouting at the Volus bartender. "I want a refund you piece of shit!"

"I "gasp" gave you "gasp" exactly what you asked you "gasp" Earth-clan," the Volus said, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's not "gasp" my fault if you "gasp" don't like it."

"Fuck you you little midget. You're gonna get it if you don't give me my money back. I'm a fucking Coalition navy Lieutenant, do you really think you want to fuck with me?"

"Pardon me," Cornelia said as she got to her feet. "I'm gonna go kick that guy's ass."

"I'm going with you," Jenkins said, hastily standing up as well.

"Whoa, whoa, hold it. You can't just go charging in there with your fists swinging," Jane said.

"So what?" Cornelia said, "we're just supposed to let him abuse his rank like that?"

"I didn't say that, I said that you just couldn't run in throwing punches." She slowly stood up, sliding her hood over her head, the light casting the upper half of her face in shadow. "I'll take care of it, I've got a plan," she said, activating her omni-tool and pressing a couple of buttons before making her way forward.

Slowly she made her way across the Flux to the bar, where the Lieutenant was still shouting. He was now loud enough to cause several heads to turn to look at them, many with looks of disgust on their face. "You're making a big mistake little man," the officer growled, "you've got no idea what kind of connections I've got. I'm going to rain down a metric shit ton of Hell down on you if you don't-"

"What seems to be the problem?" Jane asked politely, sitting down next to the officer.

"Fuck off. Mind your own damn business," the officer snapped, glaring at her.

"Weird thing to say considering you clearly don't care if the entire club hears you," she remarked. "And mind your own business...isn't that what twelve year olds say when they're trying to come up with a stupid excuse to not get into trouble?"

"You got a big fucking mouth on you don't you bitch? You better shut it if you know what's good for you!"

"And you have quite the potty mouth," Jane remarked nonchalantly. "Didn't you say that you were a Lieutenant? This is no way for an officer to be conducting himself. It sets a bad example for underlinings and hurts the Coalition's public image."

"What the fuck would you know? Fucking civies, don't know shit about anything."

"Oh really? Care to tell me where you're stationed?"

"I'm stationed on a dreadnought bitch, the motherfucking Kilimanjaro."

"...oh God," Jane said, burying her face in her hands as she began to laugh. "Oh Christ I can't believe this."

"What the fuck is so funny?" the man demanded, but Jane ignored him.

"I thought that I was going to have a talk with Anderson but this? Oh God this is just too rich." She turned to look at the Lieutenant. "Oh I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Jane Shepard. Captain, Jane Shepard," she said, putting emphasis on the first word.

"I don't give a...wait what?!" the Lieutenant said, his face turning white.

"And just in case you haven't put two and two together yet, my mother is Rear-Admiral Hannah Shepard. You know, the commander of the Kilimanjaro. And I'm also a good friend of Admiral Anderson."

"I...what?" the Lieutenant said, sounding terrified.

"Ok, let's go over what we've got here. Hm...let me see. Well first of all there's conduct unbecoming of an officer, threatening civilians uh... disturbing the peace and threatening a superior officer." She waved her arm slightly, her omni-tool glowing faintly. "And I've got a recording of it all. Now then Lieutenant, I suggest that you leave before you get yourself into even more trouble."

White as a ghost, the officer turned around and began to walk away. "Are you ok?" Jane asked, looking at the Volus.

"I am "gasp" fine Earth-clan. "gasp" I must thank you though. I "gasp" was afraid that he "gasp" would become violent, and my race "gasp" is not built for combat. It is "gasp" nice to learn that "gasp" the Coalition is more "gasp" than a collection of warmongers."

"Just trying to do the right thing. If he or any friends of his come back and start causing trouble, contact me. My name is Jane Shepard."

"I will "gasp" do that Earth-clan."

Jane smiled as she got to her feet and made her way back to the table where everyone else was sitting, pulling her hood down as she did. "Holy crap, that was awesome," Cornelia said as she sat down. "I think you made that guy piss himself."

"I don't think he should get too comfortable with calling himself Lieutenant. He should get used to Ensign, or maybe even crewman. You can't just walk around shooting your mouth off like that. You going up to fight him probably would've caused an incident, he probably would have tried to pin the whole thing off on you and he might have gotten away with it. Here, I used the system to bring karmatic justice crashing down on his head."

"Damn," Cornelia said, grinning as she did. "I'm remembering that."

"Good, so could you do me a favor and try and tell my brother that there are more ways to solve your problems than brute force? I've been on his ass about that for years but I've never gotten anywhere."

Adam chuckled. "We'll keep it in mind."

"I can't believe it, what are you people doing here?" There was a loud grunt and before any of them could say anything, a massive Krogan had sat down in the last seat.

"Sorry," Tali said, walking up behind him. "I mentioned your name while I was helping Engineer Adams find some parts to increase the Normandy's turning precision and he overheard. He seemed to know you, so I told you that you were here."

"Wrex?" Cornelia said.

"Yup," he said, "so what are you all doing here?"

"We just got back from Eden Prime and-" Jane began, but Wrex cut her off.

"Eden Prime...yeah, I get it. Can't say I blame you." He gave a slight grin. "You people have been good to me, so the next round is on me."

"Thanks Wrex," Jane said, smiling.

XXXXX

"What took you so long?" Anderson said as Ashley and John approached him outside of the Council Chambers, Ashley still wearing her sentinel armor and John a brown leather jacket. "The Council is starting to loose their temper. It doesn't really help that Raul got sent to the Hanar homeworld last month to establish a trade alliance with them. His replacement is...not exactly tolerable."

The three of them made their way forward towards the Council chambers, angry shouts clear even from this distance. As they walked in, they saw that everyone that had accompanied John to the beacon was present, as was Roger and a dozen C-Sec officers. Udina, a fairly dark skinned man with graying hair, was shouting at the Council.

"This is an outrage!" he roared, "one of your beloved agents is guilty of treason and genocide, yet you stand by and not only let him get away with his crimes, you actually protect him!"

"Christ man, pick the ham out of your teeth," Roger muttered. Either Udina didn't hear him or simply didn't listen.

"You are not a part of the Council Udina, as I seem to have to remind every last Coalition ambassador," Sparatus growled. "Considering your history of aggression against the Batarian Hegemony while they were a part of the Council, I can't help but wonder if this is another form of attack on us, one to make us lose face with the public. You can't deny that it isn't something that you wouldn't do, the Coalition is undeniably aggressive."

"Councilor please," Garrus said, stepping forward. "What you're saying is true, but you still can't deny that the blood sample that was found on the planet was confirmed to be Saren's."

Sparatus looked directly at Garrus. "Are you certain that the results weren't forged? And are you certain that the blood was indeed from the person that destroyed the beacon?"

"Yes sir, on both accounts. The only other Turians on the planet were myself and Nihlus, and the blood was on Roger's claws. I didn't get scratched at all by him during the attack and Nihlus' autopsy confirmed the same for him. I watched them conduct the scan, there is no possible way that it could have been forged. Councilors, I hate to say this, but Saren is guilty. He attacked the Coalition and killed Nihlus. The wounds in his body were inflicted by a Spectre grade weapon. It's...it's in the autopsy." Garrus voice softened slightly towards the end, his mandibles drooping.

"This is correct," Valern said, "the body was examined by Coalition doctors and again by Council ones." The Salarian lowered the datapad he was holding in his hand. "It appears that the Coalition's claim is true. Saren has gone rogue."

"I..." Sparatus began, but Tevos glanced at him and shook her head. Realizing he was outmatched by his two companions, Sparatus slackened in defeat. "Very well," he growled, his voice very bitter. "Saren Arterius has been found guilty of treason and genocide."

Out of the corner of her eye, Ashley could have sworn that she saw Sheryl relax slightly, as if she had just let go of a deep breath. She couldn't blame her, as a sense of relief was flowing through her as well. "And what exactly do you plan to do about it!" Udina shouted. "Saren is in league with the Geth! How do you plan to apprehend him?!"

"That claim, ambassador, you have no proof for," Sparatus growled. "Saren? In league with the Geth? Would you mind explaining why they would ever consider allying themselves with an organic? And if they are willing to do so, why would they attack the Coalition of all places, the lone galactic power that openly embraces artificial intelligence? How do you explain that?"

Udina opened his mouth before closing it again. Ashley glanced at him. As much as she hated to admit it, Sparatus had made a very good point, why would the Geth help Saren? All the evidence that they had proved was that they had attacked at the same time, and that was quite a leap in logic. "Councilors, there is something else that you need to know," Garrus said, speaking up again. "There was a ship present during that attack that was nothing like the rest of the fleet. It's technology far surpassed the rest of the Geth ships. It could be connected to Saren somehow."

"An advanced ship?" Sparatus said, sounding unconvinced. "It simply sounds like a Geth prototype. And even if it wasn't I fail to see how it proves Saren's-"

"Advanced ship? Saren? I...oh Goddess." Everyone turned to look at Councilor Tevos, who had dropped the datapad in her hand as her eyes widened in terror.

"Councilor?" Garrus said.

"I...several years ago, around the time of the Coalition's attack on the Hegemony, I ordered Saren to escort a Batarian aristocrat who had found a derelict ship on the edge of Geth space. However, he reported that it was destroyed by pirates and the rest of the research team was lost. But...but what if he had been lying to me? What if he was so enraged by the Coalition's attack that he stole the ship and killed the research team? What if he's been planning this for years? The Batarian who headed the expatiation was so excited by it's discovery that he refused to even tell me what it looked like, this ship could be it! And if the technology is advanced enough, it's possible that Saren could have used it to hack the Geth to obey his commands!"

"Jesus," Roger whispered, looking honestly shocked.

"That settles it, Saren needs to be hunted down!" Udina declared.

"That is not your decision to make," Valern said sternly "Saren is a Council Spectre, therefor we will decide how to deal with him."

"He also attacked the colony of a sovereign galactic power! Thousands if not tens of thousands of our civilians and soldiers are dead because of him! He will answer to us!"

"Wait a minute," Ashley said, causing everyone's attention to slid onto her. She glanced back and forth throughout the entire chamber before saying "Where...where IS Saren. Isn't this his trial?"

"We attempted to contact Saren to ensure that he would appear for his trial, but we were unable to do so. He is not responding to any of our regular communication attempts," Tevos explained. "In fact, now that I think about it, no one has seen him since the attack."

"He ran," Sheryl whispered, "but why?"

"He must have known that we got a sample of his blood," Anderson growled. "He knew that he would have been proven guilty even if he had shown up today, so he used what little time he had to probably go into hiding."

"Then we've got to track him down!" Udina demanded, "he could be anywhere. In Council space, in the Traverse, or maybe even the Terminus Systems. We need to scramble our fleets at once to find him."

"Your fleets in Council space?!" Spartus said, sounding outraged. "I don't think so. We will track down Saren within our own boarders. Feel free to search the Traverse or the Terminus Systems, but any military ships within in our boarders will be a direct violation of our treaty and will be seen as an act of war."

"That just makes it all the more likely that Saren is hiding there!"

"Udina, use your head!" Anderson said scathingly. "Do you honestly think that we can spare entire fleets to search the Council space? To search any star cluster? We can't."

"Why not! We have five hundred warships at our disposal!"

"And in case you didn't notice ambassador, the Geth have returned and attacked one of our colonies and we have no reason to believe that they won't do it again! Parliament has declared a state of war! Hackett has been promoted to Fleet Admiral and has ordered all of our ships to defensive positions, protecting our colonies. We can't afford to send them running across the galaxy looking for Saren, and even if we did our fleet would be so massive that he would easily be able to get away in a single shuttle. We have to be more inconspicuous."

"What about the Normandy?" John said, speaking up. "It's stealth systems would allow it to remain undetected no matter where it is. Saren would never see us coming."

"That is true," Sparatus said thoughtfully, "and a single Coalition ship within Council space is more acceptable than a fleet."

"A single ship won't be enough to track him down!" Udina interjected.

"I suggest a compromise," Tevos suggested. "Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and be denied all access to any Council resources should he attempt to access them. We will make a public announcement of his crimes and announce that he is a fugitive of the all and all those who assist him will be guilty of treason. The Normandy will be allowed in Council territory to search for him, while our own agents will find whatever leads that we can and report them to you. We can decide at a later date what the appropriate punishment will be for him."

"With all due respect Councilor," John interjected, "you're being fairly reasonable right now, but we don't have any guarantee that the people of the Council will be as helpful. For all we know we could face opposition to our investigation at every corner, with people refusing to assist us or actively impeding our progress. How are we supposed to avoid that? We're not exactly very popular in Council space."

'He has his moments of brilliance,' Ashley thought, grinning as she did. 'They're few and far in-between, but they're there.'

"I thought of the same thing, but I think I have a solution. Lieutenant Commander John Shepard, is it true that you were the one that lead the team against Saren?" He nodded. "I also see that you have a fairly impressive combat record, serving in the Blitz as well as the attack on the Hegemony. I have a proposition for you. For the duration of your mission to hunt down Saren, you be granted honorary Spectre status."

"What!" Sparatus growled, glaring at Tevos as everyone's eyes widened. "Give a Human Spectre status? Give a Human the right to act above the law within our boarders? Are you insane Tevos?"

"If you can think of another way to ensure that their mission to hunt down Saren goes unopposed by law abiding citizens, I would be very glad to hear it," Tevos restored, "but I do agree that he should not be unchecked. The second that Saren is in custody, your honorary status will be removed. What is more, if you agree to this Garrus Vakarian will accompany you on your mission, filing a report on your activities every other day. If he deems that you are abusing your status, you will be stripped of it at once and you will no longer be welcome in Council territory. Do we have an agreement?"

John glanced at Anderson, clearly lost. "I...yes, that will do," Anderson said, sounding shocked. "Thank you for your cooperation. Perhaps it would be for the best if we also coordinated our intelligence efforts."

"Agreed," Valern said, "we would be able to cover more ground. We will instill the honorary Spectre status at once, but be warned Commander," he said, looking at John. "There will be consequences if you abuse this. Not only for you, but for the entire Coalition."

"Very well, I will leave Udina to put you in contact with our intelligence agencies," Anderson said. "John, you and your crew come with me." John nodded as he and the others followed Anderson towards the elevator. "How do you feel?"

"A little confused. How come they gave me the Spectre status and not Jane? Even I know that she's the responsible one."

"I suppose that is because they don't need someone who follows regulation to track down a war criminal who probably uses the system to his advantage. They need someone a little less strung up. Besides, this way they get the best of both worlds. They get someone like you who's willing to charge in to get Saren, but Jane is still your superior officer, meaning she can pull back on your chain when she thinks you're going to far."

"Ouch," John said.

"So, what's the plan?" Roger said, walking in-between the two of them "How are we hunting this fucker down?"

"Pardon?" Anderson said.

"I want in," Roger said. "I nearly got killed defending the beacon from that SOB and he blew it up anyway. I want to help hunt him down."

"Me too," Ashley added "a lot of good people died when Eden Prime got hit. I want to do everything that I can to make sure that it doesn't happen again."

"A Moriean shock troop and a Titan sentinel," Anderson remarked activating his omni-tool and typing on it. "And I thought that your crew was rather diverse already John. Frankly Saren is a skilled agent and he probably has even more friends than the Geth. You're going to need all the help that you can get, and these two will probably be valuable allies."

John glanced at the two of them and nodding, winking slightly at Ashley as he did. She returned the favor. "So what are you doing now Admiral?"

"Sending a message to your sister telling her about your mission and your new recruits," he replied, pressing a button and sending the message off. "For the record, I'm not telling her about you becoming a Spectre, even if it is only temporary. You get that little treat."

"So, I'm going to be keeping an eye on you," Garrus said, chuckling slightly as he approached John and Anderson. "I'm not too worried though, you seem like a decent person. Just try not to nuke a planet and I'll keep the Council off of your back." He glanced at Anderson. "So, where do you plan on starting your search?"

"We're probably going to need some time to get a lead on Saren, so until then I want the _Normandy_ to head to Mars as soon as possible."

"Mars?" John said, "why there?"

"You're chasing after one of the most dangerous war criminals that the Coalition has ever had to deal with. I want to make sure that your ship and every last member of your crew is outfitted with the best technology and equipment that we can get you. The Normandy is going to be resupplied and rearmed there."

Anderson looked down as his omni-tool beeped before activating it. "She just responded. She says that she'll have the Normandy ready to leave ASAP and...and that a Krogan bounty hunter that helped us a couple of years ago and a Quarian engineer want to come along too. And...she's given them authorization."

Anderson looked up, staring widened eyed at John. "Sometimes your sister acts like you." This prompted him to chuckle.

"So, a bunch of Coalition troopers from around a dozen different planets, a Turian Spectre, a Krogan bounty hunter and a Quarian engineer hunting down a war criminal and his army of robots," Garrus remarked, "this should be pretty interesting."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Nuka-Cola: Nuka-Cola is a soft drink developed during the year 2044 in Pre-War America, quickly becoming the country's most popular soft drink. Even hundreds of years after the great war, when all surviving Nuka-Cola was flat and dehydrated the body, it was still a popular drink. One day, the Lone Wanderer explored a plant dedicated to making the drink and discovered the recipe, which was cataloged by the Washington Confederacy, then known as the east coast Brotherhood of Steel, as they did every written material that they could find.

When the Coalition was formed and industry began to recover, Nuka-Cola was once again produced and sold to the public at large. Only a handful of Necro-Humans even knew what a fresh Nuka-Cola tasted like at the time, and when the people of the Coalition tasted it for the first time, it set off a massive spending spree that made the new producers billions. Nuka-Cola is somewhat popular among levo-acid based aliens and some vendors have been known to stock it if it proves to be popular, or if Coalition citizens are common customers.

However, while in the plant, the Lone Wanderer also uncovered the recipe for the drink's close cousin, Nuka-Cola Quantum. Nuka-Cola Quantum had a testing phase that killed dozens of people, and even when it was finally approved, an isotope within it still caused urine to glow. Nuka-Cola Quantum is also produced today, but not for consumption. Many wastelanders found that Quantum could be used to make a very powerful grenade, one that has been proven to be even more effective than plasma grenades. The Coalition now produces these grenades, using Quantum as a core ingredient. They are very expensive to make though, and even Rangers are conservative in their use.

XXXXX

Author's Note: I would like to thank the website Not Always Right (a website dedicated to rude and stupid customers) for giving me inspiration for that particular scene with Jane. The original scene was fairly similar to that and involved a Lieutenant and a Rear-Admiral and was titled "Navy Seal's Fate is Sealed" (even thought the description said that it was in France...the things people do for the sake of puns)

Also, I know I know, hoodies an probably don't exist in Fallout, but the N7 hoodie was just so awesome that I had to stick Jane in it, same with John and the leather jacket. Please forgive me for taking a few artistic liberties.

P.S. WHOOOOOOOOOOO! 100k words and we're just getting started! Let's all take bets right now, is this going to be longer or shorter than New Origins? I'm not going to bet because I have a rough idea how the plot is going to work out and that would be cheating.


	21. Unearthed Threat

Chapter 21

Unearthed Threat

Author's Note: I was pretty surprised when I read through the chapter and saw that one person had been concerned that I might have been caught in the Colorado massacre that happened just recently. Not possible you see,I live in Massachusetts, but I am touched that some of you care about an 18 year old mediocre fan fic writer (yeah I pretty much can't say nice things about my work that often. I just feel pretentious) that much. Thank you. Speaking of which, I saw the Dark Knight Rises and halfway through I started figuring out what was going to happen next, but it proved a belief that I had. It doesn't matter if it's a cliche if it's well told.

XXXXX

"So this is Mars," Jenkins said, looking out the side of the shuttle that he was in as it flew over the massive sprawling city of New Lowell, the capital of the planet. "It's ok I guess, I mean, if you like urban jungles."

Adam chuckled from where he sat at the back. "Don't be so quick to dislike something simply because it isn't what you're familiar with. What you find might surprise you."

"Maybe," Jenkins said, sounding unconvinced. "Hey Commander, how come we're down here while the _Normandy_ is getting supplied in orbit?"

John looked up from where he was sitting in the front of the shuttle. "I got a transmission from Fleet Admiral Hackett. He said that he wanted to speak to me personally, said that he had something to give to me. He didn't say what though, but I thought that I'd bring a couple of you along just to be safe. Also It gets boring as Hell when you're sitting in the back of these things all by yourself. Hope you don't mind."

"I...thank you," Sheryl whispered from where she was sitting. She was holding what appeared to be a large block of brown wood in her hand, her knife in the other.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Jenkins asked, looking at the wood as she drew her knife over it, causing a thin strip to fall off.

"I...I'm just carving," she said softly, repositioning the knife and cutting another strip off. "It gives me something to do and it helps me relax."

"How long have you been doing that?"

"I...I saw one of the craftsmen in my old tribe make a figure of an owl when I was thirteen. I wanted to learn how to do it but...he wouldn't show me. So ever since I've been trying to figure out how to do it myself." She gave a weak chuckle. "I'm getting better. Half of the time people can actually tell what I was trying to make."

Jenkins laughed. "So...what are you trying to make now?"

"I'm...I'm still not quite sure. Most of the time I just start working and try to figure out what I want to do with it along the way." She looked up. "If you want I could try and do something for you. What do you want?"

"What do I want? What do I...uh...wow, way to put me on the spot...uh," he rubbed the back of his head, clearly uncomfortable. "Uh...oh wait!" he said. "What about a Deathclaw? Those guys are completely badass. Have you seen the kind of things that they can do?"

"Hm," she muttered, looking at the wood with an interested expression that was hidden by her wrappings. "I've never tried to do one of those before. I'll give it a try."

"Hey, we're coming up on the coordinates that Hackett gave us!" Cortez shouted from the pilot's seat. As he spoke, the shuttle began to slow and descend before gently touching down. "Welcome to the HQ for all military forces in the Sol system."

The door slid open and all four of them stepped out, Sheryl tucking away the block of wood and her knife. A man in a dark blue naval uniform and noticeable scars across his face was waiting for them, armed guards on both sides of him. "Commander," Hackett said politely, "it's a pleasure to meet you. I heard quite a few interesting things about what you did when we were getting our people back from the Batarians, including making friends with a Krogan."

"Would now be a bad time to mention that he's on our ship?" John asked.

Hackett chuckled. "Just make sure that he doesn't eat anyone and I don't think that we'll have that many problems."

"I'll do my best sir. Is that why you called me down here?"

"Not exactly. I wanted to do two things. First of all, I wanted to warn you."

"Warn me? About what?"

"About what you're going to do. I don't know if you've noticed Commander but the Geth coming out from beyond the Veil changes our entire policy when it comes to defending ourselves. I'm sending every ship that I can spare to defend our planets from future attacks and I've got intel that suggests that the Council is doing the same."

"Sir, not to interrupt, but I've been meaning to ask. What exactly are we doing to counter the Geth?"

"At the moment we're sending you after Saren. If he's in league with the Geth then hunting him down might help us get some information on them. Aside from that there's nothing that we can do aside from dig in, The Geth have had three centuries to fortify their position on the other side of the Veil and we have no idea in what way. A full frontal assault could end up being very costly, and if we send too many ships to scout it out, we run the risk of being caught defenseless while they're away. We need more intel before we can do anything and the few ships that we can spare are doing everything that they can to get it, along with all of our intelligence agents."

"As a matter of fact that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I don't think that I can properly convey how much is riding on your shoulders Commander. The Council has given you the same privileges as their most elite agents, even if it is only temporary, and it was for a reason. Both the Council and the Coalition are counting on you to catch one of the most dangerous war criminals in living memory. If you fail, the repercussions will be massive, but what will be even worse is if you create an incident while in Council space that will incur their wrath. I'm begging you Commander, get Saren, but please don't start a war."

"Understood. What was the other thing?"

Hackett gestured to one of the guards, who grabbed a thick metal case by his feet and picked it up, walking towards John. "I know that the Normandy is already being loaded up with the best equipment that we can get, but I wanted to make sure that you got the very best. Even Rangers have a hard time getting their hands on these."

The soldier placed the case in front of John before gently removing the lid. John looked down at the contents, his eyes widening as he did. "God," he said, reaching down and carefully picking up one of three light blue rifles. "Is this a pulse rifle?"

"The latest and most up to date model," Hackett said. "Fires an EMP blast so powerful that it'll take a gunship out of the air or stop a tank dead in its tracks. It'll completely fry any electronic equipment that a trooper is wearing, combat gear, rifles or power armor. What's more, this model has been designed to disrupt all electronic signals. Including the ones in the brain."

"So...basically you're saying-"

"If you shoot something with this, if it's not a Thresher Maw or a warship, it'll die. I wouldn't rely on it too much though, it takes a couple of seconds to charge up and cool down and you can only fire a handful of shots before you have to replace the power cell, and we can only spare so many of them. In short, it's good for taking out enemy heavy support, but if you get swarmed with infantry I would recommend a good old machine-gun. Also, it's not a club, this thing is a very complicated weapon. Abuse it too much and you'll damage the inner mechanisms beyond repair. And if it gets shot, you might as well ditch it right there, so be careful with those things."

"Thank you Admiral," John said, putting the pulse rifle back in the case. "I'm...sorry about the beacon being destroyed."

"It was a Geth invasion that came out of the blue, as far as I'm concerned, we're just lucky that they didn't get their hands on it. Besides, fate might have dealt us a wild card."

"Sir?"

"This is classified for the moment, but I doubt that it will stay that way for very long, there are already rumors. Recently, we managed to unearth an alien starship on Luna."

"Really? How come the Council hasn't been informed? Our treaty with them says that we will allow them to study any Prothean relics that we find in our territory."

"That's the thing, the ship clearly isn't Prothean, nor is it any other race that we have knowledge of. Our researchers have even discovered that there are no traces of Element Zero in it. We're doing everything that we can to see if we can make any scientific leaps with the technology in that ship. It's...I can't even believe it Commander, it looks like something out of a Pre-War sci-fi flick, a cheap one at that."

"What's your progress on it so far?"

"Minimal. We only uncovered it two days ago and the researchers have been hesitant, afraid that they might damage something. However, they did learn that it most likely crashed on Luna centuries ago, sometime after the Great War. I-" Hackett was interrupted as his COM unit beeped. "Odd, that's their frequency. The next update is scheduled for another three hours," he remarked as he put his hands to his ear. "It's Hackett what's your...wait what? What about pods being activated? Who is it?"

John saw Hackett's face grow white as he continued to listen to the transmission. "Admiral?"

"Commander, I need you to get to Luna as fast as possible!"

XXXXX

Jane pressed a button on her omni-tool, causing the holographic screen in front of her to shift to an image of two Standard-Humans in business wear talking to each other while sitting in comfortable chairs. "So what do you think about this whole controversy about a Human becoming a Spectre?" the woman asked, "even if it is only temporary."

"To be honest I'm kind of excited," the man replied. "The Coalition and the Council are always snarling at each other, like two little kids on a playground who don't want to get along because they can't share a toy. I'm glad that both of them are proving that they can work together when the situation calls for it."

"Interesting take, now I have a few more questions-" Jane pressed a button, causing the image to change to a man standing in front of a podium.

"Tens of thousands of Coalition citizens are dead and this is how the Coalition plans to react to it? By playing up to the Council and only sending a single ship into their territory under heavy Council watch? The Coalition is practically bowing down to the Council, not even bothering to chase down a war criminal without their blessing! As the leader of the Terra Firma party, I directly oppose this coarse of actions, and I plead that all of you do the-"

Jane's brow furrowed in disgust as she pressed another button, changing the image to a Salarian and a Turian who were facing the camera, apparently outside of an electronics store. "How do I feel about it?" the Turian asked. "Well...I'd have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised. When I heard about what Saren did, I was afraid that the Coalition would be launching an all out invasion of the Council, but I'm kind of glad to hear that they're only sending in a single ship. I don't think they're looking for trouble, they just want to hunt that mad man down. Can't say that I blame them."

"I hope that they find him," the Salarian added. "If he really did have something to do with the Geth...I don't know. I always thought that the Spectres were a disaster waiting to happen. I hope that the Council realizes this and dissolves them, or at least makes it so that they're not all powerful. I just don't see the benefit of a heavily armed and skilled soldier who isn't bound by the law, why would you-"

Jane pressed a button again, this time the image changed to a lone Asari sitting on a couch in front of what seemed to be an audience. "You do realize what this means don't you?" she asked. "The Council is letting a Coalition warship into our territory, and I have very good sources that say that this isn't an ordinary warship, it's a highly advanced prototype. I don't have the details on exactly what makes it so special, but Coalition ships have been known to have nuclear missiles and advanced energy weapons that can take out dreadnoughts."

"I don't think that I need to tell any of you what a single shot from even a frigate's mass accelerator can do to the surface of a planet. And I think that we all know that the Coalition has technology that they refuse to share with us, in addition to simply being bloodthirsty warmongers that put the Krogan to shame. The Council really thinks that it's a good idea to let even a single one of their warships run wild within our boarders? What are they-"

Jane sighed as she deactivated her omni-tool, getting to her feet as she did. She had been sitting on a heavy middle crate in the middle of the _Normandy_'s cargo bay. The ship was currently docked with a space station in orbit over Mars. The main door had been opened and dozens upon dozens of workers were carrying metal crates in, neatly stacking them throughout the cargo bay.

"Captain Shepard." Jane turned to see a man in a naval uniform approaching her.

"Rear-Admiral Mikhailovich," Jane said, turning to face him. "I trust that you are finished with your inspection?"

"I have Captain and to be blunt I'm not happy."

"Sir?"

"This ship is nothing more than a glorified experiment as well as a massive credit sponge. We had to pour 250 billion credits into this just to make an oversized drive core that can make the ship invisible for a couple of hours. How is that supposed to be useful?"

"Espionage sir," Jane replied. "Information is key to winning a battle. The Normandy can jump into a system, get detailed scans on the defensive fleet and provide them to an invasion force that will allow them to hit the enemy where it hurts."

"We've got probes for that Captain, and they don't cost as much as a Dreadnought."

"Sir, probes can be easily detected and shot down, and when they are the enemy knows that they're being spied on and can shuffle their defenses, making the information retrieved invalid."

"If that's the case than the brass should have developed a probe that could have gone undetected behind enemy lines. Warships are supposed to attack enemy fleets and destroy them or bomb ground instillations, not tip toe around trying to spy on people."

"Sir, with all due respect, the _Normandy_ is equipped for a fight. We have a state of the art plasma cannon that's powerful enough to take down a cruiser in one shot."

"Yes, and when you do you reveal your position and have to cool down the cannon before you can fire again. At that point this ship is nothing more than a floating target."

"All ships have their drawbacks. Destroyers have to maintain a distance if they want to stay intact and battlecruisers have to be at point blank range to do any damage. Weaknesses have to be worked around in combat and strengths have to be exploited. A ship that can sneak into the most heavily fortified of areas and deliver a single fatal blow is enough to change the fate of an entire war."

"An interesting concept I must admit, but a risky one. I have another complaint Captain. Your crew is a complete mess. A Turian? A Krogan? A Quarian? Even your taste in Coalition personal is questionable, a Moriean shock troop and an Alaskan tribal? Are you running a ship here Captain or a circus act?"

Jane's eyes narrowed. "Every last person on this ship earned their place here. Wrex and Sheryl helped take our people back from the Batarians, Tali and Garrus were both in the thick of the fighting on Eden Prime. Even Roger refused to abandon his position defending the beacon while Geth were attacking the planet."

"Be that as it may, every eye in the Coalition is on you, counting on you to hunt down Saren and make him pay for what he did, and when they see that you're letting aliens and murders onto your ship-"

"Admiral, with all due respect, I'm a soldier. My job is to get things done, not to put on a show for the galactic public. As I said before, everyone on this ship deserves to be here and right now we need all the talented hands that we can get. If the public doesn't like it than they can deal with it," she snarled. "They're getting what they need, not what they want."

"A thoughtful take on the situation," the Admiral said, not sounding convinced. "I have to go make my report now, perhaps it won't be as negative as I was planning. Perhaps." Jane watched as the Admiral turned and walked the distance of the cargo bay, heading back into the station.

"Who was the cunt?" Jane turned and saw Roger approaching him, a bag slung over his shoulder.

"Rear-Admiral Mikhailovich," she replied, "feel like changing that sentence?"

"Not really. I overheard your little argument. He thinks I'm a serial killer waiting to happen, so as far as I'm concerned he can go fuck himself." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the crates being piled into the cargo bay. "Oh goody, new toys," he said, approaching the nearest one, "what we get?"

"Among other things state of the art armor and weapons, the best that the Coalition produces," Jane replied, staring at Roger with narrowed eyes as he dropped his bag by one of the crates, unzipping it as he did. "Also I managed to get some parts that we should be able to integrate into the armor of our non-Coalition guests to up their kinetic barrier output."

"So that Quarian is going to have shields as strong as the rest of ours?" he remarked as he pried off the lid to the crate in front of him, "that's good to hear. Oh nice, rippers." He took one of the chainsaw knives out of the crate removing his standard issue combat knife and dropping it in his bag before placing the ripper on his side.

"You know the equipment was going to be handed out in a couple of hours," Jane said, walking towards where Roger was standing. "You could have just waited."

"Wanted to get first dibs," he remarked, still staring into the crate, seeing if there was anything else inside besides rippers. As he did, Jane spotted something in his bag. For the most part it was standard military gear but she saw the edge of something wooden that seemed to be buried under everything else. Reaching out, she grabbed it and pulled it out of the bag.

Raising it up to eye level, she saw that it was a framed picture of Roger and a blonde woman in green armor with their armors around each other's shoulders, smiling at a camera. She couldn't help but notice that Roger didn't seem to have any of his implants in this picture. "Is this your girlfriend?"

Roger stiffened as he turned around and saw Jane holding the picture out towards him. Jane noticed. "Is something wrong?" she asked. Before she could get an answer, her COM unit beeped. "What is it? John I...what? I...are you serious? I...ok fine, get back here as soon as possible, I'll get the engines prepped." She lowered her hand and hastily gave the picture to Roger. "We've got a situation, I need you and the others to be ready for combat."

Jane turned and began to walk away, talking into her COM unit and issuing orders to other members of the Normandy crew. Roger looked down at the photo in his cybernetic hand. For what seemed like an eternity, he stared at it, a blank expression on his face, his fingers tightening around it. Then, without warning, he threw the photo at the wall, the grass frame shattering as it hit. Roger walked away, leaving the shattered photo frame lying on the ground, not looking back.

XXXXX

"What's going on?" Tali asked as she followed Ashley down a hallway through the Normandy, heading for the shuttles.

"I don't know, I just know that we're going to be hitting the ground in five minutes. Something went belly up on Luna and we need to fix it," she replied.

"I...but...this is your home system isn't it? How could there possibly be a situation that requires military attention? Especially from the people that are supposed to be hunting down a war criminal."

"I don't know. They just said that the Normandy was one of the fastest ships that they had and they wanted us down there. Look I don't know ok?" she said, noticing that Tali had been about to ask her another question. "You're going to have to ask Jane, she's the one that got the orders."

"First Eden Prime and now this? And it's only been two days? The entire galaxy is going mad."

"It always was mad, the symptoms are just getting more extreme," Ashley remarked. "Let's...let's try to focus on something else. How's Veetor?"

"He's fine. I managed to get the Migrant Fleet to send a shuttle to take him back home. I have a feeling that Geth rifle he picked up on Eden Prime will make a very good pilgrimage gift, but I managed to get a few Geth parts to send back with him."

"Tali, you didn't happen to steal those parts did you?" Ashley asking teasingly, "I thought I heard that the Coalition had seized all scavenged Geth technology that they found on Eden Prime.

"No I didn't you Bosh'tet," Tali said, faking anger. "I managed to convince one of your officials to give a couple of parts to my people. I guess they decided that they wanted as many different people working on analyzing Geth technology to find weaknesses before they strike again, and my people would know best considering that we created them."

The two of them entered the cargo bay just in time to see a shuttle fly in, the door sliding open as it did. "John, what's going on? You were skimpy on the details" Jane was walking towards the shuttle, Wrex Garrus and Roger not far behind her.

"I don't know, Hackett didn't seem to know what was going on either, just that something was attacking a research site on Luna. He only could get scrambled transmissions and a couple of calls for help. He wants us to get over there and figure out whats going on and help. How long till we get there?"

"Luna's not very far from Mars, I had Joker make a short FTL jump so we were be there in a couple of minutes."

"Huh, sounds like I'm going to get something to shoot at sooner than I thought." Wrex said. "And in orbit of the Coalition homeworld? This should be fun."

"All right," Jane said, turning around to face the gathered soldiers, including the occupants of John's shuttle. "As far as I'm concerned this is a search and rescue mission, we've already had one devastating attack and we're not losing anymore people today. We're going to divide into three teams to cover as much ground as possible, Ash, Wrex and Sheryl you're with John, Tali and Jenkins, you're with me and Roger and Adam, you're with Garrus."

"Luna was never terraformed, so I'm going to need all of you to equip hardsuits to cope with the lack of oxygen. We have no idea what we're dealing with so don't do anything stupid and don't take any chances. Don't hesitate to defend yourself either."

"Did you really need to tell us that one?" Garrus asked dryly.

"Ha ha," she replied sarcastically.

"Captain, we will be exiting FTL in exactly five seconds," EDI said over the intercom.

"All right," Jane said "Cortez take John's team and get your shuttle going, everyone else into the other one. I've loaded up the shuttles with the new equipment that we've just got so grab what you like." The assembled team nodded as the filed onto the respective shuttles, doors closing behind them. The cargo bay doors slid open and both of the shuttles launched out of the _Normandy_, heading towards Luna, which was directly beneath the ship.

"Keelah," Tali said, looking out of the side of the shuttle.

"What is it?" Jane asked, looking out of the same end as Tali. The surface of Luna was rapidly drawing closer, to the point where larger objects on the ground could be seen. Among them was a giant starship, shaped almost like a disc lying in a massive crater. "Oh...damn."

"What is it?" Tali asked.

"I don't know," Jane answered, "I...I just don't know."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Earth: The homeworld of all Humans and Deathclaws, Earth is a planet that does not receive much attention from the Coalition or the galactic community as a whole. In the year 2077 the nations of Pre-War waged a two hour long nuclear war against each other, resulting in the near total destruction of the planet's biosphere and a death toll in the billions whose precede number is still unknown, even to this day.

While the nations of Post-War Earth, such as the NCR the Washington Confederacy, the Japanese Federation and the Royal British Empire still exist and make up the foundation of the Coalition, nowadays they have little influence outside of their own boarders. Practically all major decisions involving them are made by the Coalition. Also, while there are a few heavily populated cities on the planet, such as Vault-City, Arroyo and Megaton, Earth's depleted resources and hazardous environment has been causing people to leave in droves ever since the development of FTL drive, with the planet's population at 1.6 billion and dropping every year.

Luna: When the first colony ships were being built on Earth, it was heavily debated if they should be sent to Mars or Luna. Eventually the ship was sent to Mars on the grounds that a planet would be able to produce more resources than a moon and would be more viable for colonization. Not long after FTL drive was established, Luna was also colonized, mainly to provide Helium-3 to act as fuel.

The moon has not been terraformed due to the high cost and decrease in Terran population, making a terraformed moon in that area unpractical. The infrastructure on Luna is mainly dedicated to gathering Helium-3 and other usable resources, which are then sent to Mars to be processed. Luna's population is just over a million.

Mars: The first planet to be colonized by the Coalition, Mars has since then become the center of all of it's politics. Colonized in the year 2379, the planet was thought to be a gateway to a new future by all Post-War nations, which turned out to be true in a way none imagined. In 2392, a small cache of Prothean technology was discovered, allowing the Coalition to create FTL drives and discover the galactic community as a whole.

The planet is fully terraformed and is heavily settled, with a total population of 4 billion. It produces a wide variety of exports, ranging from crops to metals and other less essential materials. It's military forces receive the most advanced equipment available to the Coalition, so advanced that they are only allowed off planet for dire situations.

Pulse Rifle: While scavenging through Vault 34 looking for a rare piece of technology for her friend, the Courier found a pulse gun, an experimental piece of Pre-War technology. She preserved it and eventually after she passed away, it made its way into the hands of the Coalition, who began to research the technology and apply into into modern military applications.

The pulse rifle is like it's ancient ancestor in many ways, but there are also noticeable differences. The rifle is much stronger than the pulse gun, capable of disabling fully shielded gunships and tanks and can shut down the brain of any organic target. It is, however, very expensive, to the point where even Rangers had waited months at a time to receive a single pulse rifle, which cost hundreds of millions each.

XXXXX

Author's Note:...What? What? WHAT! You know that incredibly tragic Dark Knight theater shooting that I mentioned above? Yeah one newspaper (not sure which one) is trying to place blame on video games...I am not going to hold myself back here so I apologize in advance, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE! Twelve people are dead and you're using this to take a shot at video games? FUCK YOURSELVES!

Jesus Christ, Jesus H. Motherfucking Christ. You know, I thought we hit the very bottom of the barrel when it came stupid people trying to paint video games as evil with the Portal adoption joke controversy, but this just sets the bar so low you'd have to dig a fucking hole to squeeze under it. This guy went into a BATMAN showing, shot people and identified himself as a BATMAN villain and their reasoning is that video games caused this? He played WOW and league of legends a lot...do I even need to point out why that sounds so stupid?

I hope I don't but I'm gonna do it anyway, first of all, how the Hell are games with swords and sorcery supposed to make people use firearms? At least the people who tried to pin Columbine on games, stupid as they were, did it with a game that had guns in it, you know, the weapons that these kinds of people tend to use? Also, this guy is clearly COMPLETELY FUCKING INSANE! He is snarling at people, he's bitting them in jail, they had to keep him away from other inmates, but noooooooo, video games had to push him over the edge. This...they're not even fucking trying.

I really don't know what pisses me off more, the fact that idiots who have probably never played a video game before in their life are trying to pin murder on it again, or that they're using the tragic deaths as a springboard to forward their personal agenda. Either way, these people are soulless cunts who are bullshitting their way forward using half assed-no fuck that, it's not even half assed, calling this half assed is an insult to people who half ass their work, these people aren't trying at all, they're cashing in on other people's misery. I suggest we triple the funds to all of the world's space programs so that we can finally get to Mars and build some penal mines there, just so that we can send these motherfuckers to it for the rest of their pathetic lives.

I...I need something to take my mind off of this. What do you say we all get together to play some custom games on Halo Reach? In case you didn't catch it the last time I offered this, my gamertag is macdonald210. I'll be on tomorrow at 5:00 PM: EST

P.S. Sorry that the last section is kind of short but really the whole chapter is just setting up for Mothership Zeta so I hope you don't mind, I went a little overboard with the Codex as a way of saying sorry. The reason this update was so slow is that I've been feeling a little under the weather with an impacted finger and a bad case of poison ivy, so again I hope you don't mind.


	22. Mothership Zeta

Chapter 22

Mothership Zeta

Author's Note: I think something needs to be cleared up, a couple of reviewers mentioned that I said in an earlier chapter that I wouldn't be including Mothership Zeta at all in the story. That is not what I meant to say, what I meant is that the events of the Mothership Zeta DLC didn't happen, in other words the Lone Wonderer didn't get abducted by the aliens. That's all. As for why the Mothership is on the moon? Well, we'll get to that later. I'm also going to be exploring the aliens a little, mainly why they're abducting Humans in the first place.

XXXXX

"I think I see people shooting down there!" Sheryl said, looking out the side of the shuttle, slipping an oxygen mask on under her wrappings. "There's a couple of people outside of the ship, they're Human! Something is shooting at them!"

"Cortez, I need you to stop at around twenty feet above ground and hover there and when you do, open the door," John ordered, placing his new pulse rifle on his back before sliding a microfusion cell into his laser rifle. "We're going to give them some makeshift air support."

"This thing has some cannons you know!" the pilot shouted, "I could just use them!"

"If we do that we might end up killing the same people that we came here to help. This way is more precise, now seal the cockpit and depressurize this cabin."

An audible sigh came from the cockpit. "Whatever you say Commander." A thick metal barrier slid up, separating the main cabin from Cortez, which began to fill with a faint hissing noise.

"So, when the doors open we give them Hell?" Ashley asked, flipping the safety off on her assault rifle.

"I didn't come all this way just to give them flowers," Wrex snarked.

"That's the idea," John said.

"Ok everyone, I hope you're ready!" Cortez shouted over the COM lines, "Here we go!" There was a slight jolt as the shuttle suddenly stopped, the side entrance sliding open as they did and the four occupants raising their weapons and aiming them out. From their position, they had a good view of what was going on below them. Five Humans were crouching behind a Rhino, taking pot shots at seven small creatures that were taking cover near a gapping hole in the side of the alien starship, shooting at the Humans with some sort of weapons that fired blasts of white energy.

The creatures looked up at the shuttle, but before they could act, Sheryl had fired a shot from her sniper rifle and taken the heads off of one of them. John, Ashley and Wrex quickly followed suit, raining down a hail of assault rifle shots and laser blasts, quickly downing two more of the creatures.

The remanning four raised their weapons and fired back at the shuttle, sending the orbs of white energy at the shuttle. Ashley and John ducked back as some of the blasts soared through the door and into the shuttle, one of them hitting Wrex right in the gut. "GAH!" he shouted before drawing his pistol and firing seven shots at the creature that had hit him, most of them hitting it's order while the last was a direct headshot.

Seeing that their numbers had been cut in half in a matter of seconds, the remaining creatures ran back into the ship, firing a handful of shots as they retreated. Sheryl lined up another shot and fired it at one of the three remaining creatures, hitting it in the chest and killing it and almost instantly as the other two continued to run.

"Put us down Cortez," John said over the COM lines "they're dealt with." The shuttle slowly descended to the ground gently touching down as Jane's did the same right next to them.

"Well that's one way to do it," Jane said as she climbed out of her shuttle the rest of her team right behind her. "Not exactly standard procedure, but on the other hand it isn't really stupid either, so the Hell with it."

"Oh thank god," one of the five Humans taking cover said as all three of them hesitantly got to their feet.

"Are you the researchers?" Jane asked, approaching them. The nodded nervously. All of them were wearing oxygen masks and jumpsuits while clutching SMGs and pistols. "What's the situation here? What were those things?"

"I...I just...we," one of the scientists stuttered. "We were looking around the ship and we noticed that it was still running on auxiliary power, even before we found it. It was being used to power cryogenic stasis pods throughout the entire ship. We couldn't tell what was in them but...I don't know how it happened but a bunch of the pods started opening and those...things came out."

"What are they?"

"They...they must have been the crew of this ship, it's the only plausible explanation. They saw us and they just started shouting at us. Our translators couldn't make out a single word of what they said and...it all happened so fast. They pulled out guns and started shooting."

"Are there any other researchers still inside the ship?"

"I...I don't know. Our guards went down fast, those weapons of theirs are very powerful. We just started running as fast as we could. The five of us managed to get out all right but those...things were hot on our tails. I don't know if anyone else made it."

"These aliens, how many of them are there?"

"I...a lot. I'm not sure of the exact number, but there were cryo pods scattered throughout the entire ship, dozens if not hundreds. Some of them looked a little big for them but they could still be in there."

"All right, you're going to be ok now," Jane said comfortingly. "We're going to get you out of here. Is there anything else that you can tell us that can help?"

"I...I don't think so. From what I've seen of the aliens though they don't seem to be very sturdy. If you have to, don't hesitate to fight them hand to hand, you'll probably win."

"Thank you, you've been very helpful." She put her finger to her helmet. "Cortez, I need you to get these people out of here. Take them to the Normandy and have Chakwas make sure that they're all right." She lowered her hand and looked at the researchers. "That shuttle will take you to our ship, you'll be safe there."

"I...thank you. Be careful, these aliens have very advanced technology, especially when it comes to weapons." The researchers slowly made their way to the shuttle and climbed onboard, the door sliding shut as it did and the shuttle rising off of the ground as it did, the other one following it.

"Well they do sting a little but apart from that they're not too bad," Wrex said, rubbing the spot where the blast from the alien weapon had hit him.

"Damn, look at these little things." Roger had approached one of the aliens and pried off the helmet that it had on. The alien had oily yellow skin and dark black eyes and didn't seem to be much taller than four feet. "Freaky sons of bitches."

"So these are aliens that we're dealing with?" Jenkins said, looking at Jane. "Are you sure that we should be going in there guns blazing? What if this is like the First Contact War all over again? What if all of this is just a massive misunderstanding?"

"From what that researcher just said, these things just jumped out of stasis after a couple of centuries of snoozing and decided to start shooting as soon as they saw that they weren't alone," Jane replied. "I think that we can cross them off of the friendly list. There's a good chance that they are scientists still alive in there so lets get moving."

The assembled team made their way forward, entering the ship. They had only been walking for a few seconds when they found a door in front of them that had been sealed shut. "Looks like an airlock," Tali remarked as Jane reached out and pressed a nearby button. Another door slid shut behind them and there was a hissing sound as the passage that they were in was flooded with oxygen.

The airlock in front of them slid open and all of them moved forward. Before long they entered a massive room with an inactive core in the middle. Pieces of Coalition scanning equipment were lying all around it, some scattered on the ground with piles of dust next to them. "This looks like engineering," Tali remarked.

"There's about three different ways out of here," John said, noticing that three separate catwalks.

"All right, John you take the right and Garrus you take the middle. Fan out and see if you can find any survivors, eliminate any hostiles that you find. Stay in constant radio contact, I want updates every five minutes." John and Garrus nodded as the group split up into three different teams, all of them taking different paths as they started to head into the depths of the alien ship.

XXXXX

Saren cocked his head to the side as he looked at his omni-tool. He was reading a news report that he had downloaded from the extra-net about how the Council had reacted to the attack on Eden Prime. "They revoked my Spectre status," he muttered, his eyes scanning the report. "I can't say that I'm surprised. But...a Human Spectre? Even if it is only a temporary one...what is the Council playing at?"

He shook his head. "The Coalition is only sending a single ship to look for me, their main fleet is too busy fortifying for another Geth attack. This shouldn't be a problem...still I shouldn't let my guard down. John Shepard was apparently on Eden Prime when I attacked so it's safe to bet that that stealth drive that I've heard so much about works."

"Saren?" Saren looked up to see an Asari scientist approaching him.

"Yes Rana? What is it?" he said, turning to look at the Asari.

"Do you remember when you told us to constantly examine every part of Sovereign and to come to you if we found anything important?"

"Yes. Why? What did you find?"

"I...we...we were decoding what we could from the databanks and...you need to read this for yourself." Rana handed Saren a datapad. "We...we found out where Sovereign came from."

"What?" Saren said, deactivating his omni-tool and taking the datapad. There was a moment of silence as Saren read the wall of text on it. As he continued to read, Saren's face slowly grew paler and paler. "I...oh Spirits," he whispered, staring wide eyed at the datapad in disbelief. "Is...are you sure that this is accurate?"

"We double checked and triple checked every last part of it. It's completely accurate."

"I...Spirits," Saren said, looking around hopelessly. "I knew that Soverign was advanced, I was able to get millions of Geth to follow me because they couldn't get past its firewalls and see that the A.I. core had been inactive for eons, and once I managed to slip its code into their systems they were practically all my puppets but...I had no idea that this thing used to be...I need air."

Saren hastily made his way towards the door, stepping outside with Rana right behind him. He was standing outside of a deployed command center in the middle of a massive jungle with trees as far as they eye could see. The only exception was a clearing that was over a mile in diameter that was swarming with Geth as they unearthed massive piles of earth with constructions equipment, digging up the clearing.

"Saren...are you all right?" Rana said, walking out beside him.

"I...I don't know," he said honestly. "Sovereign is the best chance that we have at knocking the Coalition off of their throne. We can't stand up against them without it but...I had no idea that it was involved in a slaughter like that."

"And these signals that we've been tracking down? Do you think that they were involved?"

Saren looked out onto the massive clearing, a grim look on his face. "It'd be stupid to assume otherwise."

"Are you saying that we should call this off?"

"No!" Saren snapped, "we need this! If we don't dig this up and get it operational again, we have no chance of stopping the Coalition. Sovereign is only one ship and only a fraction of the Geth are with me. I need them if I want to win this fight. I-" Saren stopped as he noticed that Rana had flinched at his outburst. "I...I'm sorry," he said. "It's just...everything is happening so fast."

"I understand," Rana said cautiously. "Are you certain that there isn't any other way to do this? You don't have any backup plans?"

"I do have a few," he admitted, "but this is the one that will end with the least amount of Council civilians dead. If I use my reserve tactics I run the risk of causing massive collateral damage to our people and sparking a war with the Coalition. I don't want millions of Turian, Asari and Salarian soldiers dying doing what I can do by myself. But..." he said, his voice trailing slightly as he remembered the article that had said that the Coalition and the Council were hunting for him, "I...I may have to use them. I might even have to use them just to buy some time until we're ready here."

"Are you sure that that is a good idea?" Rana asked.

"If we get found out here before we're done, everything that we've worked for will come apart at the seams." He turned to look at her, "speaking of which, have my informants found anyone who is close to picking up a trail?"

Rana activated her omni-tool and hastily skimmed through a list. "Just one. She was looking into you ever since you offically lost your Spectre status, but your men moved in fast. She's too well known for a public assassination but we're managing to keep her from get vital information. I suspect they're using blackmail."

"Good," Saren said, looking out over the massive dig site. "I don't know how all of this is going to end, so I just want to say thank you for sticking by me."

Rana smiled. "Saren...you've recruited hundreds if not thousands of people to this cause. We're here because of one reason. We believe the exact same thing that you believe, that the Coalition is a menace to all of galactic society and the Council lacks the will to do anything about it. We're here because we want to be."

Saren looked over his shoulder, the edges of his mouth bent in the ghost of a grin. "Thank you."

XXXXX

"Yes Admiral, that's the situation down here," Jane said, speaking into her COM unit as she, Jenkins and Tali slowly made their way through the alien ship. "I'm not sure if my team is going to be able to handle all of it by ourselves. I would appreciate some backup I...thank you Admiral. Fifteen minutes? All right, we'll hold out until then."

"What was that all about?" Jenkins asked, turning to look at Jane.

"I was just filling Admiral Hackett in about what we found down here. I asked him if he could send some reinforcements, we are dealing with aliens of an unknown number and we don't completely know how advanced their technology is."

"And what did he say?"

"He said that he's put together another strike team to back us up. There's some forces down on Earth that can reach us pretty soon. It's mainly royal soldiers and neo-samurai, they should be here in platoon strength to sweep the ship. Until they get here he wants us to continue to look for survivors and eliminate any hostiles that we encounter."

"Did he have anything to say about these things being aliens?"

"He told me that there was a good chance that they were pirates or renegades or their race, and even if they aren't it's been decided that they've presented themselves as hostile. We'll deal with them here and figure out what to do next later."

As Jane talked the three of them stepped into a tight and enclosed room. It was mostly bare apart from a handful of pods on the far wall, a chair with various claws surrounding it and straps on the armrests and two crates, one of them open and filled with silvery metal objects. "Oh Jesus," Jenkins said, approaching the chair. The back of the chair was stained with blood. Human blood. "What the Hell did these damn things do here?"

"I don't know," Jane replied, "it looks like an operating table. But what were they doing with it?"

Tali cautiously approached the grate filled with silvery objects, taking one of them out of the crate. It seemed to be rather basic, with no noticeable features apart from a single button. Curiosity getting the better of her, she pressed it. "What? Talk into this thing? Just...talk? I don't have to do anything else?" Tali jumped slightly as a man's voice came out of the device.

"What the Hell?" Jenkins said, "that recording is in English or some kind of other Human language, our translators aren't programed with the alien language. What is a recording like that doing on this ship?" Jane made a gesture to him, clearly indicating him to be quiet.

"Um...hello. My name is Andrew Endicott. On the night of May 17th, the year our Lord 1697 I was...I was taken. From my home in Salem Village."

"1697!" Jenkins shouted, "how is that-". Jane cut him off, hissing at him and indicating that he should be quiet.

"I...I do not know where I am, exactly, or why I came to be here. I have seen, through...windows...the stars, and sun, and beloved Earth. Down there, below me. So it would seem I am aboard some vessel, suspended in the ether; ironically, it would seem, so close to where I thought Heaven must surely lie."

"But this is not Heaven. And my captors are not angels. I am not entirely unconvinced that the scripture is wrong. That Heaven and Hell are reversed. For my captives are devils. Demons from my nightmares. Even now they watch me, make me talk."

"They seem to want me to tell my story. I know not why. A record of their deeds, perhaps? Or am I just a pawn in some...some evil game.

And there are others. Other...captives, I mean. From whence they came I cannot say. Some wear strange dress, as if they are from...a different time. And some are...frozen! As in ice! Unmoving! But, I think...alive. I believe they plan the same fate for me. Will I be frozen, too? Will I..." The man was interrupted by what sounded like an alien shouting and the sound of something metal hitting flesh.

"Ow! Stop it! I did what you said! You wanted me to talk, so I talked! Just leave me! Leave me be!" There was a soft beeping noise as the recording ended.

The three of them looked in silence at the recording, a wave of disbelief rolling over them. Tali was the one that broke it. "I...I don't know that much about the Coalition calendar. How long ago was...that year that he said?"

"Practically a thousand years," Jane said quietly. "Back then we wouldn't have even invented the steam engine yet."

"I...Keelah. These things came to your planet that long ago...and they abducted one of your people?"

"And from what the guy said in the recording he wasn't the first, they've been doing it for awhile."

"But why? Why would they do that? What could a species gain from abducting someone from such a primitive society?"

"Whatever they were doing," Jane remarked darkly, glancing at the operating chair that was stained with blood, "I get the feeling that it was medical related, apart from that I haven't got a clue. Our best bet would be to hack one of their computers and see if we can find any records that could tell us why they've been hovering over Earth for so long. Until then our mission just got updated, in addition to any surviving scientists, we're also here to rescue any captives."

"Frozen...as in ice," Tali muttered, "do you think that they're keeping them in cryo stasis pods?"

"It's possible," Jane remarked, looking at the pods "do you think that you can get them open?"

"I can try but...are you sure that this is a good idea? If they've been abducting people from a thousand years ago then whoever they're keeping in there might not even know what a gun is. Are you sure that you want to just let them out now?"

"This position isn't exactly an ideal defensive location, we shouldn't stick around longer than we have to. We have no idea why these aliens are kidnapping Humans but I have a nagging feeling that they didn't do it for laughs. They might decide that they rather kill them then let us take them back. Besides, they've seen these things, they know what they've done and can do. They might be able to help us."

"I...all right." Putting down the recording that she held in her hand, Tali activated her omni-tool and began to type gently. "That's weird," she remarked as she continued to type. "Their firewalls are...to be blunt they're pathetic."

"You're not having any trouble?" Jane asked.

"No...not at all. This is insultingly easy. I'm half expecting for this to actually be a trap. Hold on just give me a second...ok I'm in. Most of these pods are empty, but one of them is occupied."

"Open it up, I want to get whoever is in there out." Nodding Tali typed out a series of commands. There was a hissing noise as the pod slid open, a white mist emitting from it as it did. A man in a brown trench coat stumbled out, taking no more than two steps before stumbling and falling forward, barely throwing his hands out and breaking his fall before he hit the ground in time.

Looking up, he caught sight of Jane Jenkins and Tali. Hastily he scrambled to his feet, his eyes darting from side to side. "Hey are you-" Jenkins began walking forward, but before he could finish, the man threw an elbow at his face.

Jenkins narrowly ducked it, but the man used the chance to dive towards the second crate in the room, ripping the lid the lid off and plunging his hand into it, desperately grasping for anything he could find. A look of brief triumph crossed his face as he drew out a gray metal SMG aiming it at the three of them, prompting them to all raise their weapons in return.

"Get back!" the man shouted "get back or I swear to God that I'll kill you! I'm not going back on that damn table!"

"Calm down," Jane said, "we're not here to hurt you."

As she spoke, the man's grip on his SMG slackened slightly. "You...you speak German? Are...are you one of those things?"

"No," Jane said taking one hand off of her rifle and gently grasping her helmet and removing it. "We came here to help you. So please, lower your gun."

Hesitantly, the man lowered his SMG. "I...I apologize. These creatures...they..." he shook his head. "I...I don't want to talk about it."

"That's all right," Jane said softly, "what's your name? Where are you from?"

"I...my name is Volker Hoffman. I'm a Wehrmacht soldier. I was trying to get away from a Red Army attack when...there's a light and...the next thing that I knew I was strapped to an operating table."

"Wehrmacht!" Jenkins shouted, "this guy is from freaking World War II!"

"From World War...what are you talking about? Are you saying that it's over?"

"It's...it's been over for awhile. Germany...kind of lost."

To Jane's surprise, Volker simply gave a small sigh. "I can't say that I'm surprised, the Soviets outnumbered us ten to one and from what I heard things weren't going very well in the west either."

"You seem to be taking it very well. I would've thought that you would've been more upset to hear that your side lost," Tali remarked. "Especially since you fought for them."

"I didn't have any choice!" Volker snapped, "they forced me to fight, if I didn't-" he trailed off as he turned to face Tali, focusing on her for the first time since he had exited the cryo pod. "I...what are you?"

"She's a Quarian," Jane explained. "She's an alien. Not Human but she's friendly."

"Alien? You mean that they're real?" Volker asked.

"Yes, the creatures that abducted you were aliens too."

"I...but...I," Volker stuttered, but as he did Jane saw something behind his eyes. Everything that he had been told, aliens existing, World War II being over and possibly them being here and the armor that they were wearing all came together and it clicked. "I...how long was I in there?" he asked softly, pointing at the pod.

"Listen, I think with everything that's going on I shouldn't hit you with too much at-"

"Please," Volker said, "I...please. Just tell me."

Jenkins and Tali glanced at Jane, who bit her lip as she stared at Volker. For a moment, she said nothing. Finally, she spoke. "Over six hundred years."

Volker's eyes widened in shock as Jane spoke. He stepped back as if he was in a daze before hitting the wall and sliding downward until he was in a sitting position. "Six...six hundred...God," he whispered, his grip on his rifle slackening as it fell to the ground. "Everyone...everyone I ever knew...they're dead aren't they?" Jane nodded sadly. "I...God."

"I tried to warn you that it would be too much," Jane said. "I...I'm sorry."

For a long time Volker didn't reply, simply staring at the ground, a blank expression on his face. "Do...do you know what these things are?"

"No," Jane replied, "but we do know that they've been abducting Humans for a long time. A lot of our researchers were attacked while trying to examin this ship and we came here to try and help them. That's also why we let you out, we were hoping that you could help us fight these things."

"I...of course." Volker grabbed his SMG and got to his feet. He reached into the crate again and pulled out a pistol, as well as a couple of grenades. "I think I know the layout of the ship pretty well, including where they keep the other people that they abducted. I'll help you but...what do I do after? I don't know anything about the world now, I don't even have a family to go back to. What am I...I just..."

A look of complete confusion mixed with hopelessness coated Volker's face and Jane couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "Volker, I promise you, after we get out of here I'll do everything that I can to help you."

"I...ok," Volker said, giving a weak smile.

"Right," Jane said, sliding her helmet back on. "My name's Jane Shepard by the way."

"It's...uh...nice to meet you Ms. Shepard," Volker said uncertainly. "I wish that it was under more pleasant circumstances."

She chuckled. "I'll buy you a drink when this is all over and we can get properly aquatinted. Until then, lead the way Volker."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTIRES ADDED

Royal Army: Of all of the Post-War nations that populate Earth, the Royal British Empire is the only one that is still technically the same nation and ruled by the same government as Pre-War Britain. During the Great War, the British Parliament building was destroyed by a nuclear blast which resulted in the deaths of the current prime minister and members of Parliament. However, Buckingham Palace was not targeted by any nuclear missiles, as it was believed that the only benefit of destroying the palace would be to demoralize the people of Britain, which would be pointless as they were already demoralized by the poor state of their nation after the disastrous Resource Wars. This belief turned out to be very untrue.

With all members of the main British government dead and the country in chaos, the current king of England, James VI assumed control of the country, including what was left of the army. He did everything in his power to restore order to Britain and the British Isles, but countless people were killed in the bombing and the major sources of the country's industry were destroyed, leaving the king with limited resources. Many violently apposed his rule or simply attacked his men out of desperation for food, forcing him to order their deaths.

Decades trickled by and despite the constant fighting that plagued his nation, James VI managed to keep his country intact, but in doing so transformed it from a democracy back into a monarchy, creating the Royal British Empire. In the years to come, his descendants would rule the country as it began to recover from the war and the people rebuilt, including Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Eleanor, who lives during one of the nations most critical periods.

After the Great War, a brutal warlord who was only known by his official title had taken over France, ruling over the people with an iron fist and crushing all of those that opposed him even conquering surrounding areas. In the year 2269, he set his site on the Royal British Empire, launching an invasion fleet. However, his men had grown accustomed to fighting on solid ground whereas the Royal British Empire had a dedicated navy, even Post-War, and the invasion force was easily defeated, but it was made clear that there was a threat to the Empire on mainland Europe who would try to attack again and would possibly learn from his mistakes. Princess Eleanor formed the Royal Army, dedicated and highly trained soldiers, and lead them across the English Channel and invaded France.

She faced heavy resistance and lost many men, but she discovered that the warlord that ruled France had made many enemies. During the time of her invasion, France was also being attacked by the Vatican from the south and the Russian Order from the east, both of them having been attacked by France before retaliating in self defense. The three nations became aware of each other quickly and hastily formed an alliance to defeat their common enemy. The conflict, known to some historians as World War IV, lasted for five years before Paris was taken by the three allied nations closed in on all sides and Eleanor stormed the warlord's fortress and killed him with no support aside from a male priest known as the Holy One and a female Russian General known as the Liberator. Eleanor was affectionately given the name Champion by her men as the three powers sent embassies to meet each other, establish trade and divide the conquered territory between the three of them, as well as the rest of Europe. The Campion, Holy One and Liberator were reported to have become very good friends afterward.

The Neo-Samurai: The neo-samurai are a heavy infantry subsection originating from Earth, in the Japanese Federation. They wear modified power armor which has a resemblance to feudal Japanese Samurai Warriors.

During the Great War, like other nations, Japan was struck by nuclear fire, however it did no receive as heavy damage as other parts of earth have. After the Great War, Japan slipped back into their feudal ways, becoming to believe ancient Japanese folk lore, the Shinto religion, and the way of Bushido. In doing this, they isolated themselves from the rest of the world.

For the first few hundred years after the Great War ended, the lands of Japan were divided between different territories and providences. Each of these providences were ruled by a daimyō (feudal lord). In order to protect themselves against bandits, and from rivaling Warlords, the different daimyō of each nation commissioned a new breed of samurai warriors, similar to those who served the old Shogunates of feudal Japan, the neo-samurai.

Unlike their past counterparts, the neo-samurai have no problems with using modern fire arms like assault rifles, lasers, and explosives. However every samurai is required to have their own katana. It is known that many katanas have been customized to do different things depending on the wielder's modifications made to it, such as placing a heat generator in the blade, allowing it to melt through metal, bone and flesh. Every combat-ready neo-samurai known is at least half-competent with a blade.

Many years after the Great War, as the neo-samurai gained fame, one such samurai sought to unite all of Japan's people under one banner. This samurai was Toshiro Kago. Like all samurai, he had a providence and a lord, but in 2278 it was attacked by a band of nomadic raiders from the mainland. While the band was defeated and the majority of it's members killed, Toshiro's providence was destroyed in the attack. He realized at that point that there were still dangers to Japan throughout the entire world, and that his people would have to stand together. He wandered the country, becoming a ronin, a samurai without a master as one by one he united the many providences of Japan, all the while fending off attacks from the mainland.

It took him many years, but eventually he succeeded in his quest, and the Japanese Federation was born, also bringing about the Kago Shogunate Period. In the years to follow, Toshiro would become known as 'The Defender' of the Japanese Federation. Eventually the people of the Federation would make their way to the mainland and make contact with the other nations of Post-War Earth. When the lands were unified, the Samurai of each nation were unified as well. Even to this day, the Neo Samurai are a force to reckon with.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Yeah I don't really remember the exact layout of Zeta that much and I don't feel like replaying it so I'm taking some liberties here. I hope people don't mind. Sorry about the long wait, sometimes life pops up you know? I had to go to a party that my best friend had, which involved me jabbering like a madman while everyone watched me run around in Fallout New Vegas as a scantily clad woman blowing up Goodsprings with a grenade launcher "sigh" good times. Well, back to writing anyway, which I've been doing for three years but still can't get on the TV tropes fan fic recommendation page. It's a little weird considering that there's a Mass Effect/ Dues Ex on there that involves Shepard getting killed...in chapter 2. Aw well, just a sign that I need to keep getting better. Sorry, I just felt the need to babble there. Also yeah, after all these years Britain finally beats France...hope this doesn't piss anyone off.

Also, special thanks go out to 117Jorn, who came up with and wrote the Codex entry for the Neo-Samurai. I admit to editing it and changing it around, but he came up with the core concepts. I also hope that you can buy the concept of my new character.


	23. Abominations

Chapter 23

Abominations

Author's Note: Well son of a bitch, someone put my crappy Mass Effect New Origins on the TV tropes fan fic recommendation page. I am freaking excited and I just want to say thank you to all of you and especially to the guy who put it up and I am now going to bust my rear to get From the Ashes up there too, but this did bring up something that I want to talk about at the end of the chapter. Also one anonymous reviewer apparently misinterpreted something in my last chapter. He said that Volker joined the military to support Hitler, and that is not what he said, he said that he was forced to join the army, specifically he said "I didn't have any choice! They forced me to fight". Just wanted to clear that up.

EDIT: After one reviewer pointed out a plot hole I edited this chapter. Volker isn't wearing an oxygen mask anymore, the is wearing the spaceman's suit. That you very much bh18 for correcting my mistake.

XXXXX

"Son of a bitch!" Roger shouted as he ducked his head down, a blast from an alien rifle soaring over his head. "These things seriously don't want us here!" he said as he leaned out of cover, spraying a nearby alien trooper with shots, killing it. He, Adam and Garrus were in what appeared to be some kind of lab, which houses massive tubes filled with green liquid and operating tables that were stained with dark red blood.

Three more aliens were desperately attempting to fend them off, crouching behind the tables and taking pot shots at them with their weapons. One of them attempted to line up a shot with Roger, only to have its right temple explode as a shot tore through it. "You're welcome!" Garrus shouted as he lined up another shot, waiting for a good moment to fire.

"I don't remember asking for help!" Roger snapped, firing a burst at an alien that had peeked out of cover, forcing it back.

"It's complementary! Garrus replied, reaching down to his waist and grabbing a grenade, throwing it at the table that one of the remaining aliens was crouching behind. It realized what was going on and dove out from behind cover, only for Garrus to fire a shot the second that it did. The bullet tore through the alien's torso and exited through its back, causing it to drop to the floor dead.

"Honestly," Adam whispered firing his shotgun at the last alien as it attempted to get a shot off at Roger, killing it. "Arguing is part of Human nature...well organic nature, I understand that," he said to no one in particular. "But with your allies in the middle of a firefight? What sense does that make?"

"Oi!" Roger shouted, as the three of them stepped out of cover and walked forward. "Is there anyone else here!? Any Coalition scientists? We're here to help!" There was no response. "Fuck."

"There were only a handful of soldiers here," Garrus said, walking towards one of the corpses. "It doesn't look like they're heavily armed either, half of them only have pistols. I get the feeling that they weren't sent here to hunt down your scientists, I think they were sent here to secure something."

"Like what?" Roger asked as Garrus bent down and began rummaging around the alien's jumpsuit.

"Hold on," Garrus remarked spotting a small silver tube with a bright blue liquid inside lying on the ground next to one of the aliens. "I think I found something," he said, grabbing it and standing up, holding the tube up to the light and examining the content.

"What the fuck is that supposed to be?" Roger asked, "Nutrient paste?"

"A possibility," Adam said, "or it could be this race's equivalent of medi-gel. We do appear to be in the med-bay."

"Looks more like a morgue."

As the other two talked, Garrus turned the tube over in his fingers, accidentally squeezing it slightly. A small drop of the liquid was forced out of the end which fell down and landed on the sniper rifle that Garrus was still holding in his free hand. "Oh, damn it," he swore, putting the tube down on a nearby table and reaching down to brush the liquid off.

His fingers were inches away from his rifle when he stopped. A small scratch from where he had scrapped the gun with his talons was being filled in with the liquid, which had congealed into a gel. As he watched, the gel continued to harden and before he could so much as blink, it had completely disappeared into the gun, taking on its color and texture and filling in the scratch. "Adam," Garrus remarked slowly, looking at his rifle in awe, "do you have any dings in your shotgun?"

"Uh," the commando said, turning over his weapon in his hands, checking for any damage. "A couple, I have been using it for awhile after all. Why do you ask?"

Garrus grabbed the silver tube and handed it to Adam. "Try putting some of this on it." Adam took the tube uncertainly and placed it over a dent in his gun, squeezing some of the blue liquid out of it, coating the dent with it. Both Adam and Roger watched as the liquid began to harden and both of them blinked in surprise as it vanished, along with the dent.

"Huh," Roger said. "So basically it's medi-gel, but for guns. That's...actually that's pretty neat."

"Do you think that's why they came here?" Adam asked, handing the tube back to Garrus, "to get some of this?"

"I guess that they could have but...I don't know," Garrus said skeptically. "Like you said this feels like a med-bay, so why would they keep something designed to repair guns here?"

"It could be designed to repair weapons and heal tissue," Adam suggested. "These aliens could have developed technology that advanced."

"Yeah well, you're not testing that shit out on me to see if it does," Roger said walking past the two of them and heading towards the back of the room that they were in, his eyes sweeping everything from wall to wall. "If you want my opinion we're wasting our time here, you should just pocket some of that stuff and get out of-" Roger stopped as a noise reached his ears.

It sounded like a very low, very wet snarl. Garrus and Adam heard it too, and all of their heads snapped to face the origin. There was a very small doorframe at the small end of the room. "What the fuck was that?" Roger said.

"I don't know," Adam admitted. "Should we check it out?"

"Hey, if you want to stick your head in there and hope whatever just growled doesn't bite it off, be my guest," Roger said, turning to look at the priest. "After all, we don't-" he said, looking back to look at the door, but stopping as he saw something rush out of it, heading for him. Before he could even make out what was charging at him, Roger was thrown onto his back as the figure smashed into him.

Roger had no time to recover before the creature, which vaguely resembled the aliens, raised its fists over its head and brought them smashing down on Roger's chest, causing him to gasp in pain. It repeated this process, but this time both of Roger's hands shot out and grabbed the creature's arms, one around the wrist and the other by the fist. Roger strained as he attempted to push the creature back, but it proved to be very strong and pushed back. Realized that he couldn't beat it with brute strength, Roger instead squeezed as hard as he could with his cybernetic hand, closing it around the creature's fist.

There was a loud snap as he broke it's knuckles, causing it to recoil back slightly, shrieking in pain. He then let go of the creature's arms before pulling his legs back and kicking out as hard as he could, catching the creature in the chest and pushing it off of him. The creature howled in pain and was about to charge at Roger again when several shots rang out and massive holes erupted in the creatures chest. The creature let out another roar and attempted to move forward again before one last shot rang out and a hole was torn through its head. Slowly, the creature fell forward onto the ground, completely lifeless.

"Oh fuck," he swore, getting to his feet. "I think it punched me in the wounds I got from Eden Prime."

"You still have those?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, well, bullet wounds don't exactly disappear overnight. By the way, thanks for waiting while that thing was beating the shit out of me."

"It was right on top of you," Garrus said dryly, "and in case you didn't know, bullets go all the way through unarmored targets very easily. If we shot it while it was still on top of you, we could have easily killed you too."

"Not to mention everything happened rather quickly," Adam added. "By the time we knew what was going on you had already gotten it off of you."

"Yeah yeah," Roger said dismissively, "I can't trust anyone, I know. I figured that out a long time ago." Before either Garrus or Adam could object, he looked down at the creature that had just attacked him. "So what the fuck is this thing supposed to be?" The creature, while resembling the aliens, was much bigger than them. Roger could also see that it seemed to have five fingers and five toes, but what really stood out for him was that the blood that was pooling around its body was dark red. It was Human.

"It could be part of a different caste," Adam suggested. "It could be like a warrior ant to a worker ant, like the rest of the aliens we've encountered."

"I don't think so," Garrus said, "the blood isn't the same, look." He gestured to the dead alien soldiers, their corpses still bleeding. The blood that was leaking out of them was a light shade of green, nowhere near the crimson that surrounded the other creature.

"Maybe we can find out more about it in there," Adam said, pointing at the door where the creature had charged from.

"You first pal," Roger snarled. "I already tangled with one of these fucks, I'm not tripping over my feet to do it again. Besides you're the one with the shotgun aren't you?"

Adam was silent for a second before he replied, "very well," and began to make his way towards the door, his weapon in hand. Garrus and Roger followed him closely, raising their rifles up to eye level while Adam reached the door, taking at step in with his shotgun raised. "I...oh dear," Adam whispered, sounding horrified.

"What is it?" Roger said as he and Garrus stepped in. "Oh, fuck me sideways," he swore as he and Garrus saw the inside of the room. It was filled with several more giant tubes of green liquid, these ones with creatures resembiling the ones that had attacked Roger floating in them. Many of them were around the same size, but a few of them were tiny, around the size of a baby. All of them were floating limply in their tanks. They appeared to be dead.

"I get the feeling that's where your friend came from," Garrus said, pointing to a tube that had been shattered, the fluid that it had been containing still dripping down the side.

"No shit Sherlock."

"Who?"

"He's...oh never mind," Roger said. "So these little bastards were growing these things. Any idea why?"

"No," Adam said sadly, "but I think I may know how."

"What the Hell are you talking about?" Roger said as he and Garrus turned to face Adam. "I...oh...shit." Adam was standing in front of three operating tables. Three Standard-Humans, two men and one women where strapped down to them. There were massive gapping holes in their chests and the table were stained with their blood. "They're...they're dead aren't they?" Roger asked.

Adam nodded. "And they've got several internal organs missing," he said before reaching out with one finger and pressing down on the left man's arm. "This looks like a puncture mark so it's safe to say that either he was injected with something, or the aliens also took samples of his blood."

"Are you trying to get at something here?" Roger asked.

"Think about it," Adam said, "there are Humans here that have been operated on, these aliens are growing creatures that look like them but have Human blood-"

"Are you saying that these things are...some kind of Human-alien hybrid?" Garrus asked, disbelief covering his face.

Adam nodded. "It's the best theory that I can come up with."

"And pray tell," Roger said "why the Hell would they want to do that? Why would these technologically advanced aliens waste their time splicing their DNA together with ours to create these little abominations of nature? And if they were going to do that, why would they do it with our DNA of all things? Why couldn't they just do it with Brahmin? And how did they even get these Humans?"

Adam shrugged. "I don't know, but if you have a better explanation for what is going on here, I would be more than happy to listen to it."

"I..." Roger started, but stopped as he racked his brain and realized that he couldn't think of another scenario to justify what he was seeing. "Fucking smartass," He growled, turning and walking out of the room that they were in.

"You know, I overheard Williams saying to the Commander that it would be for the best if he wasn't on this ship," Garrus remarked to Adam. "And I'm not going to lie I'm starting to see why. If he blows up at the wrong moment, it's going to get people killed."

"Perhaps," Adam said, using his index finger and middle finger to close the eyes of the dead Humans before making a quick sign of the cross. "But we should worry about that later. We still have a mission to complete."

"Right," Garrus said, the two of them heading out of the door, following Roger.

XXXXX

Within the depths of the Terminus systems, on the space station Omega, two Krogan were walking down a narrow hallway, guns in their arms. "This is it? Killing an old sack who can't even hold a gun anymore?" one of them said to the other. "This is such a waste of time."

"Credits are credits, and we're getting paid a lot of them for this job," the other said, "so keep your mouth shut. We're not just killing any old Krogan here."

"I still don't get it, how is killing this guy supposed to help us deal with Aria? It's going to take more than one body to deal with that bitch."

"There's more to destroying your enemy than simply killing them. You tear apart their empire, make them look weak in front of their enemies, let them do all of the work. It's physiological warfare, not that you'd ever understand that."

"If you don't fucking shut up-"

"I would highly recommend that both of you turn back now." Both of the Krogan looked up to see a massive Meta-Human standing at the end of the hallway, wearing dark green armor. "You see, I am Patriarch's krantt and I simply cannot allow you to kill him. Turn back now or I will be forced to end your lives."

"What the Hell is this?" one of the Krogan said, "how did Patriarch get a fucking mutant as a krantt?" The term mutant meant very little to Krogan, and the mercenary had only used the word in an attempt to anger the Meta-Human that stood in front of him. It didn't work.

"We have an...interesting relationship," the Meta-Human said, his voice very polite. "Needless to say it would be very inconvient for me if he was to die."

"Wait a minute," the other Krogan growled, "I know that armor! You're part of that mutant only mercenary group aren't you?!"

The Meta-Human chuckled. "You are quite right, I am a member of the Army, well done. I was under the impression that the Blood Pack liked their foot soldiers dim, but it seems that I was wrong."

"Aria hired you to cover Patriarch's ass didn't you?"

"This is quite true. She offered me a rather large sum. Credits and raw resources, both of which I have need for. I do believe this could be the start of a very profitable relationship between the two of us."

One of the Krogan snorted, "what makes you think that you're actually going to get paid? You can only do that if you actually do you job and you're not enough to take both-" the Krogan was interrupted as a massive metal blade erupted out of his throat. The other Krogan turned in horror, but before he could react, the blade withdrew itself from it's victim and swung again, decapitating the second Krogan. Both of the mercenaries fell to the ground, dead.

"Very well done Major," the Meta-Human said walking forward as a massive figure decloaked behind the now dead Krogan. He was a Meta-Human as well, to be more specific, a Nightkin. He wore the same dark green armor as the other Meta-Human and was clutching a massive sword in his hands.

"It was easy General," the Major snarled kicking the corpses of one of the Krogan. "These things love to go on and on about how amazing they are. It makes killing them practically effortless, but still rather satisfying." He raised his sword and slid it into a sheath he had on his back. "Do you think that this will be enough for Aria?"

"I believe so," the General said putting his finger to his ear. "Colonel, the assassin's are dead, there is no more need for you to guard Patriarch. Meet us in Afterlife."

"Already? Well that was quick," the Colonel replied over the COM lines. "I hope that Aria doesn't think that you're trying to scam her."

"I could always bring the bodies," the Major offered, "just in case she needs convincing that we did the job."

The General shook his head as he continued to talk. "Just get to Afterlife Colonel. We'll take care of the rest." The General lowered his hand. "He sounded happy," he remarked as he and the Major turned and began to walk down the hallway.

"He's always happy," the Major grunted, "always trying to point out how nice things are or how things could be worse. It's annoying."

"We fight a difficult battle Major. A little optimism can be of great help."

"There's a difference between looking on the bright side of things and running your mouth."

The General let out a laugh. "Perhaps." The two of them continued to travel through the twists and turns of Omega until several minutes later, when they found themselves walking into the entrance of Omega's most popular nightclub, Afterlife. Out of the corner of his eye, the General saw the Major tense as the eyes of many patrons focused on them. "Is something wrong?"

"They're all looking at me," the Major hissed, "I hate it when people stare at me." His hands twitched towards his sword, "if I can just-"

"No," the General said sternly. "Killing without a purpose is bad for our reputation, and if our reputation suffers-"

"We don't get hired," the Major snarled, "I know. Fine, but next time I don't get involved with the business."

"I understand." The two of them continued towards Aria's private booth, spotting another Meta-Human in dark green armor standing nearby. He also held two massive light machine guns, crossed on his back.

"Ah, there you are," the Colonel said, falling into step with them as they walked up the steps in front of them. "I trust everything went well."

"Not now," the General said as they stopped in front of Aria, who looked up from a glass of ale that she had been drinking. "I took care of your little problem. No one should be bothering Patriarch anytime soon."

"You came back awfully fast," she said, "but then again just before you got here one of my men called in two dead Krogan, one with a hole in his throat and the other with no head. Something about a krantt?" She gave a small smirk, "but then again what do I care? You got the job done, that's all I asked for." She picked up a datapad that was lying next to her on her coach and handed it to the General, who took it. "That has the coordinates to a hidden stash of cargo and minerals. I've been sitting on it for a while now but never had any use for it. It's all yours now, and the credits I promised have been transfered to your personal accounts."

"Thank you," he said, "we will take our leave now. Should you ever need anything else, do not hesitate to contact us again."

"Just a moment," she said, raising her hand.

"Yes?" the General said, sounding uncertain.

"Something's been bothering me even since you strolled up to me looking for work. You only have influence in a fraction of Omega compared to the other merc groups, and you mainly use it to provide housing for Meta and Necro-Humans and scrounge up a little bit of profit. You have enough muscle to be on par with the other big three, so why aren't you?"

"Is it really any of your concern?"

"Is it any of my concern?" Aria said, sounding slightly angry. "You have at the very least a thousand of your men on my station at all times, breathing my air, drinking my water and eating my food. I run this station, and I need to know if a particularly large and well armed mercenary group is planning anything, so to answer your question, yes it is my fucking concern!"

The Major snarled and took a step forward, only to walk into the Colonel's outstretched arm. He looked at the Nightkin and shook his head. The Major growled before taking a step back. Glancing at his comrades, the General spoke. "Taking a piece of Omega for myself would be lucrative, but it would also be costly, and I can't afford to throw away my men by the thousands. I look for profit elsewhere. Besides, it's only a means to an end."

"Son of a bitch," Aria said, her smirk returning. "You're really serious about that little philosophy that the Army has. I thought that you just used it as a recruiting tactic. You really think that Meta and Necro-Humans are the future of your species?"

"We do," the General said, his voice low. "And we will do whatever it takes to make sure that the rest of Humanity evolves along with us. I do not hate them, but they are ignorant of the potential that they have. Sometimes, a forceful hand is required for society to progress."

Aria continued to smirk. It was clear that she didn't buy a word of what the General was saying. "Whatever, it's not like I care. You do whatever you want with your species. Now then if you don't mind I have another appointment soon and I need the space."

The three Meta-Humans stared at her warily before backing away and exiting her booth. "Colonel, contact the ship and give them these coordinates," the General said, handing the Meta-Human the datapad that he had been given. "We're going to be making a pickup. And possibly setting up an outpost."

XXXXX

"Where are we going?" Jenkins asked, as he, Tali and Jane all trailed behind Volker, who was leading them through the bowls of the ship.

"I...they moved me around a lot," Volker said uncertainly. "I saw a lot of the ship. One of them seemed to always give orders to the others...I think that he was the one in command. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but they all listened to him. There was a part of the ship that he always went to that only a few of the others did...I think it might have been the command center for this place." He glanced over his shoulder. "Will it help you if I can get you there?"

"Defiantly," Jane said, "if we can get to the bridge of this place we'll be able to find out what these things are doing here and find the rest of our scientists. We'll be able to take control of the whole situation." She looked at Tali. "Do you think that you'll be able to hack their central mainframe?"

"If that cry pod was anything to go by, I should be able to do it with my eyes shut," she replied.

"I...mainframe? Hack?" Volker said, looking hopelessly confused.

"We'll explain later," Jane said.

"All right I suppose." Volker sounded uncertain as he continued to walk, stopping when they came to a massive room, filled with open empty cryo pods. "That's...strange," he said, looking at the pods. "These ones are almost always full. It's like they were moved."

"We'll be able to find out where too if you can get us to the bridge," Jane said.

"Right," he said, crossing the room and stopping in front of a small pad on the ground that was encircled by a railing, typing a control panel on it. "They did...something with this thing. It made them disapear and whenever their leader came back he would always reapear but..." he pressed all of the buttons at random, acomplishing nothing, "I...I don't know how to make it work."

"Tali?" Jane said, glancing at the Quarian, who already had her omni-tool out.

She typed in a few commands before lowering her arm and shaking her head. "I'm sorry Shepard, it's not receiving power. It looks like this ship is running on auxiliary power only."

"Volker, is there any other way that the aliens used to get up to the bridge?" Jane asked.

"Uh..." Volker replied, thinking deeply. "I...I don't think so, they-WAIT WAIT, there was one way!" He pointed at a door just behind the pad that he was standing on. "Every once in a while this thing wouldn't work, so one of them would put on a weird suit and go out through that door. It seems different from all of the other ones though, there was another door just beyond it."

"It's an airlock," Jenkins whispered.

"Sounds like the only way up is outside," Jane said. "Volker, you can't go out there the way that you are."

"Why not?" he asked, looking confused.

"Let's just that that it wouldn't end well for...wait a minute." Jane walked past Volker and stopped in front of an open crate. Sticking out of it was an old US spacesuit. "Hold on," she said, breifly activating her omni-tool and scanning it. "Son of a bitch, the old thing still works." She puled it out and threw it to Volker. "Put this on."

"Why?" he asked as he caught it, looking at it. "What is it? A diving suit?"

"Kind of, you're going to need it where we're going."

"Uh...how do I put it on?" What followed was several awkward minutes of Volker slowly puutting the spacesuit on, Jane helping him all the way, while Jenkinss and Tali did their best not to make eye contact. After what seemed like an eternity, at least to them, Jane slid the helmet on over Volker's head.

Jane stepped away and tapped her omni-tool again. "Ok, it looks like it's working perfectly. I think we're all set. Tali, can you get the airlock open?" Jane asked. The Quarian nodded, and a few taps on her omni-tool later, the door in front of them had slid open. The four of them filled in as it closed behind them and the depressurization process began.

"What the Hell is that?" Volker said, looking up at the hissing noise that was filling the airlock.

"Don't worry," Jane said, "you'll be fine. It's just a preparation process for where we're going. It's why you had to put on that suit, the air is being sucked out of this room."

"I...why?"

"It needs to be done in order to prevent a vacuum being created," Tali explained.

"A vacuum cleaner?"

"What? No. I-" Tali began, but she was interrupted.

"We'll explain things later," Jane said, the depressurization finishing the the airlock in front of them opening. "All right, let's keep moving." The four of them made their way out of the airlock and found themselves on the outside of the ship.

"Wow," Volker said, looking across the ship and seeing how far it spread out. "I've never seen it from the outside before. I didn't think that it was so big." As he spoke, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to look at it. His jaw dropped as he looked off into space, or to be more specific, at Earth. "I...what...what...what...what is that!?" he shouted.

"Oh damn it," Jane whispered. "Uh, Volker?" she said, walking over to him along with the others. "That's...Earth."

"Earth? The planet that we live on Earth?" he said, sounding practically hysterical as he turned to look at her. She nodded grimly. "But...but...but...if that's Earth, then where are we?" he asked, looking around and seeing nothing but the alien ship and the gray rock that surrounded it.

"We're on the Moon," Jane answered, biting her lip slightly.

"The...the moon?" he whispered. "I...but...how...how is any of this even possible?" He turned around again and looked at the Earth, noticing that it was a very unpleasant shade of yellow. "And what happened to it?"

Jane fought back the urge to let out a sigh. "Volker, I promise to you that I will explain everything that happened while you were sleeping. But we can't stop now, if we just stay still there's a chance that those aliens will hunt us down and kill us. Please, just a little further."

Volker continued to stare at Earth before forcing himself to take a deep breath. "Ok," he said, sounding very faint, "ok."

"Captain! I think I can see an entrance from here!" Jenkins shouted as he began to move up the side of the ship.

"I'll be right there!" Jane shouted at him before glancing at Volker again. "If you need a minute, now would be the time. We're going to have to head back inside soon." Volker nodded and Jane smiled weakly as she headed off in the direction that Jenkins was.

"Are you ok?" Volker turned to the side and saw Tali, looking at him with concern.

"I...I don't know," Volker answered honestly. "I...I just...this is all happening so fast. I'm on the moon, these weird...things kidnapped me, and I've been rescued by people wearing uniforms that I've never seen before. And...what's going to happen when this is all over? What am I supposed to do if I don't die here? My life...everything I knew...it's...it's gone."

"You...you could stay with us," Tali suggested. "We're tracking down a dangerous criminal and we could use all of the talented hands we can get. You said that you fought in a war right?"

Tali could have sworn that she saw Volker shiver, but before she could comment on it he had already spoken. "I...yes. I fought on the eastern front for two years. But I don't know how well that would translate to...well...today's combat."

"Things haven't changed that much when they come to guns," Tali said reasuringly. "They still operate in pretty much the same way as they have for centuries. Now you don't even have to reload them."

"You don't?" Tali shook her head. "I...wow. I...I don't know."

"Just give it some thought. I'm sure Shepard would be more than happy to have you. And if you've got two years of experience, you'd be a valuable ally."

"I...all right."

"Hey!" Jane shouted at the two of them. "The door is open! We need to move!"

"Let's get moving," Tali said to Volker.

"Right," he said as they started to head in Jane's direction. "Wait a minute." He glanced at the Quarian. "I don't think you ever told me your name."

Tali grinned slightly. "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"I...that's quite a name."

"You can just call me Tali."

Volker let out a weak laugh. "I...thank you Tali. I'll...I'll think about that offer."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

The Army: In the Terminus Systems, races are commonly known for the mercenary group that they helped create. The Krogan and Vorcha are known for the Blood Pack, Asari and Salarians are known for Eclipse and Standard-Humans, Turians and Batarians are known for the Blue Suns. Meta-Humans and Necro-Humans are known for the Army.

The Army is one of the main Terminus Systems mercenary groups, with the exact numbers unknown, but believed to be massive. It was formed when a Meta-Human and his men stole five warships from a private contractor on Illium in 2718. The Army began recruiting other Meta and Necro-Humans, quickly growing to match the other mercenary groups of the Terminus Systems in size.

Little is known about the leader of the Army, who stole the ships, only that he goes by the name of "the General" and his two head commanders, "the Colonel" and "the Major", but it is heavily suspected that all three of them are ex members of the Master's army, making them some of the few remaining original Meta-Humans.

Unlike the other mercenary groups, the Army has a long term goal in mind besides simple profit. They believe that Meta and Necro-Humans are genetically superior to Standard-Humans, and that they are the next step in Human evolution. As such, they pour all of the money that they make from their work into sustaining their organization and doing everything that they can to increase the number of existing mutants, both Necro and Meta. There are also rumors that the General was involved in the Coalition's development of the FEV and that he memorized how to create it, as well as make his own strains. It is widely believed that he has created a strain that wipes the memories of those affected by it, and that he uses it on any Standard-Human that crosses him, conscripting them into his ranks.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Like I said I wanted to talk about something, my ranting. I used to only rant when it was about something that really annoyed me, but now it seems like I do it every chapter and I can't help but feel like it might be getting a little out of hand, it doesn't help that that recommendation that I mentioned makes note of my rants. So here's what I propose, in your reviews or in a PM, please tell me if you would like me to continue ranting or if you would prefer it if I kept my author's note's to specifically talking about the story and things related to it and a short explanation as to why. I will keep track of all of you feedback and if there is enough people who are tired of my ranting or just want me to stop, I will. Please comment and tell me what you think.


	24. Seizing Control

Chapter 24

Seizing Control

Author's Note: Wow. There was a nearly unanimous choice among my reviewers for me to keep continuing my ranting. I...wow, thanks guys. Well, I'll try not to get too sappy on you, let's move forward.

XXXXX

"Are you sure?" Jane said into her COM unit as the airlock closed behind her, oxygen flooding the room as they did. "I...if that's true then there's a lot more going on here than I thought. We're moving to take the bridge, stand by for an update on the location of the scientists. Shepard out."

"What happened?" Jenkins said as the door in front of them opened.

"Garrus and his team were attacked by something in a lab. He thinks that the aliens have been combining their DNA with our DNA. It doesn't help that they found three corpses that had had a lot of their organs ripped out."

"DNA?" Volker said, sounding confused.

"It has to do with medical science," Jane explained. "Basically DNA is a blueprint that you can find in every cell that tells them how to build your body. It's what decides your eye color, hair color, how tall you are, your gender and just about every other physical part of you."

"I...God. Can you...control it? Change it?"

"In some ways, but we can't make it so that you can sprout wings out of your back. By the way you can take that suit off now."

"Oh, thank you," he said, hastily grabbing at the spacesuit that he was wearing and ripping it off, which took him a good minute. "What should I do with it?"

"Just leave it here. You might need it later and if we carry it around there's a chance it might get nicked. If that happens it's pretty much useless." Volker nodded as he rolled up the spacesuit and left it by the entrance to the airlock. "Do you have any idea where to go from here?"

He shook his head. "No, they never took me up here."

"Well in that case we'll just have to find the bridge by ourselves. It shouldn't be too hard, the upper section of this ship isn't as big as the lower. If we keep moving we should find it before too long." The four of them began to move forward again, their weapons at the ready.

They had only been walking for a few minutes when a shot flew directly of Jenkins's head, missing him narrowly. "Shit!" he shouted, taking cover behind a massive crate, the others doing the same. A group of three aliens was firing at them, crouching behind a stack of crates that had been set up right in front of a door.

"Do you think that that is where their command center is!?" Volker shouted as a volley of shots flew past.

"Seems like a good bet!" she replied, reaching for her side. "On the count of three I want you and me to hit them with grenades, we're gonna flush them out. Tali, Jenkins, I want you to open fire the second they try and bail from their cover, understand?" Everyone nodded. "All right then Volker. One, two, THREE!" Jane threw a frag grenade while Volker threw what appeared to be a pick with a metal cap on the end at the bunkered down aliens. Both devices landed and exploded, killing two of the aliens and forcing the other one out of cover. It ran forward, only to be immediatly gunned down by a burst from Jenkins' rifle and a blast from Tali's shotgun.

"What was that thing?" Jenkins asked, glancing at Volker as they rose out of their cover.

"Stielhandgranate," he replied, "standard issue German hand grenade."

"Uh...could you say that again? My translator must have shorter out or something."

"Your what?"

"It didn't Jenkins," Jane interjected, "that's the title for that weapon. There's no translation for it. Volker, I-"

"Explain later?" She nodded. "Ok. I can wait."

Jane smiled slightly. "All right, everyone move up." They began to move forward again, approaching the barricade that the aliens had been using. "If this is the bridge then I'm willing to bet that that was just a forward guard, something to weaken us up before they hit us with everything that they've got. I want to hit them fast and hit them hard. Once we get in there, spread out, don't stay too close together and just shoot anything that moves. They're not going to give this place up without a fight though and they're going to be dug in, so don't be a moron, only push forward when you see an opening. Let's do this. Tali, get the door open."

All of them stepped forward, Tali hastily typing on her omni-tool as she did, causing the door to slid open. They charged forward as they did, firing a volley from their weapons as they did. A solid line of crates had been set up inside the bridge, behind which several aliens were taking cover, a few of them falling prey to the fire. The team dove for safety as the aliens returned fire, crouching behind terminals and crates.

At the center of the alien line, Volker spotted one that was wearing a noticeably darker jumpsuit and firing a weapon that seemed to make bigger and brighter shots that the weapons that the other aliens were carrying. "That's him!" he shouted, trying to lean out from behind the terminal he was crouching behind, only to have a blast sent right at him, forcing him back down. "That's their commander! The one in the middle!"

"Tali, Jenkins, take him down!" Jane ordered, firing a shot from her plasma rifle at the alien that was keeping Volker pinned, hitting it directly in the chest and reducing it to a puddle of green goo.

"Thank you!" Volker shouted, rising up and firing his SMG at the alien commander only to have it duck down in time to avoid his shots. Spotting another alien leveling a rifle at him, Volker switched targets and opened fire on the other alien, pumping its body full of metal slugs. The rifle slid out of the alien's hands as it fell to the ground, Volker ducking back into cover and ripping the clip out of his SMG before smacking a fresh one in.

Another alien stood up from behind cover and aimed its gun at Volker, as he finished reloading his weapon and rose up again, gunning down another alien soldier. It was about to fire on him when a bang rang out and a dozen shotgun pellets tore through its body. Volker turned to the side just in time to see the dead alien falling to the ground with Tali pointing her shotgun at it. "You need to pay attention a little more!" she shouted, but her voice was playful, not scathing.

"Sorry!" he shouted crouching back down. "I'm...I'm not really used to this!"

"I can understand that!" she shouted aiming her shotgun and firing it again, bringing down another one of the aliens.

The alien commander glanced from one side of the room to the other and noticed that it was the only survivor, all of the other soldiers that it had had were all did. Immediately it began screaming at the top of its lungs in a language that no one else understood, even with translators. "I think he's mad at us!" Jenkins said trying to get a shot off at the commander only to have it fire a shot at him and force him back down.

"Oh really? What gave you that idea? Him screaming at us or us killing all of his men?" Tali asked dryly.

"Another time!" Jane shouted, "we need to focus on killing him."

"Got it!" Volker shouted popping out of cover and spraying bullets at the alien. It managed to duck down in time, but before it did it fired off a shot at Volker. The blast soared towards him and as he did he panicked, throwing himself to the side and narrowly avoiding it. As he did, he accidently overshot his cover and ended up landing on the ground right in the open, completely exposed and with his gun having slipped out of his hand. The alien commander sprung up, taking aim at the vulnerable soldier, but before it could fire, Volker grabbed for his side and raised his pistol, firing the entire clip at the commander as fast as he could. The alien let out a weak gasp as all of the bullets smashed into its body. It attempted to raise its weapon and line up a shot, but as it did its strength left it and it collapsed to the floor, dead."

Volker panted heavily as he got back to his feet, sliding a fresh clip into his pistol before holstering it at his side before going to retrieve his SMG. "Volker," Jane said, walking towards him, "I want to talk to you about what just happened. You-"

"I know, I'm sorry," Volker said rather quickly, rounding on the spot to look at her. "I was sloppy. I had to constantly be saved, I nearly got myself killed and I most likely had the lowest kill count out of everyone here. I was pathetic, I'm sorry Shepard, I just-"

He stopped as the Captain raised her hand. "I'm not going to lie, your performance was pretty rusty, but considering that you were in a cryo tube for six centuries, are in a bizare and unfamiliar place, and are fighting creatures that you have never fought before, I think that you did rather well. I think that a couple weeks of drills and some modern equipment would make you quite a force to be reckoned with."

"I...oh," Volker said, looking rather surprised. "I...thank you."

Jane smiled under her helmet. "I'm just telling you the truth Volker, I'm surprised that you're handling everything as well as you are."

"I...well..." Volker said, rubbing the back of his neck as if he was embarrassed. "You don't fight against the Red Army for two years without learning how to keep your hands steady and your mind clear, even if it's in the middle of an artillery strike and you're scared to death. You...you just need to learn to keep it under control while you're under fire."

"And you did it very well here. Last time I checked, you were the one that killed the commander." Volker continued to rub the back of his neck, his face turning slightly red. Jane fought back the urge to chuckle. "All right, I won't torture you anymore." She looked at Tali. "Can you hack into the main computers from here?"

"I'm starting to get the feeling that you aren't really appreciating my talents," Tali said, walking to the far side of the bridge and stopping in front of a computer that was placed directly in front of what appeared to be the Captain's chair, activating her omni-tool as she did. "I'll get inside this in no time."

"Then do it. Get me access to any surveillance that this ship has and after that get into their databanks. I want to know what these things were doing here in the first place and why they were abducting Humans." Tali nodded as she continued to work.

Jane watched with a faint feeling of pride at their accomplishment when she noticed Volker slowly approaching the dead alien commander, climbing over the crates to reach him. "Is something on your mind?" she asked, walking to where he stood.

"I...It's just...he was there when they first took me. I was running as fast as I could through the woods near by village, trying to get away from the SS."

"SS?" Jane said, looking confused. "But I thought that you were part of the German army."

"I...I deserted," Volker admitted. "The war was going so badly that my home village was about to be turned into the front line. So a friend and I stormed my family's barn and killed all of the soldiers there. We took my family and we ran. My friend too my family in one direction but I went off in another. They were a bigger group than me and I was trying to draw our pursuers off of them and onto me. We made plans that we would head westward and try to reach England, make a new life for ourselves there. But...but then...this happened." He gestured outward at the whole room that they were in. "And my friend...my family...now they're all...no," he said, shaking his head, "don't think about that."

"Are you ok?"

"I...I don't know. I just don't know what to feel anymore. This is just too much. I thought that I would be this thing's prisoner for the rest of my life. He spoke to me when they first took me. I don't know what he was saying but...I think he was taunting me...he even hit me with some sort of...electrified baton." A weak smile broke out across his face. "But...but then you all came for me. You...you saved me. So things may not be the best that they've ever been in my life, but they could be a lot worse."

"I'm glad to hear it," Jane said, glad to see him smiling.

"Yeah..." Volker said, almost absentmindedly. As he spoke, he spotted the commander's sidearm lying by the corpse of its owner. Curiosity getting the better of him, he bent down and picked it up. "I don't think that I ever used one of these before," he said, almost casually pointing it at the dead commander and tending his finger slightly. A white blast shot out of the end and hit the alien comander, vaporizing it and reducing it to a pile of white ash in seconds. Both Volker and Jane jumped at this, Jenkins and Tali turning their heads to look at him. "I...Christ," Volker whispered, "this thing has a sensitive trigger. But it's a very powerful weapon...I...I think I might keep this."

"Just be careful with it," Jane said cautiously.

"I will," he said, holding it carefully in his hands.

"Shepard!" Tali called, "I'm in! I have access to cameras all over the ship."

"Good," the Captain said, walking towards the Quarian. "Reinforcements should be here any second, and when they get here I want to be able to tell them where to go."

XXXXX

The General walked into the CIC of his war cruiser as it sped through space at FTL, the Colonel right behind him. "You wanted to speak with us?" he asked, looking at the major, who was standing in front of a holographic display of the Milky Way, typing at a control panel.

"Yes," he hissed, typing in a few more commands, causing the hologram of the Milky Way to zoom in. "I was taking a look at those coordinates that Aria gave us and I noticed something about them." The hologram continued to zoom in before stopping, a blue circle surrounding the star system that they were heading to. However, it wasn't very far from a massive purple cloud that stretched across the galaxy map. "It's uncomfortably close to the Veil. Are you sure that you want to take that risk?"

"We're going to have to, we need all of the resources that we can get and this is a particularly big stash. As the old saying goes, don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"General," the Major hissed, "with all due respect, the Geth are back. They're crawling out of the Veil and they've already attacked a Human colony. Are you honestly saying that you want to take chances with going that close to their territory?"

"We've gone near the veil before, we've commonly had to hide out there to avoid unwanted attention."

"Yes, but that was before the Geth returned. Things have changed General, you're being awfully risky here."

"That's why I plan on making a stop at one of our outposts. We will meet up with a couple other of our warships and take them with us to this cache."

"You think that's all it takes?!" the Major snarled, slamming his fist into the holographic map in frustration. "You think that you can just get a couple of extra ships and all of a sudden you're protected from a race of machines that nearly wiped out an entire race? Things aren't the same anymore General, the Geth returning changed everything."

"It didn't change one thing. We need resorces, and Aria has supplied us with a massive amount of them. We need as much as we can to continue our operations."

"Never mind," the Major hissed, walking away from the holographic map, passing the other two and exiting the room. "You two never listen to me anyway."

"Major, wait," the Colonel said, starting to go after him, only to walk into the General's outstretched arm.

"Colonel, I know that your intentions are good, but anything you say to him will only make him angrier," he said sympathetically.

"I...I suppose you have a point," the Colonel admitted. "He never did seem to like me that much, even when we were all in the Master's army, but doesn't he understand that we need to take risks? We can't accomplish our goal by playing it safe."

"I know Colonel, I agree with you. I...I believe that the Major never fully recovered from the Master's fall. You and I had a much easier time blending into regular society than he did, we could put our pain at the back of our minds. But he's a Nightkin, he was born to be invisible and he isn't satisfied with anything less than being what he is, a hunter. All those years we could barely find any stealth boys for him, and even now that he has a tactical cloak he's still uncomfortable being seen."

"I...I don't see how that connects to anything."

The General blinked before glancing at the Colonel. "Was I rambling again?" The Colonel nodded. "Oh...I apologize. Sometimes I get something in my head and I just feel the urge to talk about it."

"I know General, we've known each other for years."

"I...right. Anyway, I think that the Major's main problem is that he's afraid that if we're not careful we will fail and the Army will fall apart. Secretly I think he's happy to be part of an organization with a purpose and he doesn't want it to fall apart again. I especially think that he's terrified that if we do, we might be killed by the Coalition, or even worst, arrested."

"How is being arrested worst?"

"If they do imprison us, they will take away the Major's tactical cloak, and knowing him the way that I do, I know that he would rather die than be forced to live without it."

The Colonel shook his head, "I've known him for centuries and yet I still can't understand the way that he thinks."

"I don't think that any of us can. In many ways he is from different from us as the Humans. But that doesn't matter, he is still our friend and our ally."

"Of course," the Colonel said, sounding slightly offended, "I never believed anything else for a second." The General smiled. "Well, I need to get back to taking inventory. You said that you were considering setting up an outpost at this cache right?" The General nodded. "Well then I should check what we have and formulate how we want to set up defensive positions."

XXXXX

"It didn't take long for you to start writing history Shepard," Wrex said, firing his shotgun and sending an alien soldier flying across the room. "I haven't even been on your ship for a week and already we're the first people to fight these little things."

"Is he really doing this?" Ashley questioned, killing an alien with a burst from her rifle and glancing at John.

"Hey, he's not hurting anyone," he replied, ducking a shot from an alien before returning fire with his laser rifle, disintegrating it. Sheryl simply shook her head as she lined up a shot with her sniper rifle before taking it. They were making their way through the bottom of the ship, meeting fairly heavy resistance from the aliens along the way.

As they continued to make their way forward, John's COM unit beeped. "What is it?" he asked as Wrex fired his shotgun again, taking out the last alien in the area.

"John, it's Jane, we've taken the bridge, their leader is dead."

He grinned. "That's good to hear."

"Yeah it is, but now we can see just about everywhere in the ship, including where you are. And you know what else I see? Not that far away from you there's a massive sealed door with around six pods filled with Human captives inside. There's a couple of aliens crouching behind them so be careful."

"How do we get there?"

"Keep heading forward and take a right when you hit a dead end. It'll be right in front of you, it's impossible to miss."

"I'll get there in no time," John said, lowering his hand.

"We have a new target?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah, not that far away. Jane saw where the aliens are keeping some Human's captive, but there are guards."

"Sounds like fun," said Wrex.

John grinned as Ashley shook her head. "In that case we better not keep them waiting. Come on, they're this way." He lead his group throw the ship, following the instructions that he had been given by Jane, until they found themselves in front of a massive metal door. "Crap," he said, looking at it, "how are we supposed to get through this thing?"

"Uh...John?" Ashley said.

"I mean look at this thing, it looks like it was made out of tank armor."

"John?"

"We don't have any hackers, we don't have any explosive weapons, we might need to get someone good down here or get them on the COM lines to advise us, but if we do that it might take too-"

"JOHN!" Ashley shouted, causing John, Wrex and Sheryl to jump.

"What?" he asked, looking at her and sounding annoyed.

Taking one hand off of her rifle, Ashley pressed down on a massive glowing pannel right next to the door. There was a hiss as it slowly slid open.

"Oh..." he said, sounding embarrassed. "Uh...I knew that was there."

Ashley let out a roar of laughter, as did Wrex. Even Sheryl smiled and laughed softly. "Sure you did cowboy," she said, "but I can teach you how to tie your shoes later, right now we need to take care of these SOBs and-" she trailed off as the fully opened. She saw the pods that Jane had been talking about as well as several aliens peeking their head out of cover. But something was...different.

The whole time they had been on this ship, they hadn't been able to look at the aliens for more than two seconds without being shot at, but as they continued to stare at the aliens in front of them, not shots flew their way. In fact, these aliens seemed to be smaller than the other ones that they had met so far, even wearing bright red jumpsuits, as apposed to the silver ones that the others had worn. And unless she was very mistaken, the small aliens seemed to be shaking in fear as they peered at them from around the cryo tubes.

"What the heck is going on?" she asked, glancing at the others. She could tell be the way that they were aimming their guns at the aliens but had yet to fire that they had also realized that something was different.

"I don't know," Wrex admitted. "Seems like these ones are the runts of the litter. They don't even look like they have guns."

"They could be navy," Sheryl suggested. "Not soldiers, their job could be to run the ship, not fight."

"Maybe...or maybe it's something else," John said, taking a step forward. He reached up and pulled off his helmet, laying it on the ground before placing his laser rifle down next to it, as well as the pulse rifle he had on his back. He continued to walk forward, without any weapons in his hands.

"John, what the Hell are you doing!?" Ashley hissed at him.

"I'm going to try and talk to them," he said, looking over his shoulder before turning his head back to the aliens. "It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you," he said, holding both of his hands up. Hesitantly, one of the aliens crept out from behind the pods, stopping a few feet away from Shepard. It said something, but to Shepard it sounded like complete gibberish. "Uh..." he said hesitantly, "I don't understand what you're...oh!" he said, putting his hand back to his COM unit. "EDI, can you do me a favor?"

"That depends, what is it?" the A.I. asked.

"I need you to contact my sister and have her send all of the data that she got from the alien main computer to you, then I need you to use it to program my translator to understand their language."

"Just a moment," EDI said. The COM lines went silent, and for 60 seconds, time ticked by slowly, until EDI responded again. "Very well, the protocols have been uploaded to your translator. May I ask why you needed this data?"

"It's a complicated story and even I don't know the ending yet. I promise I'll explain later." He lowered his hand and looked at the alien again. "Can you understand me?"

The alien almost jumped back, as if it had been struck. "I...yes," it said, sounding shocked. "Can...can you understand me?"

"Yup. My name's John Shepard. What's yours?"

"I...It's Opifex."

"Opifex, what is going on here? Why are your people on the Moon? Why are you abducting our people?"

"If I tell you, will you promise not to hurt us?" Opifex asked, sounding terrified.

"We only killed the other aliens because they attacked us. We're not going to hurt you, I just want to know why they did it."

"It...it's complicated," Opifex said.

"Just do your best."

"I...we needed their DNA."

Shepard cocked his head in confusion. "Why?"

"John are you serious?!" Ashley practically shouted. "These things have been shooting at us ever since we got on this freaking ship for no reason, are you honestly trying to make friends with them?"

"Ash, they're not armed," he said, "and he doesn't seem like the others." He looked back at Opifex. "You were saying."

"We...we needed their DNA," Opifex said, "Not all of us wanted to but...but the Captain gave us orders, he and the soldier caste run this ship and we...we weren't bred for combat. We couldn't disobey them, we're part of the engineer caste."

"Why did you need our DNA?"

"We...our genetic diversity was running out," Opifex answered.

"You mean your entire race is practically genetically identical?"

"No...just the crew of this ship."

"I don't understand."

Opifex rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort. "This ship...it was meant to be a colony ship for my people, the first of many to colonize a planet outside of our home system. We could only travel at a fraction of the speed of light though, so many of us were stored in cryo pods when we were sent out of our home system. But...halfway to our destination...oh Makers."

"Is something wrong?"

"We...we received a transmission from our planet. W-war had started. A nuclear one. But...but after that we didn't receive any more transmissions. Some of us wanted to go back and see if our had wiped itself out but...we had used up half of our fuel and if we went back we would use up the rest. He forced us to continue to our destination, where one of our telescopes had spotted a habitable planet. After years, we finally arrived but...the planet was already inhabited by another race."

"Ours," Sheryl whispered.

Opifex nodded. "You were primitive, but you were many and we were few. In man to man combat you would eventually overwhelm us, but if we were to bombard you with our weapons, we would devastate the planet's ecosystem. We couldn't afford to fight you Many of us thought that if we shared our technology with you, we could live in peace with you but...the Captain forbid us. We watched you and saw how violent you were, he didn't want to take the risk. Eventually, he ordered one of you to be abducted and his DNA harvested."

"Why?" Shepard asked, "how would Human DNA even solve your problem?"

"We numbered at a few hundred at the very most, not enough to repopulate our race, and our cloning tanks wouldn't be sufficient to repopulate the race with our limited gene pool, so the Captain ordered that your DNA be spliced with ours, to create artificial genetic diversity."

"Son of a bitch," Ashley swore, "you were harvesting us like cattle!"

Opifex nodded sadly. "I am...I am sorry, but we had no choice. The Captain also ordered that we remain in orbit over your planet. when it was needed, we sent ships down to isolated locations to retrieve water and the materials. Your planet kept our ship sustained but we also took metal to keep our ship maintained."

"Wait a minute, how long were you in orbit of Earth?" Ashley asked.

"We arrived nearly a thousand years ago."

"What? Are you saying that your kind is like the Asari and live for a thousand years?"

"Asari?" Opifex said, sounding confused. "No...my species name is Exulan and we rarely live past the age of ninety. We used our cryo pods to extend our lives, emerging at regular intervals to repair the ship and abduct more of your kind."

"Why? Why did you stay in orbit for so long?" John asked.

"The Captain wanted to wait for extended periods of time in-between abducting your kind to acquire more genetic diversity. He wanted to take you along the course of your evolution."

"No offense, but your Captain kind of sounds like a moron," Ashley said bluntly.

"Ash!" John said, but Opifex interrupted him.

"She speaks the truth. The Captain was a fine military leader, but he was a poor scientist. Even when we did splice our DNA with yours, the creations were...abominations. They were sterile, violent, uncontrollable...we lost so many people when one escaped...but the Captain ordered us to keep trying and to get it right, but it was impossible, our DNA just wouldn't mix."

"So how did you end up on the Moon?" John asked.

"This ship was badly worn out from its years of service. We tried as hard as we could but we simply couldn't keep it running forever. Eventually the engine started to fail and we had to make an emergency landing. Our few remaining scout ships were sent out to get materials to make repairs and we were put into the cryo pods to save energy until they came back but..." Opifex shook his head. "If your kind managed to recover from your nuclear war and reach your moon again, they must have failed in and perished in their mission."

"So why did you wake up and why did you attack us?" Ashley asked.

"Our pods were designed to deactivate when our ships returned. You must have tripped them by accident. The Captain...the Captain never liked your kind. Many of us suspected that he was jealous of your world, maybe it;s because he always saw you as a threat. When we woke up, he gave the order for the soldier caste to lock us in here and fight you off. We...we never liked doing what we had to do. I...I think he thought that we were going to interfere and he wanted us out of the way."

"Well, that would explain why the door was locked from the outside," Ashley said. "But why didn't you just terraform Mars and avoid all of this crap?"

Opifex blinked. "Terra...forming? What's that?"

"I...never mind," Ashley said. "Guess his kind didn't think of that little concept," she muttered.

"Please," Opifex said, looking at Shepard. "We don't want to fight you. We're sorry for what we did just...please don't kill us."

John smiled, raising a hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you."

"John?" Jane's voice said over the COM line. "What's going on? I'm not getting any audio from this camera."

"Jane...you're not going to believe this."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

War Cruiser: The war cruiser is a specially designed Cruiser designed to land on a planets surface and acts as a base of operation or a temporary fortress. war cruisers are wide, sleek and large cruiser sized ships meant to operate at their best in the atmosphere of a planet. The ships are extensively well armed and supplied for surface duty while on the other hand they are average in standard cruiser duties.

The war cruiser was originally of Coalition design, and much like the carrier it displayed their ability to "think outside of the box" However, since the war cruiser did not incorporate any Coalition exclusive technology, the Council was able to copy it within years, and soon all races and factions were building war cruisers. They could even be found in the Terminus Systems being used by merc groups.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Well as the end of the summer approaches I have mixed feelings. On one hand a lot of games I'm looking forward to are coming out soon (Assassin's Creed 3, Dishonored and Halo 4, all of which I have pre-ordered, the Limited Edition for Halo) but on the other hand, come Fall I'm starting my first year of College and...I'm not gonna lie I'm nervous as Hell. I did manage to take an AP course in my senior year in high school and passed it as well as the exam (three college credits right there), and my schedule shows that I'll have a lot of free time on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I'm not even living away, the university I'm going to is fifteen minutes from my house but...hell I'm just nervous. I'm expecting a massive spike in difficulty of the courses and I'm really nervous because I want to be an English major, which means I have to take four years of a foreign language...four years...I barely passed Spanish in high

school and I only had to take two years of that and how it's a college level coarse...Christ. Maybe I should only minor in English and major in...hell if I know, history? I like history. Screw it, I'm just venting out some pre-college jitters, from what I've been told, I'm not the first, and I'm sure as Hell not going to be the last.

Anyway, happier things. I'm really regretting way back when saying that Halo was dead when I heard that Reach was going to be the last Bungie made Halo game, because 343 is doing a really good job of keeping the series fresh. From what I've heard Halo 4 is a blend of 3 and Reach, 3's higher jump and slightly faster default speed and BR and Reach's load outs, armor abilities, sprint and DMR. I'm really looking forward to it, as well as the new spins on Chief and Cortana's characters. Well, I just needed to ramble a little. Thank you. Also I hope you liked what I did with the Mothership Zeta aliens. Yeah it's a little bit of a stretch, but I had an absurd concept to work with. I hope that you can enjoy it.

Also I would like to thank Mordaifus Grea for coming up with the concept for the War Cruiser. While I did edit the Codex entry, he came up with the original concept.


	25. Adjusting

Chapter 25

Adjusting

Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait, but I've been working on a review/roast for a friend. It's for a story called Mass Effect Parallel Realities, which is basically a massive Gary Stu Shepard's story, he's always right, always wins, and you either love him or are stupid and evil. And...well, you can see when its done, I promise to tell you when that happens. I did my part of it but my friends still need to do theirs. Until then, back to From the Ashes

XXXXX

"I...wow," Volker said, "this is your ship?" He was walking through the mess hall of the Normandy, Jane, Tali and Jenkins right behind him.

"Yes, this is the Normandy," Jane said.

"Normandy? As in the Normandy landings?"

"The very same."

"Huh...I guess you people appreciate your history." After the four of them had taken the bridge, Coalition reinforcements had arrived via shuttle and stormed the ship, Jane using the ship's surveillance system to give away the alien's locations. They had succeeded in clearing out the ship, but they hadn't found any scientists. Apparently the five the they had found outside were the only ones that had survived. With nothing left to do, they had returned to the Normandy along with the rest of the teams, the ship having docked with a space station orbiting Earth.

"Yeah, this is pretty impressive," a voice that seemed to come form nowhere said. "I've never seen a drive core so big."

Volker tilted his head, looking around for who had spoken. "Did you say that?" he asked, looking at Tali.

"No, I didn't," she said, scanning the room herself. As she did, a figure appeared behind Volker, glowing slightly as the tactical cloak that it had disappeared. Volker turned around just in time to see the figure appear. He nearly jumped out of his skin as he took a step back, his eyes widening in fear.

The figure chuckled. "Sorry about that, but I couldn't resist having a look around. I'm Kasumi, Kasumi Goto."

"A neo-ninja," Jane said, looking at the woman. She was wearing a solid black bodysuit complete with a hood and face mask, the latter currently pulled down. "I guess it's true what they say, they're damn hard to catch."

The woman giggled. "Please, you're making me blush." She turned to look at Volker. "Wow, I thought I knew all of the light infantry divisions in the Coalition but I've never seen anyone like you before. Do me a favor, if you get a chance tell the guy that did your uniform that he did an amazing job. The trench coat, the pouches the boots-IS THAT AN MP-40?! A genuine one? You could make a fortune with that thing!"

"Uh," Volker said, glancing at Jane and clearly asking for help.

"Listen, miss Goto," Jane said, taking a step forward. "This is Volker Hoffman he...he's not from around here."

"Oh, is he from that alien ship?"

"How did you know about that?"

Kasumi grinned. "I was part of the team that cleared it out. They managed to slip a couple of us neo-ninjas in with the neo-samurai. They weren't happy about that let me tell you."

"The neo-samurai don't like you?"

"Not really. They're all about honor and respect and dignity and that good stuff. They think that we're cowards because we sneak around and stab people in the back. They call it cowardly, I call it practical."

"You're...you're Japanese?" he asked, looking at the woman.

"Yup," she said, folding her arms behind her head, "been with the Federation's ninja division for a couple of years now. I joined up back then because...well let's just say I had to get out of some hot water."

"Wait a minute, the Federation? Not the Empire?" Volker said, sounding confused.

"Huh?" Kasumi said.

"Oh...damn it that's right," Jane hissed, "Volker...could you sit down please? "

"Uh, miss Shepard, may I ask why?"

Jane fought back the urge to bite her lip. "I told you that I would tell you everything that happened while you were captured wouldn't I?"

"I...oh, yes ok," Volker said, hastily pulling out a seat and sitting down.

"Ok," Jane said activating her omni-tool, "like I said, the Axis lost the second world war, but someone rather important is how they lost. Germany lost via a fairly conventional way, the Soviet Union stormed Berlin and took the entire city, breaking their backs and-"

"The Red Army in Berlin?" Volker said, a look of sheer horror on his face "but they...oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

Jane smiled slightly. "It's ok, don't hesitate to stop me and ask questions. Anyway, with Germany out of the picture, the only main Axis powerhouse left was Japan, and for awhile America had been forced to fight them by themselves, everyone else had been focusing on defeating Germany. But the thing is that Imperial Japan and its people were very dedicated to the concept of honor, and they believed that any option would be preferable to defeat or surrender and that no price was too high for victory. They did everything that they could to defeat America, smashing their fighters into ships, creating torpedoes and missiles guided by Human hands, jumping off cliffs to avoid capture, charging machine-gun lines with spears. It was bloody for both sides, but America realized that if they wanted to end the war, it would most likely cost another quarter million of their people dead...so they found an alternative. Volker...have you ever heard of the atomic bomb?"

"I...I little bit. I heard that it was a weapon that the Fuhrer wanted built, one that would make conventional weapons seem like popguns in comparison. Why?"

"The Americans created the world's first atomic bomb," Jane said grimly. She activated her omni-tool and typed in a series of commands. It began to project a holographic image of a city, which floated in the air in front of her. "This is the Japanese city, Hiroshima...and this is way happened to it." She pressed another button and a massive nuclear explosion appeared in the middle of the city, engulfing all of it within seconds. Volker gaped in horror as the flames dissipated, revealing that it had devastated the majority of the city.

"I...what is that?"

"The atomic bomb splits an atom, the basic building blocks of all matter, which causes a nuclear explosion. Not only is the explosion powerful enough to level an entire city, but it also releases something called nuclear radiation into the surrounding environment. Radiation can't be seen, but it can be felt. It is highly damaging to the Human body and when America bombed Hiroshima, just as many people died from radiation poison as the explosion. To make things worse, radiation can also contaminate soil, making it so that nothing can be grown there, even if it used to be the most fertile of farmland."

"I...God," Volker whispered, sinking back into his chair. "It...it kills everything."

"Yes," Jane said sadly. "It's easily one of the most deadly weapons ever created. Japan realized this after America dropped another one on Nagasaki and surrendered. There were 60 million dead, but the second World War was over...but the world only technically knew peace after that. The end of World War II was also the start of the Cold War."

"The Cold War? What...what's that?"

"With the invention of the atomic bomb, America had made itself a superpower, all the eyes in the world were focused on them. But other countries decided that they didn't want America to be the only country in the world with an atomic bomb, so they started researching their own. Within a couple of years, the Soviet Union had their own."

"Oh God," Volker whispered, "it wasn't bad enough that the damn Yankees had that thing, the Soviets had to go and make one too?"

"I'm afraid so. This sparked off the Cold War, which divided the nations of the world into two sides, NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Each side kept trying to outdo the other, making more nuclear warheads and simply trying to make more advanced weaponry. Politics got dragged into it too, and the whole thing became democracy vs communism."

"So...in other words it was people standing on opposite ends of a line, putting down bigger and bigger guns and pointing them at each other?"

"Pretty much yeah."

"I...those morons...I...what happened after that?"

"The Cold War lasted a good century, it becoming even more intense when China became a communistic state. Eventually things got even worse. Earth's natural resources started running out. Countries started waging entire wars over pockets of oil and whatever other materials they lacked. China even invaded Alaska for the oil, sparking off a war between the two of them. Things just started rolling downhill, especially when the United Nations disbanded."

"The...the United Nations?" Volker asked, sounding confused.

"Oh yeah, they weren't around yet in your time...do you remember the League of Nations? They were kind of like that."

"The League?" Volker said, sound very bitter all of a sudden. "Yeah...I remember them. It sounds like the United Nations were just as useless as they were."

"I'm not going to argue that, a lot of historians agree that when they disbanded was the last ray of light for that situation being salvaged being snuffed out...but then in 2077...i just became too much."

"What became too much? What happened? I...oh God." Volker's eyes widened in horror, "those atomic bombs were used weren't they?"

"Hundreds of them, maybe even thousands. No one knows who launched the first strike, but on that day the Great War began, every last nation with nuclear capabilities fired every last nuke that they could. The war...lasted two hours."

"How...how many people d-died?" Volker stuttered.

"Do this day we're still not quite sure, but it's definitely in the billions. But the initial fallout was just the beginning. Countless people were killed by radiation poisoning and farmland everywhere was rendered useless. To make matters even worse, society completely broke down. Nearly all of the nations' governments were destroyed in the initial attacks, so Humans were left disorganized and many of them regressed to tribal states, fighting among each other over everything, food, water, weapons, you name it. This dragged on for centuries."

"God...so that's what happened to Earth...I never thought that this...this would be what happened to us. I thought that we were capable of so much...I...I just-"

"Hold up Volker," Jane said, raising her hand up and smiling softly. "There's light at the end of the tunnel. You see, as the years went by, Humanity started to get back on its feet. New nations were formed, bringing order back to Earth, and agriculture and industry recovered. But the leaders of these new nations were terrified that history would repeat itself. So they made a contingency plan. They spent years building a ship to take colonists to Mars to harvest its resources, considering that Earth is already depleted."

"Did it work?" Volker asked.

Jane grinned. "Better than anyone dared to hope. They managed to build a city on Mars, but they also found something else. A cache of technology. Alien technology."

"Alien?"

"Yes, it belonged to a species known as the Protheans. They disappeared 50,000 years ago and no one knows why or how. However, we were able to use their technology to make countless advances. The ability to travel across the stars faster than the speed of light, advanced medicine, machinery, more powerful computers-"

"Uh...what's a computer?"

Jane sighed slightly. "I'm starting to get the feeling that I'm only scratching the surface with you. I'm going to have to try and get you up to date on everything in the modern world, but first, let me finish. When that happened, the nations of Earth united into one power, the Coalition We then spread out into space, colonizing over a hundred worlds, and as we did, we met other alien races. Like Tali's" she said, gesturing to the Quarian. "All of them had found Prothean data caches like us, and many of them had formed a faction known as the Council, which we're currently independent of. That's more or less all that happened while you were asleep, the abridged version at least."

"I...Christ," Volker said, slumping back into his chair. "So much has changed...and you're telling me that I haven't even been told a fraction of what there is to know yet?"

"Yeah, but I think that's enough for right now. If I load you down with too much information at once you'll probably forget something important, and you've been through a lot today. You must be hungry by now, can we get you anything specific to eat?"

"Uh..." Volker said hesitantly, "I wouldn't mind having some pancakes right now...with blueberries."

Jane smiled. "You got it, I'll go get Gardner started on them." Jane turned and began to walk off in the direction of the Mess Sergeant.

Volker sighed loudly as he slumped back into his chair. "Unbelievable," he whispered.

"Are you ok?" Tali asked, sitting down next to him, Kasumi watching them with interest.

"I don't think so...I spent more times than I can count crouching in the crumbling remains of a building trying not to get killed by Russian rockets...and now there are even more powerful weapons out there."

"There's a bright side to it," Kasumi said, "they're pretty heavily regulated and no idiot is going to try and start a war with them."

"I...I suppose," he muttered. "I...I'm still having a hard time believing all of this."

"Well, you'd have to be insane not to," Tali pointed out, "but you're still taking it a lot better than I expected you to."

"It's...I don't know, those alien things...what did they call themselves? Exulans? And that one called himself Opifex? They...they made me a little willing to beleive that this stuff exists...can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Tali said, "what is it?"

"This Saren guy and these...Geth things that he have. How big of a threat are they?"

"My people created the Geth to use as manual labor, but they evolved into Artificial Intelligences."

"Artificial what now?"

"Basically they're artificially created beings that can think for themselves. When my people tried to exterminate them, they launched a counter attack. There are only seventeen million Quarians still alive today. We used to number in the billions."

"I...God...I...wait a minute, what do you mean your people tried to exterminate them?"

"It's complicated, they weren't supposed to be Artificial Intelligences and they're outlawed by the Council anyway, it doesn't really matter though. The Geth are back and they've already attacked a Coalition colony. Thousands of people are dead."

"And...they're not going to stop are they?"

"Probably not," Kasumi said dryly.

"...ok," he said, "I'll do it."

"Pardon?" Tali asked.

"I...I want to help. If these things are attacking us...then I'm a target too. I...I can help."

"You made an interesting deal," Jane said, approaching the table again, setting down a steaming plate of pancakes. "And I have to admit that you proved that you can handle yourself on that ship. I'll be willing to be a part of my crew, but in exchange, I'm going to need you to have regular drills with our Gunnery Chief, she's going to be the one getting you up to date on modern equipment and weapons. She'll take a look at that gun of yours and give it a couple of upgrades too."

"I...I think I can handle that," he said, taking a knife and a fork that had been placed on the plate and cutting himself a piece of pancake. "I'll be sure to do my best."

"Hey, I want in too!" Kasumi piped in.

"What?" Jane said, looking at the neo-ninja, "why?"

"I've only been on this ship for a couple of minutes and already I never want to leave."

"I...ugh," Jane said, rubbing her temples, "I'll look into it."

"Is it always like this?" Volker asked, looking at Tali with a mouth full of pancake.

"I haven't been on that long, but a little bit."

XXXXX

"This...certainly is interesting," Admiral Hackett said. He was sitting in an lounge on Mars, an incredibly well furnished one, comprising of two couches with a table in-between them. He was sitting on one with Opifex sitting on the other, John and Ashley standing behind him. "Your kind...called itself Exulan correct?"

"Yes," Opifex said, reaching forward and grasping a cup of water on the table, having come difficulty with his elongated fingers. "I must say...I'm impressed. You've designed the technology so that you can have translators that allow us to speak? It's...it's nothing my kind could ever design."

"We've been poking around that ship of yours-"

"Mothership Zeta," Opifex said.

"I-what wait?" Hackett asked.

"Mothership Zeta...it was the designation of our ship."

"I, I see. Well, we were poking through Mothership Zeta and we found some interesting things. Your computer technology is rather inferior compared to ours, but have surpassed us in some fields. You're energy weapons are very powerful from what we've seen of them and one of our troopers found this." He produced a small tube of blue liquid and placed it on the table. "We haven't been able to make anything like this."

"Ah, yes," he Opifex said, "we use this for small scale repairs. Mainly for our weapons, it's a complex chemical that mimics the metal around it. We can't use in larger scale problems, it destabilizes in large quantities. We have to use raw resources for major system failures, that's what caused our ship to crash."

"Yes, but something else that we found is that your ship has a very large main weapon. It appears defunct now, but from what we can tell, when it was functional it was capable of defacing continents."

"Yes, our weapons are...fairly complicated, but they produce a unique energy signature that we call Theta Energy. It's very effective as both a power source and as a weapon. Our main cannon used Theta Energy too, the most powerful weapon that our kind ever created."

"I think it might be more powerful than any weapon that we've created too, though I'm not in a hurry to use it as a power source. But I'm beating around the bush. Opifex, I want to make you an offer."

Opifex paused as he lifted the glass of water that he had, taking a sip. "What kind of deal?"

"You said that your people devastated yourself in a nuclear war, to the point where they weren't any communications between your homeworld and your ship. Do you have the coordinates to your homeworld?" Opifex nodded cautiously. "Our ships can travel faster than the speed of light. If you give us the coordinates to your homeworld, we can send some ships out there to help your people rebuild their civilization or evacuate as many people as we can if the damage is too much for the environment to recover. We will also be willing to help to achieve faster than light travel and harvest Element Zero. In exchange, I would like for you to show us how your technology works. I would also like for you to personally be assigned to the Normandy, a prototype starship that we have. I want you to do everything that you can to improve it with the design of your technology. Do we have an agreement?" Hackett held his hand out towards Opifex.

Opifex paused before reaching out and shaking Hackett's hand. "Your deal is fair. I'll do what I can do upgrade your starship, but I'm going to need materials. The coordinates to our homeworld are in the main computers to our ship, the others will get it for you."

"Just tell me what you need and I'll be sure to get it for you," Hackett said.

Opifex laughed nervously, looking up at John. "I suppose I will be seeing more of you Commander, I'm going to be on your ship."

"Never thought that when we went onto that ship that we'd be walking out with a crew mate. You're all right Opifex, and I'm glad John tried to talk to you." She turned to look at him and gently hit him on the back of the head. "You didn't have to put your gun down though! If he hadn't turned out to be friendly he could have burned a hole in your head."

"Ash, cut me a break here," he said defensively.

"I'll cut you a break when you stop acting like an idiot."

"Please keep your flirting to when we have less important matters to deal with," Hackett said, grinning slightly as he spoke. "Commander, I take it that you will be all right with this? And so will Jane?

"I don't know about my sister but I'm king of glad that he's going to be on, he seems like a nice guy. I'm looking forward to see what he can do with the Normandy, I'd like to see if he can replace the plasma cannon with one of those Theta Energy cannons."

"That...might be difficult," Opifex said, "recreating another cannon of that size would take a long time and it would use up a lot of supplies. I may have been bred to build but-"

"Bred to build?" Ashley said, looking confused, "what...I don't."

"Oh, back on my planet, all members of the military were grown in tanks to serve the people," Opifex said, "it was a fairly new technology, but they managed to use it to alter our minds to better fit our roles. I'm part of the engineering caste, my mind was practically designed to learn and build. The Captain and the soldiers though? They were designed to ignore pain and be far more aggressive. I imagine that is why he did not want to negotiate with your kind."

"That's fairly interesting," Hackett said. "Also, John I prefer that you keep Opifex a secret. What I mean by that is that I'd prefer that the galaxy at large didn't know that he was on it."

"Do you mean to say that you mean to keep my kind a secret?" Opifex asked.

"No, I'm going to make a public announcement in a couple of days saying that we've made first contact with a new race. The Council would flip if we kept this a secret from them. I just don't want people do know that you're on the Normandy because if could make you a target, someone could try and capture you so that you could build weapons for them."

"Oh," Opifex said, "I...that is understandable."

"Very well, now then I-"

"Admiral!" Everyone turned around to see a Necro-Human officer approaching them.

"I'm in the middle of something," the Admiral said, turning to look at the officer.

"I know, but we just received a message on an encrypted channel. It's from Matriarch Benezia, and it's directed to you. It's...you need to see it for yourself."

"What?" The officer stepped forward and handed a datapad to the Admiral. "Protect my daughter...she's in danger...it's involves Saren. That's all it says aside from some coordinates...wait a minute, these coordinates are for one of our colonies. A mining colony."

"Protect her daughter? What is Matriarch Benezia's daughter being threatened or something?"

"It definitely sounds like that," Hackett said, "and if Saren is involved, then it might be because...I don't know, maybe Benezia was investigating him and she got a little too close. Maybe he's threatening her to keep her quiet...John, I want you to take the Normandy and get out there. Find Benzia's daughter and get her out of there. Benzia might have information on Saren that could help you hunt him down."

"Got it," John said, nodding, "Ash, Opifex we need to get to the Normandy."

"There's a light infantry division on the planet called the Roughnecks, they serve as the military and the police. I'll contact them and have them take Benezia's daughter into protective service and tell them that you're coming. Good luck John."

XXXXX

Six soldiers walked across a barren plain on Earth, weapons in hand. "Hey!" a man in black armor said, running up to a blonde haired woman in blue armor who turned around to look at him. "I just remembered that our three year anniversary is coming up next week. Is there any place that you want to go?"

"Hm," the woman said pursing her lips, "how about that fancy place on Mars that we walked past the last time that we have leave."

"That place?" the man said "aw man that place is expensive."

"Well if you don't want me sleeping in the same bed as you, fine," the woman said teasingly.

"I didn't say no," the man said indignantly "fine fine, we'll go there. But you're paying for desert."

"Hey! We've got contacts up ahead. You're on point!" one of the other soldiers yelled.

"Ugh," the soldier groaned, "you think these damn raiders would get the message, they keep shooting us in the chest and our shields hold up. Guess they really are stupid. Anyway, I gotta go."

The woman smiled, leaning in and kissing him lightly on the check "make it quick, we need to make plans."

"You'll get plenty of time to chitchat. I want you covering him along with you two! If anything tries to get him from the side, you take it down."

"Wow, it's my lucky day," the man joked.

"Less chit chat, they've spotted us! Get in formation!"

The man grinned as he stepped forward, the woman and two of the other soldiers sliding into formation. A group of four raiders wearing crude metal armor rose up from behind a small makeshift barricade, firing their weapons at him. The slugs hit the man's kinetic barriers, doing little to harm him. He raised the assault rifle in his hands, returning fire and mowing down three of the unshielded targets with ease, the last one ducking back down into cover. "No you don't," the man said, grabbing a grenade and throwing it over the barricade, where it detonated, sending the last raider flying.

"Ha!" the man shouted, "I got them! They're gone!" He looked forward at the dead raiders, a smile on his face when a voice reached his ears. It sounded like a person screaming, but it seemed to be getting fainter, as if the person screaming was getting farther away. Curious, the man turned to the side, the direction that the voice was coming from. He had two seconds before something massive slammed into him a blinding pain ripping through his right arm.

The man was thrown back onto the ground, searing with pain. He looked up, and his eyes widened in terror. A massive Deathclaw was charging at him, crimson blood coating it's right claw. The man desperately attempted to swing his assault rifle to the front and fire at it. His arm didn't respond. His eyes darted to the side and saw that his rifle was still clutched in his hand...which was lying ten feet away from his along with the rest of his arm. Glancing back up in terror, the Deathclaw swung at him with its claw. The man roared in pain as he attempted to dodge, but one of the claws still store through one of his eyes. Seething in pain, he grabbed the pistol that he had by his side with his remaining arm, raising it and firing it at the Deathclaw. The first shot hit it in the throat, causing the creature to stumble backwards. He continued to fire shot after shot after shot at the creature, which eventually collapsed under the strain.

Panting, the man got to his feet, clutching his bleeding stump of an arm. He looked around and saw that he was completely alone. None of the other soldiers were nearby and there were no traces that they had been killed by the Deathclaw. "Hello!" he shouted, stumbling forward. "Anyone! Guys! Rachel! Where are you?! Please...please." The man stumbled forward, pain tearing through his body, "Someone...anyone...HELP!"

Roger let out a deep gasp as he thrashed around in the bed that he was in, eventually falling out of the bed that he was in. He sprang to his feet, looking wildly around until he noticed that he was in the quarters that had been assigned to him on the Normandy. "It was...it just a dream." He panted as he leaned against the wall and slid down into a sitting position, "It...it was just a dream." As he continued to speak, his eye caught sight of his cybernetic arm. It slowly tightened into a fist. Raising it above his head, he smashed into the ground.

"Fucking bitch! Fucking bitch! Fucking bitch!" he swore, hammering the ground over and over, "why the fuck did you run?!" he swore, choking slightly, "why...why the fuck did you run?" He continued to hammer the ground, but as he continued to do so his blows became weaker and weaker, and as he continued, tears began to leak out of his organic eye. "Why...why did you run?" he said, silently weeping on the ground, "I...I would have stayed and helped I-if it was y-you."

Roger simply sat there for a good five minutes tears continuing to stream down his face until he finally got to his feet, wiping the tears out of his eye with his organic hand. "Come on Roger...you need to get over her...she left you to die, she didn't even show up when you were in the fucking hospital, none of them fucking did! They never saw you again after that, even after you called and called and fucking called! They were supposed to be your fucking friends and...oh god."

Slowly, he got to his feet and made his way to a small sink that was on the far side of his room. He turned the faucet on and cupped his hands, collecting water in it. He splashed it on it on his face, before reaching down and repeating the process. He panted as he felt the cold water on his face and as he did, he looked into the mirror that was directly over the sink. He looked into it, slowly reaching up with his organic hand to his cybernetic eye. He gently touched it, feeling the cold metal. In a sudden spasm of anger, he lashed out, smashing into the mirror with his cybernetic arm, causing it to splinter into dozen of pieces. He stepped back, looking at the shattered mirror. For a moment he stood there before he took a deep breath and climbed back into the bed, pulling the covers over him. There was a hollow empty feeling in his stomach as he desperately attempted to fall back asleep.

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

The Roughnecks: The light infantry division of New Carson the Roughnecks double as both the military and the police force for the planet. They wear dust coats over their combat vests, in addition to cowboy hats, tinted goggles and and bandannas. They commonly use pistols and rifles, taking pride in their sharpshooting abilities. It is not uncommon to see them riding horses while they are policing the people.

The roughnecks are very well known throughout the outer colonies of the Coalition, in addition to well respected. They are deployed to planets that are undermanned, serving as both the defenders and enforcers of law on the colony. They take pride in their uniforms and how they mimic the gunslingers of the old west of America. They take pride in enforcing the law and are known to be ruthless against those who break it.

The Neo-Ninja: Like the neo-samurai, the neo-ninja were founded in Japan after the great war. The neo-ninja were not only light infantry, but they were also infiltrators, spies, scouts, assassins, and even mercenaries. The attire of a ninja would vary depending on their mission, and on the environment. The most common attire would be a classic ninja uniform overlaid with black body armor, and heat-detecting night-vision goggles. Weapon wise, they are fond of bladed and silenced weapons.

Unlike the neo-samurai, the neo-ninja usually did not answer to a single providence of feudal lord. They were generally nomadic, traveling from place to place, working for whoever hires them, and when the mission was done, they would leave as quickly and silently as they arrived.

Though many ninja worked alone, some ninja stayed together in small to large clans who traveled together, and did missions together. Very few Ninja stayed in one location for to long.

When the Japanese Federation was united, the neo-ninjas become a regular part of the military, the scouts and assassins to the heavy infantry of the neo-samurai. While they are on the the same side, there is some rivalry between the two divisions, mainly do to difference in beliefs and combat style. They have not been afraid to upgrade themselves with modern technologies, such as tactical cloaks

XXXXX

Author's Note: I once again give credit to 117Jorn for coming up with the idea of the neo-ninja with me just editing his codex entry. Sorry about the long update and the short length, but like I said I had another project to work on. Darth Revan the Second is the head of this little project, but he and my other friend are still working on it. I'll let you know when it's done.


	26. Roughnecks

Chapter 26

Roughnecks

Author's Note: Well, not a whole lot to say here except that I have been watching the show Breaking Bad a lot recently and it's a pretty awesome show...pretty damn depressing, but awesome. Well, moving on.

XXXXX

"Wow," Volker said, looking around the armory on the Normandy, "back in my day we couldn't even get enough ammo to deal with all the Russians charging us. But this...look at this."

Ashley smiled as she walked alongside him. "Well, we've recently gotten a large amount of weapons and armor dropped off. Not just standard issue equipment either, the best that the Coalition can make."

"The best weapons that you can make? The Coalition is really worried about this Saren guy aren't they?"

"Yeah, they want him brought down at all cost. He used to be a part of the Council's Spectre unit."

"Spectre? What's that supposed to be?"

"The ultimate law enforcement agency and the last line of defense against anything." Garrus walked into the room, his sniper rifle in hand. "Williams, the Captain said that you had a mod for my rifle waiting for me."

"Yeah," Ashley said, grabbing a part from a workbench and tossing it to him. "Upgraded heat absorption. You should be able to get a few more shots off before it overheats."

"Thanks," he said, inserting the part into his rifle.

"Uh...Turian right?" Volker said, looking at Garrus.

He nodded. "You must be Volker," Garrus said, holstering his rifle. "How are you holding up?"

"I...I think I'm coping all right," he said uncertainly. "You talk about the Spectres like you know them pretty well."

"Well I should, I'm one of them."

"Really? Well...what do you mean ultimate law enforcement?"

"Most police officers have to operate within guidelines and restrictions. They can't do certain things. Spectres don't have to deal with that. We're handpicked by the Council, they're handpicked by the Council themselves, soldiers that have proven themselves to be far above par. We're sent in to deal with problems that normal law enforcement isn't enough to deal with. Slaver rings, pirate lords, you name it. There's only a couple hundred of us though."

"Wow..." Volker said, "things are...are just so different."

"Hey," Ashley said, patting him on the shoulder, "don't be glum. I managed to grow up in this world and I turned out all right."

He chuckled weakly. "I...I guess so."

"Ok," she said, reaching back towards her workbench. "I took apart your guns and removed some of the inner mechanisms and replaced them with modern technology." She handed him his SMG and pistol, which now had a couple of glowing blue attachments on it. "That gauge is for the heat. Every time you fire it the heat goes up, if you stop firing and wait, it goes down. If you fire too much and fill up the gauge, the gun will overheat and the firing mechanisms will shut down until the gauge empties."

"I...why is that?"

"Because if you didn't stop the heat would be so much that gun would melt in your hand. Also, that button down there?" she said gesturing to another attachment. "Press that button to activate disruptor ammo."

"Disruptor ammo?"

"It's a bullet type specifically designed to damage synthetics."

"Synthetics...what's what the Geth are right?"

"You got it. These bullets are specifically designed to damage their electronics. They don't work that well on regular people so only use it when you're fighting them. Still, I used some high quality parts in modifying that gun, it should only pack slightly less punch than a Spectre grade weapon. And this-" she said, taking a combat vest and handing it to him. "Is your combat vest. You can wear it under your uniform if you like. It projects kinetic barriers."

"Kinetic barriers right, those things...I forget."

Ashley chuckled. "They stop bullets. If someone has kinetic barriers you have to hit them with enough shots to take then down before you can hurt them."

"Christ," Volker said, "Your technology is unbelievable. It's-wait a minute." He put down his weapons and armor on a nearby table before pulling the Exulan pistol from Mothership Zeta from his side and handing it to her. "What about this?"

"I talked with Opifex about that. Apparently they call this a pulse gun, and this is the one that their Captain used, a very powerful prototype model. He said that you pull used power cells out of this end," she said, demonstrating as she spoke, "and insert fresh ones in too. Also, he wanted me to give you these." She handed him back the gun, along with a dozen power cells. "He says that he's sorry for what they did to you."

"He...he wasn't with the people in charge right?"

"He said that he was forced to serve them against his will."

"...I know how that feels," Volker said quietly. "I...I should talk to him. Say thanks."

"Sounds good," ashley said, smiling slightly. "By the way, you're going to want this too." She handed him a metal brace, "this goes over your right arm."

"Why? What does it do?" he asked, holstering the pulse pistol and taking the brace, slapping it on his arm.

"It has your own personal omni-tool in it," she said, reacting out and touching a button on the brace, causing the omni-tool inside of it to activate. "Most of us have it embedded in our armor, but since you're only getting a combat vest I had to work up this for you."

"Uh...how does this think work?" he asked uncertainly, looking at the glowing omni-tool.

"That might take awhile to explain, an omni-tool can do a lot of things. It can scan objects, connect to the extra-net, handle your money, hack computers and it can even be used as a weapon. I wouldn't get too excited over the last one though, it's mainly used as a weapon by someone who specializes in tech based combat, something you have zero experience in."

"Tech...based combat? Isn't that what Tali did on the ship?"

"Kind of. She's a damn good hacker from what she's told me."

"You've used that word twice now, what does it mean? Hacking I mean."

"Christ, you really aren't from around here are you?"

"How are you settling in Volker?" All three of them craned their necks to see Jane walking into the room, her helmet tucked under her arm.

"The guy has a lot of questions, I'm not sure I've got all the answers for him," Ashley said. "I'm going to let Tali teach him how to work an omni-tool, might as well get an expert on the matter."

"Well we knew that this wasn't going to be easy, but neither did he. We're going to have to just trudge forward and-" she stopped mid-sentence as EDI's avatar appeared on the table next to her. "I...EDI? What is it?"

"We have just received a message on an encrypted channel Captain," the A.I. said. "It is addressed to you. I am forwarding it to your omni-tool now."

Jane looked down at her omni-tool as the message appeared. Slowly, her eyes scrolled down, reading it. "-I have been informed of your current situation by Fleet Admiral Hackett. I have two agents stationed on the planet where Dr. T'Soni is located and I am ordering them to assist in keeping her safe. I am doing everything in my power to track down leads on Saren and the Geth but for the moment this is all I can do to help you. I wish you the best of luck on your mission, sincerely...the Illusive Man." Jane lowered her arm, disbelief covering her face.

"Holy shit," Ashley swore, "you got a message from Cerberus? Christ, half the time it's hard to prove that they even exist, and the top honcho just wrote you a letter."

"Cerberus?" Volker said, "I...what's Cerberus?"

"It's a Coalition black ops group," Garrus explained, "they run secret operations that the general public doesn't know about."

"What kind of operations?"

"I don't know, none of us know," Garrus admitted. "The Council forwards me every last scrap of information that they can get on them, and my file on them isn't enough to fill a page of paper. They operate in secrecy and they do a damn good job of it. All we know about them is that their goal is to protect the Coalition from any threat, no matter what."

"So...they're on our side right?"

"I'd like to think so, but they're...well, shady," Ashley said. "Only a few Coalition commanders have authorization to access their files. But there are rumors that they get involved in less than pleasant things."

"They sound a little like the SS," Volker said hesitantly.

"They're nowhere near that bad, but they're still not exactly saints."

"We're benefitting from this though," Jane said, "they're looking for leads on Cerberus and two of their agents are helping the roughnecks protect Liara. Speaking of which, EDI, how long until we arrive?"

"Approximately ten minutes Captain."

"Good. I want the three of you suited up and ready to be on the ground ASAP, you too Volker. You'll be accompanying me and some of the others in extracting Liara. Hopefully this will be a easy run, but just in case things go south I want you all armed."

"Got it," Ashley said. "Come on Volker, you gotta get your new gear on."

XXXXX

Liara T'Soni crouched down, gently wiping dirt away from a small round metal object. She was crouching down in the middle of a dusty town on New Carson in an area that had been sectioned off. She and around a dozen other archeologists were working in the dig site that had been formed a couple of weeks ago, having been sectioned off when an head dress had been dug up buy a local citizen. It wasn't the biggest dig site that she had ever been to, in fact she was only here because she hadn't been able to get a spot on the Eden Prime dig site, but it was turning out to be a surprisingly deep and lucrative vein of artifacts. They had already dug up dozens of them, digging a pit that was three feet deep and they were still finding more.

Liara smiled as she reached down and gently pulled out the object, grasping it in her hands. She had seen quite a few objects like this, they were Prothean amulets, each one having a different symbol carved them. She had written her thesis essay on them as a matter of fact on them, theorizing that they were used to symbolize what family the wearer belonged to, in addition to social class. She had a special place in her heart for these amulets, they were what had gotten her her PhD. She had made a side project out of recording as many of the symbols on these amulets as she could. "And this makes fifty," she whispered, barely being able to keep the glee out of her voice as she pressed a button on her omni-tool, using it to take a picture of it before climbing out of the pit, heading towards the main camp to store it.

"Dr, T'Soni?" Liara stopped in her tracks and turned around. Three people were approaching her, two soldiers in pure white armor and a third with a dustcoat, and a hat, bandana and tinted googles. "I...yes?" she asked, the faintest tone of worry in her voice as they approached her, "is something wrong?"

"Relax Doctor," the man in the dust coat said, raising his hand, "we're here to help you. I'm the commander of the Roughnecks in this town, Norman Hawkins. These two are Miranda Lawson, and Jacob Taylor, Cerberus operatives."

"Uh...can I help you?"

"We're going to need you to come with us," Miranda said, "we have reason to believe that you might be in danger."

"I-what? What makes you think that I'm-"

"We were contacted by your mother," Norman said, "please, Liara, we need you to come with us. We need to talk to you in an area where we're less likely to be overheard."

"My...my mother? I haven't spoken to her in decades."

"Which is why it's we're worried," Jacob said, "your mother's message was very brief, almost as if she had to sneak it out because someone was watching her, as if someone is trying to keep her quiet through you. We're hear to protect you."

"I...I can take care of myself," she said, pulling up the side of her lab coat and revealing a holstered pistol. "I've spent decades in the Terminus Systems and I've run into more than a few hairy situations."

"I can appreciate that, but still Doctor, we have reason to beleive that the people that are after you may be connected to the rogue Spectre Saren."

"Saren!? The one that-"

"Shh!" Miranda hissed, "keep your voice down! We can't risk being overheard here. Please, just come with us."

"I...ok."

"Thank you Doctor," Jacob said. The three of them turned and began to walk away from the dig site, Liara hesitating before walking after them. They walked for a good minute before turning right and walking towards a massive stand that had been wheeled out to the middle of town. A man with a ten gallon hat on his head and a white beard was standing in front of it, shouting at passersby.

"EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE! Yes siree, every last thing here is for sale. I've been to the edge of the galaxy and back and now I'm sharing my findings with you lucky people. Turian combat knives, guns made only by the Batarian Hierarchy, I even have a set of armor that once belonged to a Blood Pack Battlemaster. And that's just the beginning! I sell everything from the mundane to the bizarre so come on up and-"

"Shut up, will you just shut up!?" A Mister Gutsy right next to the man turned and shouted at him. "If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times, those cheap little speeches you spend all of two seconds cobbling together? They never attract customers, in fact I'm half certain I saw a couple of people walk away because of what you said. Would it kill you to do things straightforward for once?"

The man let out a deep booming laugh. "Oh come on Rig, when was the last time we ever went hungry?"

"Hungry? I don't go hungry Hurst, but I do seem to recall that once I had to go three months wobbling to the side because you didn't have enough money to fix my stabilizer because you spent it all on a new paint job for the fucking ship!"

"Hey! Sarah is a fine lady Rig, I won't have you insulting her like that."

"I...ugh, I can't believe you," Rig said. "I swear, next time we're in the inner territories we're stopping by a mechanic's shop and you're getting a complete a set of parts for me, enough so that you can rebuild me from the ground up if you have to."

Hurst let out another deep laugh. "You got it partner, I have you covered."

"This place is better," Miranda said, "everyone's attention will be on those two. If someone is looking at us and not them they'll be more obvious."

"What's this about my mother?" Liara said as the four of them stopped, looking at the others.

"Two days ago, Fleet Admiral Hackett received an encrypted message from your mother," Miranda explained. "It was a very short message and we have not heard from her since. Cerberus and by extension the Coalition believes that she is being watched and that she took advantage of a brief moment where she was alone to send out a message. We suspect that if she did anything, they would go after you."

"I...what does this have to do with Saren?"

"We don't know," Miranda said honestly, "It could be that she was investigating his actions and she was getting too close for comfort. Benezia is a powerful woman. Not only is she a skilled biotic, she has hundreds of Asari Commandos answering to her and she is a major spiritual leader among your people. A frontal assault on her would be suicide. More likely than not she's being forced to keep quiet in exchange for your safety."

"I...so what do we do?"

"The Coalition has sent a prototype starship called the Normandy to this location," Norman said, "it's going to take you somewhere safe, most likely deep within Asari territory. Until then, my men and I have been ordered to protect you. You have my word that you will be safe."

"I...if they threatened my mother then how come no one has gone after me?"

"You are the daughter of one of the Asari Republic's most well known spiritual leaders," Miranda said, her voice rather dry. "Even if you are an archeologist who spends most of your time on the edge of civilized space, your kidnapping would attract far too much attention. That's our theory at least. The important thing is that we got to you before anyone else did, the Normandy will be here in a few hours and when it gets here you're going to be in the clear. Odds are you're going to see your mother in a couple of days. I imagine that with everything that's been going on she's probably worried sick about you. It'd be for the best if-"

"Why hello there!" The four of them snapped their heads to look at the man in the ten gallon hat approaching him. "My name's Hurst, and I think I might have something to interest you miss." He held out a gloved hand, a small metal amulet in the center of it. "I couldn't help but notice you at the dig site and that you've dug up at least three of these already. I imagine that you'd want to add another to your collection."

"Thank you but I'm not- wait what!?" Liara, grabbed the amulet and held it up to the light, examining it. "I've never seen one with a symbol like this before. Where did you get this?"

Hurst chuckled. "I managed to acquire it from a group of Blue Suns mercenaries you were digging them up on an isolated planet. Getting it was...complicated though."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Liara asked.

"We had to make repairs, we made an emergency landing right in the middle of their campsite, we royally pissed them off and we had to shoot our way out of there," Rig said, floating up next to Hurst. "He grabbed that by complete accident on the way out and he added it to the pile of random crap that we sell so that he doesn't starve and I don't fall apart."

"Let me see that," Norman said, grabbing the amulet and activating her omni-tool. "People forging Prothean artifacts out of clay isn't unheard of. A scan against known records should...God." Norman's eyes widened as he read his omni-tool. "It matches known records...it really is Prothean."

"Yup," Hurst said cheerfully, taking the amulet out of Norman's hand. "I'm not one of the people that makes fake products. Everything that I sell is one-hundred percent genuine."

"It's too bad 99% of it is shit," Rig muttered.

"Now then, can I interest you in this young lady? I'd be willing to part with it for a mere 5,000 credits."

"What?!" Liara shouted, "something that rare for only 5,000 credits?"

"Are you drunk again!?" Rig shouted, sounding angry. "At least charge 10,000 for it! I don't know when the last time you checked our bank account was but we're not exactly swimming in cash! You can't be throwing these things away for dirt!"

"Aw come on Rig, we've got an entire cargo bay's worth of product to sell, and we just got here today. We'll be swimming in cash by the time we leave."

"That's what you said on Illium! And Omega! AND Tuchanka! Every last one time we barely broke even and we're still not allowed on Illium."

"I...I'd be happy to pay 10,000 for it," Liara said, glancing back and forth between the two.

"Thank you," Rig said, "I swear this idiot is going to run us into the ground."

"Aw well, whatever you know what they say, the customer is always right."

"Oh lord," Norman said rubbing his temples. As he did, his COM unit beeped. "What is it?" he said, putting his finger to his ear. "What...it's you? I was told not to expect for for another...I see. I'm not complaining. Yes, we have her, she's safe. Good, I'll see you soon." He lowered his fingers. "I have good news. The Normandy is early."

"Normandy? A ship?" Hurst said. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Sort of...yes," Liara said. "Oh wait, I need to get my things!"

"They're sending a shuttle down soon, but we have a little time," Norman said, "let's make this quick."

XXXXX

Volker gripped the edge of his seat slightly as the shuttle that he was descended to the surface of New Carson. Garrus, Ashley and Jane were all crammed into the same shuttle, along with, Charon, Cornelia, Adam and Roger. "You must be the new guy," Cornelia said, extending her arm out with her palm open. Volker uncertainly reached out and shook her arm.

"Name's Cornelia, glad to have you onboard. I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you until now, the Normandy isn't a very big ship but there are still a lot of people on it."

"Big? It's very big."

"What? Oh right, maybe by WWII naval standards, but as Coalition warships go it's the smallest class. It's pretty bare too, only what people need and not a whole lot else."

"I...really?" Cornelia nodded, smiling. "Sorry, it's just...everything is so-"

"I get it," she said. "I feel like we never really did anything to celebrate you coming aboard...oh! How about tonight we have a poker game? You know how to play cards right?"

"Cards? King of hearts, queen of spades, ace of clubs, that kind of cards? Not some future kind of cards that I have no idea how to work?"

"Nah, good old fashioned playing cards that we've been using for centuries. You know how to play poker?"

"Yeah, yeah I know how to play poker," he said, a slight smile crossing his face. "Back when I was in the Wehrmacht we played it when we were winning or weren't on the front lines we used to gamble whatever we could get our hands on. Beer rations, cigarettes, I think I saw one guy wager one of his grenades once. I don't have any money though, I-"

"Actually you do," Jane said.

"What?"

"I set up a bank account for you and forwarded some spare cash that I had into it, John chipped in a little too. Right now you have 25,000 credits to spare."

"Is that a lot?"

"I would say that that is a fair amount yes," Adam said smiling slightly.

"It should be enough for you while you're onboard the Normandy but...I imagine that you're not going to spend the rest of your life on this ship, and that money will last you a year if you're conservative with it. I have an idea though, I can contact Admiral Hackett and I can have him pull a few strings and get you officially enlisted in the Coalition military. You'll get paid a salary, get benefits and you'll officially be part of my crew. It shouldn't take very long."

"I...I don't know," Volker said. "That's...going a little fast, and the last time that I was in an army it...ended very badly."

"I can understand that, I don't want you making a decision that you're not ready to follow through with."

"So," Cornelia said. "You've got some money. Think that you're up for wagering some of it?"

"I...yeah, I'll be there."

"That's what I'm talking about," she said, a massive grin spreading across her face. "Anyone else up for this? Charon? Adam? Captain?"

"Heh, I hope you don't mind paying for my meals for the next three months," Charon said, Adam smiling and nodding at the same time.

"I'll see if I can punch a hole in my schedule, but John probably will show up," Jane said.

"No thanks, I got better things to do," Roger said, sharpening the claws on his cybernetic arm. Ashley shot him a brief glare before glancing at Cornelia and giving her a thumbs up.

"All right. We've got a game night."

Jane couldn't help but smile as the shuttle gently touched down, the side door opening. "All right, everyone out. We've got a little bit of a walk to make, we don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves, so we're not going to make a direct pick up."

"I'll be patient," Cortez said as the team climbed out of the shuttle and onto the hardened cracked ground.

"There is is," Jane said pointing to a small collection of buildings around half a mile away. "the town of Alchemia. Used to be a backwater town in the middle of nowhere, one of the few settlements on this planet besides the main colony. The tourism is through the roof now that they've started digging up Prothean artifacts." They began to walk towards the town, the minutes trickling by until they eventually were walking through the streets of Alchemia.

"So who are we looking for?" Roger asked.

"Two Cerberus agents, a roughneck and an Asari," Jane said, "they're supposed to be keeping a low profile, so we're probably going to need to keep an eye out for-" Jane trailed off as they rounded a corner and a large group came into sight, one of them speaking awfully loudly.

"I take it I can't interest you in anything else here?"

"I...no, really this is enough," Liara said, holding her hands up. "The amulet is enough I really don't need anything else."

"Are you sure? I have treasures from across the galaxy here, this is a once in a lifetime bargain and-"

"WOULD YOU STOP!?" Rig shouted. "She's not interested! God, you always do this!"

"Uh...Dr. T'Soni?"Jane said as they approached the group.

"Are you Captain Shepard?" Norman said, turning to look at them. "I'm glad that you're here. We've got Dr. T'Soni here for you, do me a favor and keep a close eye on her." He glared at Hurst. "I need to run an investigation on this man. I'm certain that if I look closely enough I'll find that I've broken a couple of laws."

Hurst didn't seem bothered by this, in fact he simply let out a booming laugh again. "You're not the first one to think that I've been breaking the law, and I doubt that you'll be the last. Go ahead, take a look at everything that you want, I've got nothing to hide."

"I swear I'm sick of this," Rig hissed "every single time we land on a planet some asshole always thinks that we're thieves and everything that we're selling was really stolen from some richy rich. I don't care what Hurst says, you're not going to just be going through all of our stuff unless you can get a damn good reason why I shouldn't blow your face off!"

Roger rolled his eyes as the others continued to talk. As he did, he spotted a group of Asari slowly making their way to their location, wearing the yellow armor of Eclipse. His organic eye narrowed as he watched them make their way towards them, noticing that they were fairly heavily armed.

"You act like you've got something to hide," Norman said softly, glaring at Rig. "I wonder why that is? Maybe you've got something on that oversized trash heap that you call a ship that isn't allowed in Coalition space? Maybe some energy weapons?"

"HEY! Sarah is a fine lady you son of a bitch!"

"This is getting ridiculous," Miranda said, her eyes narrowing in frustration, "we need to focus on getting Dr. T'Soni off of the-"

"GET DOWN!" Roger shouted. The Eclipse mercenaries had drawn their weapons and opened fire at the group, bullets streaking past them as the two groups scattered, diving for cover. "Fuck's sake!" Roger shouted, aiming his rifle at the closest merc, gunning her down with three bursts of bullets.

"Where did all of these people come from?!" Volker shouted, spraying bullets at the incoming mercenaries, managing to kill one of them before they forced him back down into cover.

"Talk later!" Norman shouted, drawing two pistols from his sides and aiming them both and the mercenaries, firing them at the same time and gunning down two of them."

"Oh hell!" Hurst shouted as the Eclipse mercs and the others continued to trade fire, scrambling over to his cart and plunging his hand into it. "Oh shit, where did I put it, where did I put it, where did I put it I…FOUND IT!" He pulled his hand out of the massive pile of random items that were piled into his cart, a rocket launcher in his hands. "BOOYAH! he shouted, firing a rocket at the group of mercs, sending them flying. "Have some of this! And this! And THIS!" he shouted, firing rocket after rocket at the mercenaries, catching them all off guard and sending a dozen of them flying. The remaining ones where knocked of balanced, but before they could recover, the opponents rose him, weapons raised and opened fire. They were gunned down within seconds.

"Oh…oh Goddess," Liara said. Jane looked at the Asari and saw that she was aiming a pistol and the pile of dead mercenaries. "I…I wasn't…Goddess."

"Looks like there was good reason for us to be out here," Roger remarked, poking one of the nearby bodies with his rifle. "Eclipse mercs, and a lot of them. It seems like they weren't expecting so many people to be protecting her though."

"I think you owe me an apology sir!" Hurst shouted, tipping his hat and letting out a laugh.

"I don't owe you anything," Norman snarled.

"You two can have your little fight later, right now we need to-" Miranda started, but before she could finish, Norman's COM unit beeped.

"What is it!?" he shouted. "I…what? Five of them? Then activate our defensive satellites…what do you mean that they shot them down!? What are they doing? Are they…they want T'Soni? I…understood"

"What's going on!" Jane said, stepping forward an Norman lowered his hand.

"Five Eclipse ships just jumped into the system, they shot down our defensive satellites before they could open fire. They must have been standing by in case their ground team failed. They're threatening to bombard the planet if we don't give up T'Soni."

"Don't you have any ships in orbit to fight them off!?" Jane asked

"No, we're too far away from main Coalition space for them to bother sending ships all the way out here. Our defensive satellites were the best chance that we had to fight them off, but they were shot down. How did they know!?" he growled, "they were disguised, they shouldn't have known that they were there."

"We used them when Eden Prime was attacked, the Geth probably had time to scan them and figure out how they work, which means that Saren knows how they work," Jane said slowly, "which means…these people are working for Saren."

"Great, and how are we supposed to deal with this?" Norman asked, "I don't suppose that your ship could take them all? It is supposed to be a highly advanced-"

"I know that, but it's one of us verves five of them, we're outgunned. You don't have any ships? Any ships at all?"

"I got Sarah!" Hurst piped in, "but she's not a fighting lady. She's only got some point defense lasers and a couple of machinegun turrets. I could take out a couple of fighters at the very most. If I overcharged the lasers I might be able to do some damage to one of their ships, maybe disable their kinetic barriers, but that would burn them out."

"Do you have anything else?" Jane else, "probes?"

"I do have some mining probes onboard…Gurren class, they can tear through bulkheads…I take it waiting for backup is out of the question?"

"Yeah, it'd take too long," Norman growled. As he did, his COM unit beeped again.

"What is taking so long!" a female voice snarled.

"Who is this?" he growled, putting his finger to his ear.

"This is Joan Sederis, leader of Eclipse, but you shouldn't be worrying about that, you should be worrying about getting that little doctor up here if you don't want me to kill ever last thing on that little planet of yours, so hurry up! I'm getting impatient. Besides, I hear that that little girl that you got is quite the looker, I'd like to meet her."

Norman looked down, his teeth gritting in rage. "If you have any plans, I'd like to hear them."

"Actually…I think I may have one," Jane said slowly. "Is there any chance that you can help us?" she said, glancing at Hurst.

"Just tell me what to do miss!" he said, grinning from ear to ear.

"All right. This is a long shot but it might just work."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Cerberus: Cerberus is a black operations unit formed by the Coalition at an unknown date, but it is confirmed that they did not exist until after the First Contact War. Cerberus' main goal is the protection of the Coalition and ensuring it's stability in the present and future. They sweep the entire Coalition military looking for agents with high skill sets to recruit into their ranks, commonly competing with the Rangers to do so. Unlike the Rangers though, everything in a soldier's career becomes classified after joining Cerberus. Said operatives wear pure white armor, and while some of them have been seen by the public, there are no specific records about their equipment, or combat situations.

Cerberus is lead by a mysterious figure known as the Illusive Man, very little is known about him, even his true name is only known by a select few. Mainly believe that the term Illusive Man is a codename while many think that it is simply a nickname that stuck. It is unknown exactly what he does and the same can be said for all of Cerberus. Their activities are highly classified, to the point where only a few high ranking Coalition officials know and order their operations.

What is known about Cerberus mainly comes from rumors. Several groups within the Terminus Systems have had high ranking members disappear and had freighters attacked with all hands and cargo ships. While there is no evidence linking them together, main believe that it was caused by Cerberus. This sprouts from the rumor that Cerberus has listening outposts throughout the galaxy, looking out for anyone that is a threat to the Coalition, not hesitating to eliminate them, no matter who and no matter how high the cost.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait and the fairly short length, but this happens sometimes. Also I have a side project that I'm considering starting. Has anyone ever seen Jon CJG's Dues Ex Machina? Basically it's that crossed with Infamous. A planet gets attacking during the Human-Covenant war and it's mostly glassed, but the last surviving UNSC ship overloads its slipspace core and destroys the attacking ships, saving the last city, but all the shipyards on the planet were destroyed, there is no way to contact people off of the planet and both sides that that it is dead, so the people are forced to fend for themselves. The few remaining police and soldiers try to keep order and they manage to grow enough food to keep people fed, but three factions pop up, mainly because large amounts of UNSC bases survived the attack and were looted since only a few soldiers were still alive to defend them, therefore they're all heavily armed.

One of them is a gang of criminals that were around before the attack and decided to make a power grab, one of them is a group of Insurrectionists turned full blown anarchists that want to abolish everything, and the third group is a mysterious group of terrorists that launch rather erratic attacks but they are very well organized. The story follows a retired soldier who has a limp in her leg finding a prototype suit of armor and using it to fight back against the groups. Tell me what you think and if enough people get support, I might write it.


	27. Unorthodox Strike

Chapter 27

Unorthodox Strike

Author's Note: Well, I've started writing that story that I mentioned. At time of writing this author's note: I have around 4,000 words for it done.

XXXXX

"Whoa whoa whoa, EDI, what's going on?" John was standing in the mess hall, looking at a hologram of EDI's avatar, a couple other members of the Normandy's crew watching.

"Your sister's transmission was brief, but she said that she wanted you to position the Normandy in a position to attack the Eclipse ships when the time was right. She said that there would be a signal, one that would be obvious, even to her idiot brother."

"I take it those were her exact words?"

"...Possibly. She also said not to contact her, there would be too much of a risk of being intercepted."

"Heh. Ok EDI. Thanks for telling me that. Are the stealth systems online?"

"Online and operating at 100% capacity. They Eclipse ships have not detected us and Flight Lieutenant Moreau is positioning within striking distance and the plasma cannon is charged. We can open fire on the Eclipse ships at the slightest notice."

"What class are their ships?"

"Two cruisers and three frigates. I highly recommend targeting the cruisers first, as they would cause them most damage to the colony should they open fire on it. Most likely the frigates are providing escort, as the cruisers have their main weapons aimed at the planet while the frigates are spread out and aiming their weapons at the side."

"I know, why are you reminding me the basics of space combat?"

"...Your sister wanted me to."

"I like her," Kasumi said, looking at Sheryl, who was sitting across from her. The Alaskan smiled, but didn't say anything.

"Ok EDI, contact me again when we get an update, or when you feel like my crew isn't giving me a hard of enough time."

"You wish me to contact you within the next sixty seconds?"

"I REALLY like her," Kasumi said.

"Fine, just tell me if you see this signal."

"As you wish Commander," EDI said, her avatar disappearing.

"Well, so much for lunch," he said, sighing slightly and rubbing the back of his neck "I hope that Ash is ok down there."

"Half of the crew is practically down there. I think she'll be fine," Jenkins said.

"Yes, Charon alone would be more than a pitiful band of mercenaries could handle," Fawkes added, who was standing behind Jenkins' seat. "And Adam, Cornelia, Volker and your sister are down there too. Even the Moriean is there, and as much as I despise him, I must admit that he is a formidable fighter. Besides, Williams is more than capable of taking care of herself. You should not be worried."

"I'm a little more worried about them getting bombarded than anything else."

"I wouldn't worry if I were you, the Eclipse ships won't bombard them. They need T'Soni alive," Sheryl whispered.

"Huh?" John said, turning to look at her.

"They need Liara alive, otherwise they would have already opened fire on the town that they're in. I'm guessing that they're threatening the rest of the settlements on the planet. Odds are they're too worried that a landing on a Coalition planet with at the very most a thousand soldiers will be too costly, so they're trying to make them give up T'Soni by threatening the other settlements." She scratched her chin through her wrappings. "But what I don't understand is why they're taking such a drastic route. Threatening to kill millions? To carry out genocide? Once word of this gets out that a mostly Asari and Salarian mercenary group attacked a Coalition colony, anti-alien resentment in the Coalition is going to skyrocket, no matter what happens. What are they thinking? What is Saren thinking?"

"Saren already allied himself with the Geth and already attacked a much larger colony," Tali said, sounding slightly angry. "He's clearly either insane or psychotic. He doesn't seem to care what happens, he just wants to hurt you and your people as much as he can. It's disgusting, he doesn't care how much damage he's causing to the galactic community."

"It could be that...maybe he's trying to start a war," John suggested. "Maybe he's trying to get the rest of the galaxy against the Coalition, or maybe the other way around."

"I wouldn't count on it," Kasumi said, "trying to start a war by attacking a remote planet with a mercenary group hired by a known fugitive? That wouldn't work, even after Eden Prime. Maybe if there were four or five other incidents of the same magnitude of Eden Prime, there might be some shooting, but I seriously doubt that this will end with something that serious."

"I guess you have a point," John said. "Damn it...what the Hell is Saren trying to accomplish?"

"He was a First Contact War veteran who lost his brother in the war, along with his arm and eyes," Fawkes said. "He's hated everything that we are ever since we stepped onto the galactic community. He thinks that we're a menace, we use A.I.s, we use genetic engineering, we have a massive military that rivals the Turians. But the Council didn't do anything about it, not directly at least. They competed with us for territory, refused to show us how to make biotic implants, improved their own, and tried to make their own handheld energy weapons, but they never directly apposed us, they didn't launch a counter-attack against us for what we did to the Batarians. If I had to guess, he got tired of waiting on the sidelines and he decided to take matters into his own hands."

"Arrogant son of a bitch," John growled, "he hates us because we did what was right does he?"

"Did we?"

"What?" John asked.

"Did we do the right thing?" Fawkes asked. "Was attacking the Batarians without the Council's consent or knowledge the right thing to do?"

"What are you talking about?" John said, "of course it was. I thought that it was agreed that if we stopped to convince the Council that we were in the right, our people would have been sold all over the Terminus Systems. They take forever to respond to something."

"Do they?" Fawkes asked. "When we presented them with a DNA scan that we acquired from Saren's blood, they were awfully quick to respond, they were even willing to take drastic measures, casting him out of the Spectres and giving you honorary status. They may be stubborn, but when we gave them solid evidence, they were more than willing to act on it. They didn't even retaliate against us when we did launch an assault against the Batarians. Maybe we should have taken a chance and contacted them, proved that the Batarians were guilty. They might have believed us."

"Are you saying that what we did was wrong?" John asked, looking a little stunned.

"I am merely looking at it from the Council's point of view, from Saren's point of view. And from their point of view, we came onto the galactic community, defying every last law, every last taboo that they had, we spat in their face and refused to join them, adamant that us, then newcomers to the galactic community, would handle things the way that we wanted to. We didn't make any attempt to compromise with them, acknowledge any points that they might have, we were simply did things the way that we wanted to. For so long, we led our lives the way that we chose to in space, but when we met other races, we refused to change our policies."

"So what are you saying Fawkes? Are you saying that everything that we're doing is wrong? That we should outlaw synthetics and genetic engineering?"

"I am not saying that. In many ways the Council was just like us. Just as we refused to to adapt or change our ways to accommodate the veterans, they didn't listen to the points and ways of our lifestyle. We were both equally stubborn and hardheaded, unwilling to admit that we were wrong. Is Saren wrong to hate us for defying centuries of tradition that have kept the galaxy safe?"

"I'd hardly call it safe," Sheryl said softly. "The Batarians were and still are running loose without restraints, not to mention what they did to the Krogan and Quarians was just cruel."

"Thank you," Tali said, nodding at Sheryl.

"I do not deny that," Fawkes said. "The Council does not have the right to be the supreme ruler of the galaxy. But neither do we. We are more comfortable with our way of living because it is what is familiar to us, they are comfortable with theirs for the exact same reason, yet we hate them for it, and they us."

"Fawkes, where are you going with this?" John asked.

"Forgive me. I spent over a hundred years in isolation, with nothing but my thoughts for company. Reading and philosophy was all that I had and I tend to blurt out what is in my mind without much of an end goal. I am simply saying that while it may be pleasant and easy to vilify the Council and Saren and glorify our own actions, that is putting it in black and white, and no conflict in the history of any race has ever been that simple, nor will it ever be. Even if one side is pure black, the other will never be pure white. There will always be gray, even if it is a little. We are no exception."

"That...that was...wow, that was something else Fawkes," Jenkins said, his eyes wide. "I...crap. I have no idea what to say to that."

"Are you saying that what Saren is doing is right?" John asked, "that we shouldn't be hunting him down?"

"No," Fawkes said, shaking his head. "He is a menace, that is an indisputable fact. Thousands are dead because of him and we can only predict that more will not join him. I am simply saying that the source of his anger, while not necessarily sympathetic, is understandable."

"Why are you standing up for him?"

Fawkes chuckled weakly. "I am an East Coast Super Mutant, with the exception of me and one other, every last one of my kind is dim, violent and sadistic, we were viewed as threats to be exterminated. Even I, who was locked away by my own kind, was viewed as an outcast by normal society for the longest time. The only reason the people of the wastes didn't kill me was because of how heavily armed I was and the high reputation of the company that I kept. I know what it feels like to be hated by everyone for poorly informed reasons...I suppose that you could say I am simply playing devil's advocate. I will still do everything in my power to help you stop Saren and the Geth Commander, I...I simply wanted to look at the situation from another point of view."

"I...understand Fawkes," John said. "I still disagree with you though. The Council has been known to do some pretty stupid things in the past, and going to them about this would have been taking a major gamble. It's still an indisputable fact that they don't like us a whole lot and they would have been reluctant to hear us out. It just would have been too risky, if the Council wasn't willing to respond against the Batarians when they themselves were getting attacked by them for centuries, to the point of annexing entire colonies by force, I really don't see why they would have done something different for us."

"Frankly, they could have just seen it as us trying to get an excuse to beat the Batarians out of the Verge. And millennia upon millennia of tradition doesn't excuse what the Turians did to us in the First Contact War, they attacked us for breaking laws that we didn't even known existed. And after that they expected us to just drop everything that we had spent centuries building up just because they had spent centuries building up something different and they're pissed at us because we didn't pull our pants down and bend over for them? I'm sorry Fawkes, I don't buy it."

Fawkes gave a small smile. "I would be disappointed if I managed to convince you so quickly. I appreciate and understand your views Commander, I simply disagree with you."

John returned the weak smile. "Same with you Fakwes."

"Commander," EDI said, her avatar popping up again. "A massive freighter has taken off from the planet's surface and is heading towards the formation of Eclipse ships. It is communicating with them and is claiming that it is a merchant ship that is carrying Dr. T'Soni. They claim that they are going to make an exchange and it is moving to dock with one of the cruisers."

"What!?" John shouted. "What is Jane doing? Is she honestly going to give T'Soni to Eclipse?"

"I highly doubt it. Knowing your sister, she most likely has a plan to deal with them. In fact, I believe that the signal that she told you to wait for will be occurring soon and that we should prepare for combat."

"I...ok!" John said, "Joker, did you hear that?" he said, putting his hand to his ear.

"I heard it. Which one do you want me to target?"

"The, cruiser the one that the freighter isn't going to board with. Hit it with the plasma cannon and then switch to lasers and disruptor torpedoes and start hitting the frigates."

"Got it."

"Everyone, get to where you're needed, and brace yourself. I get the feeling that we're not getting out of this without some scratches."

XXXXX

"Oh...oh Goddess," Liara whispered. She was sitting in a small chair, Hurst sitting in another chair in front of her, an array of controls in front of him that he was operating.

"Don't worry," Rig said, floating up next to her. "We're not going to let them take you. Hell, we're not even going to let them get a chance to. If everything goes according to plan, every last one of these mercs will be dead by the end of the day and we won't have lost a single person."

"Idealistically, but what are the odds of everything going perfectly like that?"

"...Not as good as they could be, but we'll have to make do."

"They're contacting us," Hurst said, punching in a few commands into the controls in front of him, causing an image of a dark purple skinned Asari in yellow armor to appear.

"Who the Hell are you?" she said.

"I'm Franklin Hurst, you must be Jona Sederis. I'm bringing you T'Soni."

Jona glanced at Liara her eyes narrowing as she came into sight/ "Good. One of our cruisers is moving out front, open your airlock and dock with it. Try anything funny and we won't hesitate to blow you and your damn scrap heap of a ship to Hell. My men are going to come on board, I want you waiting for them with your hands in the air and T'Soni with you. We'll take her, leave, then you can do whatever you want with you pathetic little life."

Hurst's knuckles tightened slightly as Jona called his ship a scrap heap, but he kept his mouth shut. "All right. I have a robot on board, he's going to be with me. Don't shoot him, I'm going to deactivate all of his weapons."

"I won't waste your little synthetic friend if he doesn't give me a reason to, now hurry up. I'm not a tight schedule here." With that, the image of the Asari disappeared.

"She insulted Sarah...and you didn't blow up at her?" Rig said, looking at Hurst.

"Now isn't the time," he said through grit teeth. "She's still going to pay for that though." He leaned forward on the controls, causing Sarah to be propelled through space, heading towards the formation of the Eclipse ships. One of them moved forward, away from the others, heading towards Sarah. Hurst jerked on the controls slightly, causing Sarah angle to the right slightly.

"What the Hell are you playing at!?" Jona shouted, her face not popping up on the screen but her voice filling the cabin.

"Sorry, Sarah's an old girl, her stabilizer needs to be replaced. It jerks to the left every once in awhile, you're going to have to readjust."

"Stop fucking around with me, you're trying my patience."

"Sorry about that. I'll make you a deal, you can take a peak around my cargo bay and take anything you like to compensate for that."

"Smart move. You might live past today now."

Hurst reached forward and flipped a switch, Jona's voice disappearing. "Forgot to turn that frequency off.

"What are you doing?" Liara asked.

"Making them readjusting their main weapons on me. This far out in space, even the tiniest readjustments can make major differences about where your shots land if you fire. This way if things go south or they fire one of their guns at me like idiots and miss, they should miss all main settlements."

"Will they really do something that reckless?

"I dunno, and I'd rather not test it," Hurst said, Sarah continuing to move forward towards the Eclipse ship.

"This plan of yours it...it seems reckless."

"Yeah well, this is a desperate situation."

"I know that but...why didn't you have ships defending this planet? I thought that the Coalition was on guard now that the Geth were back."

"We are, but we've got over a hundred planets and five hundred ships to guard them with," Rig said. "That's five ships per planet, and that isn't going to help a whole lot against a whole fleet, so some planets drew the short straw so to say. We had defensive satellites that were supposed to help, but you remember that they got shot down right?" Liara nodded. "Yeah, well, we're going to have to find a way around that in the future. Maybe the Coalition will give them shielding, or make them ground based. Maybe they'll hire privateers, take freighters like this ship and weld mass accelerators onto them so that they can defend planets."

"So your saying that the Coalition might pay for a new dress for Sarah?" Hurst asked. "I like the sound of that."

"Why do you keep calling your ship Sarah?" Liara asked.

"It's a long story, and I'll tell it to you when this is all over. Rig, is everything ready?"

"Yeah, I'm diverting extra power to the GUARDIAN laser systems. It should double their strength, but they'll burn out after we fire them. If we can fire the shot just right though, we should be able to take out the generator that's keeping the kinetic barriers up on one of those ships."

"All right, line up a shot with the cruiser that we're supposed to dock with, then give them their surprise."

"Oh, I'm so going to kick your ass if we get through this in one piece," Rig said, floating towards another set of controls right next to Hurst's and typing in commands.

Hurst gave a small chuckle. "If we do, I'll bend over and paint a bullseye. Now...just a little closer." Hurst bit his lip, looking out of the cockpit of his ship. The Eclipse cruiser was getting closer, it couldn't be more than thirty seconds away. "Wait for it...NOW!" Not missing a beat, Rig pressed a button in front of him. There was a humming noise and six bright beams of red energy were fired from Sarah, all of them hitting the same spot on the closing in Eclipse cruiser.

"It worked! Their shields are down!" Rig shouted.

"Do it!" Hurst shouted, Rig not needing encouragement, pressed another button. A clang emanated throughout the ship and four mining probes were launced out of the ship, aiming at the crippled cruiser. Normally, the ship's GUARDIAN laser systems would have stopped the probes before they had gotten close, but at this range and with the element of surprise, the Eclipse ship didn't even have enough time to even target the incoming probes. They all smashed into the rear section of the ship, drills activating and eating away at the hull. Within seconds, they tore their way inside the ship and into the drive core, impacting on that and breaching it. There was a massive explosion that consumed the Eclipse cruiser as the engines exploded, the hull crumbiling like paper under the force.

"It worked!" Liara shouted, sounding excited.

"You son of a bitch!" Jona's voice roared, filling the cabin again. "That does it, Benezia can pick up the pieces of her daughter as far as I care! Everyone, open-" before she could finish giving her orders, a massive green ball of energy slammed into the side of the second cruiser tearing away at the midsection of the ship and sending a dozen people flying into the vacuum of space.

"Oh, that was just beautiful," a new voice said over Sarah's communications as Hurst hastily shifted the controls, diverting maximum power to the engines. "But I'll take it from here gramps."

"Who are you supposed to be!?" Hurst shouted as a sleek thin starship came into view from his cockpit, firing a disruptor torpedo and a volley of GUARDIAN laser blasts at one of the frigates, causing it to be consumed by fire two and causing the over two to scatter, both of them heading off in random directions.

"You can call me Joker. Anyway, thanks for getting rid of that cruiser, it would've been a doozey if a ship with a gun that heavy managed to get a bead on me, but with one gone and the other one tearing up I'm pretty sure that I can handle it from here."

"You think I'm gonna let a kid like you show me up!" Hurst shouted, "I've still got a dozen good drills here!"

"Sorry, can't hear you over the sound of all these merc ships exploding!" Joker said, tailing one of the frigates before firing the plasma cannon again. The shot hit the frigate, reducing it to a floating cloud of burnt metal within a matter of seconds.

"That little, Rig, load the other drills!" Hurst shouted, banking Sarah and chasing after the remaining frigate.

"What the hell do you think that you're doing!?" Rig shouted "They wont be able to get past it's kinetic barriers and our lasers aren't working!"

"No problem, I've got a plan. I'm going to-" before he could finish, another volley of GUARDIAN lasers hit the ship, followed quickly by a disruptor torpedo firing from the Normandy and it ripped past Sarah, closing distance with the last remaining frigate at a rapid pace. Hurst watched as the torpedo hit the last ship, causing it to go up in flames. "I...SON OF A BITCH!" Hurst shouted.

"Ah, don't feel bad old timer. One to four isn't that bad. Considering that I'm the best damn pilot in the Coalition, and the Normandy is one of the most advanced ships ever build, it's actually pretty impressive," Joker said.

"Ah damn it...ah well, I've got to hand it to you kid, you've got one fine lady there."

"Yeah, I do, don't I?"

"I hate to interupt," another voice, this one synthetic and female, "but I am still detecting power signatures from the cruiser that we fired on."

"What!? Are they still a threat!?" Joker shouted.

"Unlikely. There was a minor miscalculation from when we fired the main cannon most likely because it has not been used in active combat before. It did not directly hit their engines as we indented, but we were successful in crippling the ship. It's FTL and weapons are offline, and it is only at 22% power. It also appears to be suffering from several hull breaches."

"Guess we gotta get Garrus to calibrate this damn thing, am I right?" Joker asked.

"...Mr. Moreau, Agent Vakarian has little to no knowledge on the workings o energy weapons, him being able to calibrate our main cannon would indicate a massive leak of Coalition intelligence. What is more, I was able to ascertain the error after the first shot and quickly correct it, allowing us to be 100% precise when you fired on the frigate."

"You...oh never mind. Where's the cruiser?"

"It is approaching the planet and is in the process of reentering its atmosphere and appears to be in the process of making an emergency landing. It will land an estimated fifty kilometers away from the town where Captain Shepard is stationed.

"Can't we just blow it out of the sky?" Hurst asked.

"That course of action is not recommended, as there is a high chance that destroying the ship at this altitude will cause large amount of debris. What is more, I have just updated Captain Shepard on the situation and she has told me that now that we have a chance, she wishes to salvage information from the ship's computers, and if possible, capture the enemy commander. Both of these would become impossible if the ship was to be destroyed."

"So, what you're telling me is that the Captain is going to wait for the ship to land and then she's going to storm it?" Joker asked.

"What is what she implied, yes."

"Well damn, sounds like we're going to miss the fun," Hurst said,

"Fun? This ship costs a quarter trillion credits and it just payed for itself today. I think we had a lot of fun up here today," Joker said.

"Maybe. I'll make you a deal kid, hit me up some other time and I'll show you what Sarah can really do."

"You're on old man," Joker said as the COM line was deactivated.

"Honestly, why don't you just marry this ship?" Rig asked, sounding annoyed.

"I would, but I'm a nomad, I can't really afford a ring," Hurst joked.

"A nomad?" Liara asked, "those traders that live on their ships and travel around the galaxy looking for profit?"

"Yup. I'm a little different from the rest of them though. They're in it for the money, I just do it for the thrill."

"Yes, and I've lost track of the number of times he almost starved because of it," Rig said dryly.

"Well...you did save my life today. I suppose the least I could do is by some more of your merchandise," Liara said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the Prothean amulet. "This is a priceless artifact, if you sold me something this valuable, you probably have something else worth buying."

"Well then!" Hurst said, getting to his feet. "There's not a whole lot we can do right now. The last Eclipse ship is on the ground and they're after you, going down there would be way too dangerous for you. So follow me miss, this way to the cargo bay and my personal treasures."

"God give me strength," Rig muttered as he followed Liara and Hurst out of the cockpit.

XXXXX

Jane checked the power cell on her plasma rifle as the shuttle that she was in flew through the skies of New Carson. Her team had been crammed into it, with, Norman, Jacob and Miranda using a local shuttle as transportation. "I can't believe that worked," Charon said, looking at her. "That has got to be one of the craziest things I've ever seen someone pull, and I saw Fawkes take on a Behemoth by himself once."

"No kidding?" Cornelia asked, smiling as she did.

"Yeah, he's terrifying when he gets angry."

"I'm starting to think that maybe we should have brought him along. Anyway, I want everyone to be ready for close quarters combat. We have no reason to believe that none of the mercenaries didn't survive the crash landing, so we're going to be boarding the ship and clearing it out. I get the feeling that some of you would rather just bombard it and devastate the ship, but at the moment we have no leads on Saren or the Geth, and more likely than not, he was the one that hired them. If any records on that ship can be used to shed some light on him, from a meet up point to a bank account that they received payment from, it might help us track him down. We need the ship intact to salvage their computers. If we can take a prisoner, that would work too."

"Uh, a question," Adam said. "If we were to take a prisoner, I take it that most likely he would be interrogated?"

"Most likely." Charon answered, "if we can't get them to spill the beans like that Batarian did, and since these mercs include the leader of Eclipse, I get the feeling that they're made of tougher stuff than a temp worker."

"Ah," Adam said, sounding slightly depressed. "I see."

"Suck it up old man," Roger said, "They're out here threatening to commit genocide and you're getting said about them getting roughed up? Come on. If someone does it because they think that it's fun, I could see where you're coming from but come on! Are you actually fucking serious?"

"Well, some of us aren't exactly fond of torture," Ashley said, "I wouldn't expect you of all people to understand that."

"Fuck you Williams. I know that you shining knights like to think that you're better than everyone else, but don't drag me down with your bullshit."

"You son of a-"

"That's enough! Both of you!" Jane snapped. "You can settle personal rivalries after this mission is over, until then shut it!"

Volker glanced at Roger and Ashley as they shut their mouths, confusion covering his face before he gently nudged Cornelia, who happened to be sitting right next to him. "What was that all about?" he whispered, speaking so softly that only she could hear him."

"The Coalition has a lot of subdivisions in it's main military force, the one that Roger belongs to...they don't have the greatest reputation. A lot of people think that they're just thugs in uniform. So yeah, someone like that probably isn't going to play well with others."

"Oh," Volker said, looking rather conflicted.

"All right, we're coming up on the wreckage," Cortez said, the shuttle slowing down as he spoke. The shuttle descended, the side door sliding open.

"All right Cortez, take off when we're off and maintain a safe distance, we don't need them trying to hijack your shuttle."

"Got it," the pilot said as the team climbed out of the shuttle, him taking off immediately afterward. As they did another shuttle, notably more dusty and rundown than theirs, dropped off Norman, Jacob and Miranda. before soaring off.

"All right," Norman saw, drawing both of his pistols "I want these people off of this planet. They're threatening my people and they're going to answer for it."

"I'd rather take out of them alive if I can," Jane said, looking at the crashed ship.

"So would I," Norman said. "I'll hit one with a concussive round if I can. But until then we need to focus on sweeping this damn ship, and I think it might be for the best if we spread out."

"I agree. I'll take Volker, Cornelia and Roger, Norman, you take Garrus and Charon, and Miranda, you take Jacob, Ashley and Adam."

"I suppose that this could work," Miranda said. "It's a little risky though."

"If you can come up with a plan to storm a hostile ship in a way that isn't risky, I'm all ears," Jane said. "Until then, we have work to do." The group divided itself into three teams as they made their way towards the shipwreck, entering through a massive gaping hole in the side.

"Damn," Jacob whispered, spotting several dead Asari lying just inside the ship. "Did anyone even survive this?"

"This landing was guided, it's very possible," Miranda said, drawing her SMG. "Keep your guard up, the last thing that we need is to be taken by surprise. We'll head back towards the engines, make sure that no one is holding up back there."

"We'll check the mess hall and the cargo bay," Jane said.

"I guess that leaves the bridge to us," Norman said, gesturing to the people that Jane had given him. "Let's get moving."

The three teams split apart, each heading in a separate direction. "She seems...nice," Volker said uncertainly.

"Yeah, not exactly bad looking either," Roger said. "Too bad she'll blow your head off without blinking if you pose a threat to the Coalition."

In the other direction, Norman, Garrus and Charon were making their way towards the bridge. "Spectre huh?" Norman said, looking at Garrus.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I just want to make something very clear," he said, looking at Garrus and glaring at him through his googles. "I don't give a rat's ass what you do in Council space, but your Spectre status doesn't apply out here. You step out of line, and I WILL make you regret it. Same goes for the Commander with the honarary status, I have enough problems out here as it is, I don't need two operatives who think that have a get out of jail free card running around."

Garrus glared at the man. "Is now really the time to be making threats?" Charon asked, his voice stony. "He's been with us for a bit of time now, and he doesn't seem like the type of person that would go on a shooting spree."

"Yeah, I'm sure people thought the same thing about Saren," Norman growled.

"Save your self-righteous speeches for another time!" Garrus snapped. "We're on a mission right now, what's wrong with you!?"

"Remember what I said," Norman growled, looking back forward, raising his pistols again. Charon and Garrus glanced at each other, the Necro-Human shaking his head slightly before they raised their weapons and continued to move forward. Minutes ticked by as they made their way through the wreckage of the ship, loose panels and colapsed support beams everywhere.

"The Normandy did one hell of a number on this thing," Garrus muttered.

"No kidding," Charon said. "Glad all of that money didn't go to waste."

"The bridge is right up ahead," Norman said, his teeth gritted as they stepped over the crumbled remains of a doorway. Their pace slowed to a crawl as they made their way forward, until they found themselves entering the bridge of the ship. Several dead Asari and aliens were hunched over terminals, blood coating the floor, trickiling down from where they sat motionless.

"Fuck," a voice whispered, and the three of them caught sight of a purple Asari in yellow armor crawling across of the far side of the bridge, heading for what appeared to be a first aid station on the wall. "How the fuck...did this happen? This was supposed to be a clean-GAH" Garrus fired a concussive round from his rifle, hitting her right in the square of the back. Her muscles slacked as she lost conciseness.

"She looks like she's in bad shape!" Garrus shouted, the three of them running over to where she lay and crouching down. "It looks like she took a lot of shrapnel to the torso. I'm going to give her some medi-gel, but Chakwas is going to have to operate on her."

As Garrus bent down to apply the medi-gel, a single shot rang out and hit the back of Norman's shields. Wheeling around, he saw a bleeding Salarian propping himself up on a console, aiming a pistol at him. The alien tightened his finger around the trigger for another shot, but before he could fire, Norman had raised both of his pistols and fired. The shots tore through the Salarian's torso, causing him to fall to the ground, completely lifeless.

Norman took a few steps and stopped just short of the dead Salarian, looking down at it. For a few seconds he was motionless. Then, without warning he raised one of his pistols and fired another shot into the dead alien, pausing for a few seconds before firing again, and then a third time. He was about to fire yet again when he felt a hand close tightly around his wrist. "I'm pretty sure that he's dead." Norman looked to the side to see Charon glaring at him through his helmet.

Norman violently yanked his arm out of Charon's grip, returning the glare as he did. "Make sure that she doesn't die," he said, looking back at Garrus. "I want to have a nice long talk with her."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED:

ENTRIES ADDED:

Nomads: Nomads have been a part of all organic culture for thousands of years, but when FTL travel was perfected, it expanded into space. An unknown number of nomads, but estimated to be in the tens or possibly even hundreds of thousands and belonging to all races, wander all over from the galaxy. They can be found everywhere, from the Terminus Systems, to Council space, to the inner territory of the Coalition. They commonly search for hidden treasures, trade for goods and have even been known to do odd jobs, a common phrase among nomads being "you got a job, we can do it, don't much care what it is."

Public reception to nomads is very mixed. Some people view them as an opportunity to buy hard to find goods at a manageable price, where as others view them as degenerates who do nothing to support society and commonly steal their wares. That being said, very few nomads have ever been convicted of theft or selling illegal wares, and while those that preform said acts do exist, it is a commonly accepted fact that they are in the minority.

XXXXX

Author's Note: I hope my readers find the space battle believable. I read in the Codex that mercenary and pirate ships aren't nearly as good as military ships and the Normandy is supposed to be a super prototype. The main worry that they had was that the Normandy would get overwhelmed, especially by the big guns on the cruisers, so they got rid of them before they could do any damage. Well I don't have a whole lot to say here, please tell me what you think. Also the first chapter to my new story is almost done and hopefully will be up soon.


	28. Aquired Goal

Chapter 28

Acquired Goal

Author's Note: Some of you may have noticed that I've started writing a new story, Guardian in the Dark, to which I say, don't worry, that's just a side project, From the Ashes is going to get my main attention and odds are Guardian in the Dark isn't going to be updated nearly as often. By the way, someone made a criticism of my story and when I responded that I wasn't going to be changing anything because no one else had been making the same complaints that he had, he simply remarked that they hadn't because they were simply leaving the story, so I just want to make this perfectly clear. It may not be fun for me to be told that my story is shit, but if I don't go through that I'll never learn, so if you want to criticize me, don't be afraid to. Just don't be a prat about it (I love English swear words/ insults, I haven't the faintest idea why, I just do. I blame Zero Punctuation)

EDIT: In response to some criticism, I added on a few paragraphs to the last chapter, in the scene where Fawkes is talking to John to be exact. Check it out if you will.

XXXXX

Norman's fist flew through the air, smashing into Jona's face, causing her to recoil in pain. "We can keep doing this all day, I've got plenty of time," Norman growled, drawing his fist back and punching her again, this time in the stomach. The two of them were in a small metal room, Jona's arms raised above her head in heavy metal shackles, her ankles bound with them too.

"Fuck you," she hissed. "You really think I'm just going to tell you everything that you want to know? I've been killing people since before your grandparents were born, I'm the leader of Eclipse for a damn good reason, because I don't crumple the second things get a little rough."

"Sure you don't," he said, punching her in the torso, deliberately hitting the section that was covered in bandages, causing her to cry out in agony. Chakwas had operated on her a mere four hours ago and had managed to stabilize her, but her wounds had yet to completely heal. "Think I opened them," he remarked, looking down at the bandages, which were indeed darkening. "Frankly you can keep being quiet as long as you like, as far as I'm concerned, this is you getting what's coming to you. Frankly criminals like you deserve this as far as I care."

"Oh, this is fucking funny," Jona hissed. "Let me guess, you're one of those types who's completely obsessed with hunting down 'bad guys?' Sees someone torturing a person and then proceeds to do the exact same thing to them, but it's ok for you to do it because you're a 'good guy'? Yeah, real fucking original, there's only a couple million people just like you, stupid, self righteous and hypocritical. You think I'm getting what's coming to me? Because I'm a criminal? How many of your laws are you breaking right now I wonder." Jona smirked. "For the record, I haven't gotten a phone call or a lawyer."

Norman's face twisted in anger under his bandanna as he swung his fist again, hitting Jona in the face. "I don't think you fully understand the situation," he growled. "You threatened to level a city, you're a terrorist, or a war criminal, whichever you prefer. You don't get any rights, you're a thing. You may try and pretend that you're really in the wrong because I'm breaking a couple of protocols here, but considering what you've done, I'm a saint by comparison. And we are going to keep going at it until you tell me how you got in contact with Saren, and how we can do the same."

"Shove it up your ass soldier boy. I never said that I was working with Saren, and even if I was, you're going to have to do a lot better than this if you want me to start talking. You think that this is bad? I was in more pain after a sparring match with a Salarian."

"I admit I am a little on the rusty side," Norman replied, "so if you can just bear with me, I can work all of the kinks out of my system." As he spoke, he lifted a foot up and kicked Jena directly in the face. "That better?" he hissed.

Jona let out a sharp laugh, even as blood trickled down from her now broken nose. "I hate to break it to you pal, but I was an Asari commando before I joined up with Eclipse. I had to train for a century, longer than you've been alive, before I got sent on a single mission. You're going to have to try a lot harder than that if you going to get anywhere sometime this year."

"Ok," Norman said, cracking his knuckles. "You've proved that your a big girl, I think that you can-" he was cut off by the sound of metal on metal on the door behind him.

"Oi! Open up!" a voice called out.

Snarling in frustration, Norman turned to look at the door, grabbing the handle and pulling the heavy metal object open, revealing Roger on the other side. "What?" he asked, glaring at the shock trooper.

"The Captain and the two Cerberus spooks want an update, have you got anything yet?" he asked.

"No, she's a stubborn one."

"Christ you're pathetic. You've been down here for an hour and you haven't learned a damn thing?"

"I'd like to see you do better," Norman snarled.

"Oh, because if I can't do better than you, you're exempt from criticism right?" Roger said. "You know what? Fine, give me fifteen minutes alone with her and let me see what I can do."

"You? Are you kidding me? What makes you think that you can possibly pull this off?"

"I'm a Moriean shock trooper, we specialize in counter pirate and mercenary operations, that includes interrogation. The thing is, I know how to do it like a professional and not a little kid poking a dead animal with a stick."

"I seriously doubt that."

"Then give me fifteen minutes alone with her then...alone," he said, emphasizing the last word.

"Fine," Norman said, turning to the door and walking away. "There better not be a corpse when I come back," he said, slamming the door shut behind him.

"All right," Roger said, pulling up a chair and sitting down in it, crossing his legs as he looked at the chained Asari. "So...we've been coming through your computers and so far it seems like you've been covering your tracks pretty well. No messages, no bank accounts with rapidly increasing funds, no contact information, it's all very clean. But you've got to have some way of contacting Saren, there's no way that you did all of this for charity. You must have a hidden bank account somewhere, or you must have laundered the money somehow. You tell is where you have your payment, or where you planned on received the payment and we'll have a lead on Saren. It would be very convenient for the both of us if you could tell me where we could find it."

"Really? That's your plan? Asking nicely?" Jona said, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at Roger, who was leaning back into the chair now. "Are you serious?"

"It'll save us both a lot of trouble," he said, shrugging slightly. "I'll level with you, things are going to get real messy if you don't do it now."

"Messy? Things are going to get messy if I do talk. You think the people that hired me will let me live if I snitch on them?"

"Oh come on lady," Roger said, raising both of his hands. "You're the leader of one of the four major Terminus Systems mercenary groups, your entire career is based on pissing people off. I'd be willing to bet my good arm that every last person in the Blue Suns, Blood Pack and Army have kill on sight orders when it comes to you. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that there are a couple thousand people actively hunting you down and trying to blow your head off. What's a couple more drops in the ocean? Oh right, the guy that hired you DOES have an army of Geth...guess that that does make you other problems seem rather petty by comparison."

"You people keep saying that Saren hired me," Jona hissed, "but would you care to explain why the man with Geth at his beck and call would need to hire mercenaries?"

"Well, that's what we're trying to figure out. So could you please just start talking?"

"Fuck off. You're even more pathetic than the fucking pansy that just left."

Roger let out a long sigh, sounding more annoyed than anything else. "All righty," he said, rising out of the chair, "guess I gotta get my hands dirty." He grabbed the chair and dragged it to the door, wedging it between the door and the floor.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, I just don't want to be interrupted," he said, before reaching down to his side and drawing his ripper.

"What the fuck is that thing supposed to be?"

Roger turned to face her, smiling as he did. "What? You're not telling me you've never seen a ripper before have you? The Army hasn't even fielded them? I would think that they would at least have a couple of Necro-Humans using them...or maybe I'm just old fashioned, this is a Pre-War design after all. Anyway, you want to know what it is? I'd rather just show you."

He pressed down on the handle, causing the ripper to roar to life. "What the fuck are you going to do with that thing?"

"Well, you said that you're not telling us anything. It's a real pity, but that means we're going to have to do this the hard way." He walked towards her, the ripper in hand.

"What the fuck are you-ghahhgah!" she spluttered. Roger had stuck the index and middle finger of his cybernetic arm into her mouth, pushing each one in a different direction, forcing Jona's mouth wide open.

"I wouldn't thrash around too much if I were you, otherwise this might kill you," Roger said idly, holding down the trigger again. Jona heard the knife roar to life inside her mouth, Roger slowly moving it downward towards her tongue. "Just gotta make the entrance incision and then-" he stopped as Jona thrashed wildly in her bindings, spluttering incoherently. "Hm?" he said, pulling the ripper and his fingers out. "Didn't quite catch that."

"Noveria," she spluttered "we were supposed to trade the girl with a Salarian on Noveria for our payment. That's all I know, I swear."

"Ah," Roger said, sheathing his ripper. "Noveria. It's neutral ground and the Coalition isn't very popular there. Makes sense. Now then, what Salarian were you supposed to be trading her with? His name?"

"I don't know, he was supposed to find us. I swear I'm telling the truth."

"Oh I know that you are," Roger said, grinning from ear to ear as he grabbed the chair and pulled it away from the door. "I just had to get you to drop your guard and threaten to cut your tongue out and you were singing like a fucking canary."

"Wait a minute...you mean that-"

"Yup!" Roger said. "I was fucking bluffing, and you fell for it hook line and sinker." He let out a content sigh. "And God was it fucking satisfying."

"You little shit!" Jona swore "when I get out of here your life is over!"

"My life is over? MY life is over," Roger said. "Ok, that is fucking hilarious. You're in prison for attacking a Coalition colony, I have no idea what they're going to do to respond for this, but I'm pretty sure that it'll be drastic. At the very least they put out a bounty on Eclipse and hire privateers and at the very worst they'll send a couple of dreadnoughts into the Terminus Systems to blow up every single stronghold that you have. And that's just what we're going to do, what do you think is going to happen when word gets out that you've been caught? I see a massive power grab coming up. Blue Suns, Blood Pack and the Army? They aren't going to hesitate, they'll jump on this. Face it lady, you sang like a fucking canary. Now then, I need to get going." Without another word, he turned and opened the door slamming it shut behind him. Norman was right outside the door, a cigarette wedged in-between his lips, his bandanna pulled down..

"Giving up already?" he said, taking the cigarette out and letting out a puff.

"They were going to trade the girl with the Salarian on Noveria," Roger said smugly. "I saw a camera in that cell," he said, reaching forward and taking a cigarette out of the pack that Norman was holding in his hand and holding up to his mouth. "Checking the recording if you don't believe me. Now then, I need to go report this in." Roger smiled smugly as he walked away, fiddling around with the knobs on his cybernetic arm, reducing the energy output down to 1% causing it to produce only a small spark, which lit the cigarette. "Not bad!" he called over his shoulder, looking at Norman over his shoulder.

Norman glared at the shock trooper as he activated his omni-tool, checking the recording of the room. His face twisted into a scowl as he watched it. "Cocky motherfucker," he swore, his fists tightening in anger, biting down on his cigarette so hard that he tore right through it, the let end falling off and landing on the ground in front of it.

XXXXX

Volker let out a loud sigh, sliding into a wooden chair. He was sitting right outside the main HQ for the roughnecks in Alchemia, waiting while the others were inside, dealing with the captured Eclipse mercenary. "Are you holding up all right?" He looked up to see Tali approaching him, Kasumi right behind her.

"I think so," he said as the two of them sat down on either side of him. "I thought that this was supposed to be simple, run in, grab the doctor, run out but...nothing I ever do is that simple. They managed to hold us all hostage and there wasn't a thing I could do about it...it seems like I can never do anything to help, even when I was back in Germany."

"Oh come on," Tali said, "it's not like what happened back then was your fault, you said yourself that you were conscripted, you didn't have a choice. You were a victim."

"I...I don't think so," Volker said. "I'm...I'm pretty sure I was part of the problem."

Tali cocked her head. "Why would you say that?"

"Because...do you know what I did when Hitler came to power? Do you know what I did when the man who caused a war that killed 60 million people, many of them helpless civilians and many of them my own countrymen, took control? I cheered...I was...happy. I was glad that he was leading Germany."

"I...why?" Tali asked.

"Have you ever heard of the treaty of Versailles?" he asked.

"No. Why, what is it?"

"It was a treaty that was signed at the end of the first world war, and despite the fact that Austria Hungary had been the first country to declare war, it was decided that my country was responsible for the conflict. The treaty...it destroyed my country. Our military was reduced to a pathetic token force and we were forced to pay massive amounts to the allies with no end. Our economy was in shambles, my family had to rent out rooms to three other families just so that we didn't starve, my little sister and I had to work day and night helping my parents at our shop, just so we could make enough to eat."

"I was glad that he came to power, I was glad that he started expanding Germany's boarders, I went to practically any rally that I could," Volker hissed, clutching his head in his hands. "I even laughed with glee when France and England refused to retaliate and when the war started, how America insisted that it wasn't their problem. I was so...angry, that it wasn't until 1941 that I realized what was wrong with the Third Reich. My father had taken us all out to tour the conquered Polish country when we passed...we passed Auschwitz."

"Oh God," Kasumi whispered, her eyes widening slightly.

"The trains...the screams...the SMELL!" Volker shouted, sounding hysterical. "I remember all of it! It's like it just happened! They were burning them! Thousands of them! And the order came from the man that I had showered with praise, that I had looked up to with admiration...he was the one ordering the genocide that I saw...and I was one of the people that had screamed for him to take control."

"Volker," Tali said softly, "it wasn't your fault. You were tricked, your whole country was. He had you all fooled."

Volker either didn't hear her or simply ignored her as he continued to talk. "We...we were all shocked by what we saw that day. We knew that the government was rounding up Jews, but we didn't know that they were killing them. We...we tried to hide some of them after that, we managed to keep a dozen of them in our basement, using some friends to smuggle them food without drawing attention but...one day, six SS officers came into our house and riddled the floor with bullets, they killed all of them! They were going to kill us too I think but...the Russians had just won the battle of Stalingrad and were starting to push back against us...there were a lot of German soldiers dead and...my father was too old and...and..." Volker clenched his head even harder as a handful of tears trickled down his face. "They told me if I didn't do exactly what they said than they would kill my entire family...even when I tried to do something I was completely useless. There...there..."

Tali hastily stood up and walked in front of Volker. Without saying a word, she bent down and gently wrapped her arms around him. "It...it just," Volker said softly, his voice weak.

"You did everything that you could Volker," Tali said gently, "It's not your fault."

"I...I couldn't do a damn thing," he blubbered, wrapping his arms around Tali as tears started to flow freely down his face. "So many people died in front of me and I couldn't do a thing and...and when I finally tried to free my family I...I got captured. I...I don't even know if they made it out of there safely, but either way they're...they're...dead. I...I couldn't help them. I c-couldn't help anyone."

"Volker, it's ok," Tali said. "There wasn't anything else that you could have done."

Volker pulled away from her, sitting back down into his chair and rubbing his eyes with his forearm. "And even now I can't do a damn thing to protect anyone."

"That's not true from what I heard," Kasumi interjected. "I heard that you helped protect Liara from the Eclipse mercenaries. You were there to fight them off."

"I...but that was nothing, I'm not even sure if I killed one of-"

"That doesn't matter," Tali said, putting her hands on Volker's shoulders. "What matters is that you were there, and you were willing to put your life on the line to stop them. You voluntarily joined up with us to stop Saren and you managed to keep up with all of us on Mothership Zeta, even though you hadn't adjusted to this time period. That's why Jane let you on the Normandy even through you haven't adjusted yet, with enough training you'll be just as good as the rest of us in combat, maybe even better."

"I..." Volker said softly, looking at a lost for words, "I just..."

"If this is all too much for you to handle, we could just drop you off at a rehabilitation center. No one would hold it against you after all that you've been through and-"

"NO!" Volker shouted, causing both of them to flinch slightly. "I...sorry," he muttered. "It's just that...my whole life I've been surrounded by misery, but I've never been able to do anything about it. I can't...I can't just run away from this. I want-I NEED to make a difference."

Underneath her helmet, Tali smiled as she gave Volker a reassuring pat on the back. "And if Jane didn't think that you couldn't make a difference, you wouldn't be here. She let you join up because she thinks that you're an asset Volker, not a liability. We all think that you're a skilled ally already, you managed to hold your own against alien soldiers with weapons that could kill you in one shot, you're holding up remarkably well despite your time displacement and you've got a powerful weapon there," she said, pointing at the pulse pistol he had. "So please Volker, I'm begging you, don't beat yourself up."

"I...thank you," he said, rubbing his eyes again and managing a weak smile. "Sorry, it's just that I've been thinking about everything that's happened and...it all piled up."

"Makes sense," Kasumi said. "You've been on the run nonstop for awhile now. You've probably didn't have time to ever sit down and vent before. It's only natural that you would let it all out like this. Don't be ashamed, it's healthy for you."

"It is?" he asked, looking at the neo-ninja with confusion. "I wouldn't know anything about that. Sorry again."

"Don't apologize," Tali said. "After everything that you've been through you've earned the right to have a good cry. Still, A good cheering up wouldn't hurt you either...oh! I have an idea. You haven't seen any modern vids yet have you?"

"A what?"

"I mean a movie," Tali corrected, kicking herself mentally, "you haven't seen a modern movie yet have you?"

"I...no I haven't. Why?"

"How about this? When we've both got free time, why don't you come down to my quarters and I can catch you up on them? I think some good movies should cheer you up a little. Besides, it'll help you get familiarized with your new surroundings."

"I...guess it couldn't hurt," Volker said. "All right, you've got a deal."

"Good, I'll see you tonight then."

"Ok...excuse me, I need some water," he said, getting to his feet and hastily heading inside.

"He should probably talk to Kelly a couple of times," Tali said, watching him go with worry in her eyes.

"Damn, nice one," Kasumi said, looking at Tali."

"What?"

"Inviting him up to your room? Offering to show him a good movie? I can't help but wonder if you've got a thing for him. He may not exactly be the most handsome person I've ever seen, but he's not bad looking, plus he's a sweet guy."

"I...but...ugh," Tali groaned, exasperation thick in her voice. "Where did you even come up with that idea? He's vulnerable right now and he needs a friend. That's all there is to it. How did you make the leap in logic from me trying to spend a little bit of time with him to me wanting to link suits with him?"

"Well, in a lot of different aspects of Human culture, a woman's room is considered to be off limits to men most of the time, and when she invites him in...you know."

"Yes, well in Quarian culture that's a luxury that we can't afford," Tali said dryly. "I've seen what some races call a bedroom on the extranet, and rooms that size on the Migrant Fleet play home to entire families, sometimes two. In other words, I don't have a thing for Volker, I'm just trying to be friendly to him. Sorry to kill your little sexual fantasy there."

Kasumi laughed lightly. "Whatever you say Tal," she said, her tactical cloak enveloping her as she gave a small wave.

"MY NAME IS TALI!" the Quarian shouted in frustration as the neo-ninja disappeared.

XXXXX

"Are you holding up?" Jane asked, looking at Liara, who was gently sipping some water, the two of them sitting on either side of a metal table in the Normandy's mess hall, a shuttle having taken them up after the Eclipse ships had been dealt with.

"I'm fine Captain, thank you. I've been under fire before. When you scour the Terminus System for Prothean artifacts, you don't walk away without getting into a couple of scraps. I'm just a little overwhelmed by how fast things are happening, especially considering that Eclipse mercenaries managed to get on a Coalition planet."

"Fair enough, it's not often that that happens."

"So...what happens now?"

"Right now you're going to have to stay on the Normandy for awhile. My men can go back down and grab anything that you forgot on the planet. We can't take the chance and just leave you unguarded, Saren might try and get to you again, but with the Normandy's stealth drive, you should be safe here. We'll try and get in contact with your mother though, she might have a different plan for where you would be safe."

"Uh...Captain," Liara said nervously, "if I'm going to be on your ship...I think it's only fair that I do something to help. I don't want to be dead weight."

Jane cocked her head slightly. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well...like I said I've been in a firefight before, and I'd like to think that I'm not that bad of a shot with a pistol and I'm a decent biotic. I could help you in the field."

"Christ," Jane muttered to herself. "First Roger, then Volker, then a ninja and now an Asari archeologist. I'm gathering quite the crew aren't I?"

"Captain?"

"Nothing, just thinking out loud. I don't know Liara, our mission is supposed to be to protect you, putting you in the line of fire just makes you a target."

"Please," Liara said, "my mother is already in the middle of this mess and so am I. I can't just stand around and do nothing like a good little girl while people are dying around me."

Jane bit her lip, looking at Liara uncertainly. "You know what Liara? I'll tell you what, my Gunnery Chief is scheduled to put a new recruit that we have through some training drills. I'm sure that she can handle you at the same time, and we'll see what you're made of. After that we'll play it by year."

Liara bowed her head slightly. "Thank you Shepard, I promise that I won't disappoint you."

"Captain, my I have a word with you?" Jane looked up to see Miranda approaching her.

"Yeah, what about?"

Miranda's eyes swiveled to look at Liara. "With all due respect, I think it would be best if the two of us talked alone Dr. T'Soni, preferably on my shuttle. I mean no offense, but I need to discuss delicate matters with the Captain." Liara nodded hesitantly as Jane got to her feet, heading with Miranda towards the elevator.

"Cerberus really is paranoid aren't they?" Jane asked as the door closed in front of them and the elevator began to rise.

"I prefer the term cautious. In my line of work, a single word overheard by a person that wasn't supposed to can cause countless deaths, so you can never be too careful. I ran a sweep of your ship before I came to talk to you too."

"Would you care to explain how someone could have gotten bugs on the Normandy?" Jane asked, looking at her with an incredulous look. "It's guarded at all times and only authorized personal are allowed on."

Miranda shrugged as the elevator door opened on the second level of the Normandy, the two of them walking out. "Like I said, in my line of work you can never be too careful." They headed for the airlock which was wide open, Miranda's Cerberus shuttle having docked there.

"Ok, I'm on your ship," Jane said as they walked through the airlock and into the passenger section of the shuttle. "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

A slight grin slid over Miranda's face as she activated her omni-tool, causing the airlock to slid shut. "I'm sorry Captain, but I lied to you. I don't need to talk to you, rather my boss does." She pressed another button on her omni-tool. Yellow lights on the floor glowed in the shape of a ring, a holographic circle rising up around the two women, scanning them.

"What the Hell?" Jane whispered, but before she could say anything else, a hologram of a man in a suit sitting in a chair appeared in front of her.

"Captain Shepard," he said politely, "It's a pleasure to speak to you."

"The...the Illusive Man?" Jane said, glancing at Miranda with shock etched into her face.

"I can understand your surprise, there are many who wonder if I'm even real," the Illusive Man said. "But I can assure you that I am real. I apologize for the dramatics, but this is one of the few ways that I can safely communicate without being traced."

"Ok, you've got my attention, what is it?"

"First of all, I want congratulate on safely extracting Dr. T'Soni. You were in a tricky situation, but you managed to get out of it with a minimal loss of life and with five enemy ships destroyed."

"I take it that you didn't just call me to pat me on the back."

"No, I didn't," the Illusive Man said, leaning forward in his chair. "Eclipse has declared itself our enemy, it's a threat to the Coalition and Parliament agrees with me. Our fleets are busy defending our boarders though, so it's fallen to me to make sure that they never threaten us again."

"This is a smaller part of what I'm trying to say. Captain, no matter what you may think, Cerberus has your back in this mission. I was told by Operative Lawson that one of your men managed to get some information out of the leader of Eclipse."

"Not a whole lot," Jane argued, "just that they were supposed to meet up with someone on Noveria."

"But it is a lead, and I have my own men looking into it now, just as I'm having them looking into every possible lead that we can find. We're looking under every rock for a clue to where Saren may be, but so far it's been rather insubstantial, but I am going to forward everything that I have found to you, along with anything that I will find in the future."

"I...thank you," Jane said hesitantly.

"What is more, I hope that you don't mind, but I am ordering the transfer of Norman Hawkins to your ship. He has personal requested to do so, saying that he wishes to continue following his orders to protect Dr. T'Soni. I saw no reason to deny him."

"Neither do I, I need all the help I can get to track down Saren, and frankly the Normandy is a little understaffed. It was only manned for a shakedown run, now I'm being forced to make do with what I've got while chasing down Saren. Quite a few people have been hoping on though, and it's been helping out a lot. My new engineer is particularly helpful."

"Yes, I heard about him. The Coalition is doing what they can to help his friends like they agreed to. Getting back on topic Captain, I would recommend that you make your way to Noveria, seeing as it seems to be the only lead that you have at the moment. I will do everything that I can to get information on the person that Eclipse was supposed to meet, but there is a very good chance that he wasn't even ordered to show up there unless the mission was succesful, but we have nothing else to go on."

"Understood," Jane said.

The Illusive Man nodded. "I'll be in touch Shepard, I'll find a way. You'll know it's me when I do. Good luck, and Godspeed." With that, his hologram disappeared.

"For the record, I can count the number of people that he's talked to personally in the last five years on my fingers," Miranda said. "I hope you realize how significant that this is."

"I'd have to be brain dead not to," Jane muttered. "So...exactly what are you going to do to find out where Saren is hiding? And what are you going to do about Eclipse?"

"We're still putting together our plans on that, but needless to say we're going to use every last resource at our disposal in order to get results. Cerberus isn't the type of organization that gets lazy."

"I would hope not, otherwise I'd have to say that your reputation is undeserved," Jane joked. Miranda didn't laugh. "Eh...sorry."

"Yes...well, I really should be going now," Miranda said, typing into her omni-tool again and causing the airlock to open again. "I have a lot of places that I need to be and this whole mess has put me behind schedule. I just need to head down to the surface to pick up Jacob and then I'll be on my way."

"All right then, I'll get out of your hair," Jane said, making her way towards the airlock. "It's been a pleasure working with you Ms. Lawson," she called over her shoulder.

The faintest of smiles spread across Miranda's face. "Likewise Captain. And with Cerberus working on the same case that you are, I doubt that this will be the last time that we see each other."

"Well then, see you around," Jane said, stepping back onto the Normandy, the airlock closing behind her.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Once again, sorry that the chapter is a little short, but if I've said it once I've said it a thousand times, the number of words shouldn't reflect the quality of a chapter, and padding out the chapter with more words will more likely than not just hurt the story. I put in the bits that were needed and I'm not going to pad out my story just to reach some arbitrary word count. I hope that you enjoy. Also, like I said above, if you have any criticisms with my story, please don't hesitate to come out and tell me about them. I may not agree with them, but I still need a good kick in the ass every once in awhile. Thank you.


	29. Moving Out

Chapter 29

Moving Out

Author's Note: Ok, reception for the last chapter was mostly positive with a few exceptions. By the way, I did receive a couple of complaints about various unrelated things, but all you need to know is that I've made a couple of tweaks to chapter 27, mainly the part where Fawkes is talking to John. It's not something that completely changes the plot, but you still might want to check it out. Ok, let's move forward.

XXXXX

Volker grit his teeth as he stared at the wall in the lower section of the Normandy, his pistol in his hands. "And...go!" He spun around, raising his gun, five targets appearing in front of him as he did. He fired off two shots, taking down the first two targets, but when he fired the third shot off, he missed the target, the bullet soaring over it. Biting his lip slightly in frustration, he fired off another shot, this time getting it. He took down the fourth target, but as he brought his gun to bear on the fifth target, he accidentally overshot it and missed it. "Damn it," he whispered, lining up a shot and taking down the last target.

"TIME!" a voice called out. He lowered his pistol and glanced over his shoulder, spotting Ashley looking down at her omni-tool "Final time is...4.59 seconds...5 shots out of 7." She lowered her omni-tool, smiling at Volker. "Overall I say you're doing pretty well. This morning you fired off an extra shot and your time was 5.24. You're getting better."

"There's still room for improvement," Volker grumbled, looking down at his pistol.

Ashley laughed slightly. "There always is. Ok, it's Liara's turn now. Think that you're up for it T'Soni?" Liara, who was standing right next to Ashley, nodded as she walked towards the front of the Normandy's firing range, Volker walking away and standing next to Ashley as she did.

"You ready!?" Ashley called out, activating her omni-tool as she did. Liara drew her pistol as she turned away from the range. "And...GO!"

Liara spun around as a fresh set of targets popped up. She quickly squeezed off three rounds, taking down the first three targets, but she aimed too low as she fired at the fourth one, missing it. Her hands tightening noticeably, she shot down the remaining two targets, not missing but being noticeably slower than she was before, taking the time to line up shots. "TIME!" Ashley called out, Liara lowering her pistol at the same time. "Ok, you only missed one shot, but you took a little longer than Volker, your time was 5.89. Almost six seconds. Still, one less shot wasted makes up for it, I'd say that you two are around the same."

"What does that mean?" Liara asked, looking at Ashley.

"It means that this is a good moment for a lesson, Volker for you this might feel like retreading the basics, but a good refresher course never hurts. You see, when your in combat, you have to make a decision. Do you want to get more shots off at the cost of reduced accuracy, or do you want to take the time to pace your shots and have them be less frequent? The thing is, neither one is going to help you in every situation that you can possibly run into. If you're facing a massive mob that's charging at you, then it'd probably be for the best to just point your gun in their general direction and start spraying, where as if you have a lone gunman aiming at you, you're probably going to want to take your time and kill him with a single shot. On average at least."

"What are you trying to say?" Volker asked.

"What I'm trying to say is that when you're on the battlefield, you need to make a judgement call of how you want to approach killing your opponent, and despite the examples that I gave earlier, there is no real textbook way to teach this. It's something that you need to get a feel for, so keep that in mind." Ashley looked like she was about to continue when the door behind them slid open and John walked in. "Hey," she said, smiling slightly and pecking him on the lips. "What brings you down here?"

"Jane wanted me to see how these two are doing, not really sure why she needed me to though, the world isn't going to end if she misses out on a couple of minor details."

"Well, they're doing just fine you lazy ass," Ashley said dryly. "Damn fine shots. I was thinking of checking up on Volker's aim with automatic weapons before moving on to testing Liara's biotics...not quite sure how I'm going to do that though, haven't worked with biotics before. I'll come up with something."

"Sounds good...is there anyway that I can steal you for a few minutes? We really haven't had time to talk since this whole mess started."

"Oh for the love of God," Ashley said, rubbing her forehead. "All right you two, I need to babysit John here, so head over to the workbench and clean your guns, I'm going to look over them after to make sure that you did a good job." Liara and Volker nodded as they headed off, Ashley looking at John as she did. "Christ, you and Jane are gathering up quite the team here. A Krogan, a Quarian, a Turian, an Asari, and a member of a race that we've never heard of until a little while ago. Christ, this hardly feels like a Coalition military ship anymore."

"I think that they're pretty helpful. Wrex and Garrus helped me check the plasma cannon to make sure that it didn't overheat and melt the platings."

"You let aliens look at the plasma cannon!?" Ashley shouted, looking at him, "are you insane? What if they managed to get a scan of it? Do you really want Turians and Krogan running around with plasma rifles?"

"Whoa, where did that come from? EDI was keeping an eye on them the whole time, it's not like they scanned it or anything, they were just helping me check it for melted plates."

"We happen to have engineers on this ships, it's THEIR job to do that, not a Krogan bounty hunter and a Turian Spectre, who happens to work for the galactic power that would kill to get their hands on some of our technology, including the cannon that you just let him take a peek at! John...do you ever think before you act!?"

"Christ Ashley, where did all of this come from? I told you, EDI was watching them the whole time, if they had tried to scan it, she would have caught it immediately, and they can't learn how the thing works by glancing at the outer shell."

Ashley took a step back, folding her arms. "Are you sure about that?"

"I asked her, she told me that there was no way that any classified Coalition data could have been leaked."

"Well...good."

"Ash, what was that all about? You act like Wrex and Garrus are actively trying to steal Coalition secrets and...wait a minute...Ash are you...racist?"

"Oh...oh my fucking God," Ashley swore, pinching her forehead in exasperation. "Did you REALLY just say that?"

John held his hands up in self-defense. "What was I supposed to think? You were just getting on my case about letting aliens into the main battery."

"That doesn't mean that I'm racist! I just don't want Coalition secrets falling into the wrong hands, so pardon me for being a little nervous about aliens being on one of our most advanced starships until further notice."

"What about Tali and Liara? You've been chatting with Tali since she got on and you were working just fine with Liara sixty seconds ago."

"Well one, Liara isn't military and she doesn't kill for a living, and two, Tali's race sold us the blueprints for this ship, so I'm not exactly worried about her sending the designs back to her people. Besides, she helped me fight the Geth back on Eden Prime, she's earned my trust."

"I've served with Wrex and Garrus," John protested.

"Yeah, well no offense John, I haven't been on a single mission with Wrex and the one mission that I was on with Garrus had one firefight that lasted thirty seconds before a space hobo blew everyone up with a rocket launcher. Plus that still doesn't change the fact that Garrus is a Council agent and Wrex is part of a species that has a history of violence. I'm not saying that I hate them, I'm just saying that we shouldn't throw caution to the wind and let them poke their noses into every corner of the ship."

"Yeesh Ash...where did this come from?"

"Oh gee, I don't know," she replied, sarcasm thick in her voice. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my grandfather was the one who defended Shanxi when the Turians attacked it. So yeah, pardon me if I'm not lining up to snuggle every Turian I see."

"But...I don't get it, your father won that battle. He killed a Turian General with a sword. He's a Coalition war hero, how come-"

"Yeah, he did, but here's the thing John. The Coalition and the Council are enemies, that's a fact, and people who spearhead the hated against the Council like to look to my grandfather as a figure to aspire to, the man who stood is ground against hostile invaders from unknown parts of space and fought them off, him and Admiral Marcus. But now...now I've got to carry on his legacy," she continued, her voice bitter.

"So far I've been managing to keep up, Tali and I were able to down a Geth ship on Eden Prime all on our own but...the second I fuck up, the second I do something wrong, the media is going to jump on me and rip my entire family to shreds, saying what a disappointment the Williams family has devolved into and how we've let the entire Coalition down. That's the thing, people love a hero...but they love the fall of a hero even more, they just eat it up. I'd rather shoot myself in the head than make my sisters go through that, make my mother go through that, put that stain on my family's history, the same family that's served the Coalition since it was founded, but if I just do one thing wrong, or if it looks like I did one thing wrong, it'll take years to undo the damage. That includes being on the same ship where aliens were able to steal the design for the weapons that the Coalition holds near and dear. That's why I don't like Wrex and Garrus being on this ship. Frankly that's why I'm a little uncomfortable around some aliens, especially military, because practically half of the Coalition sees aliens as the enemy and...if...if they can just get one sucker punch in, then bam. I screwed up and if it gets out, the Williams family is disgraced, and it's all my fault. So...yeah."

"I...Christ," John whispered. "Ash...I swear I didn't know."

"No...no you didn't," Ashley said, sighing as she did. "I never told you, I admit that."

"Why? Why didn't you?"

"To be honest, I didn't really realize how much I had to carry on my grandfather's legacy until my first deployment when everyone started asking me if I really was related to the great General Williams. I started realizing that they were all expecting me to be cut from the same cloth as him. I didn't tell you because when I was enlisted I was moving around a lot, and when we did meet up I was trying to take my mind off of the stress of my military life and enjoy myself for the few hours that we had together, so I didn't exactly feel like bringing it up."

"I can't imagine what that must feel like."

A small smile spread across Ashley's face. "No, I guess you wouldn't. No offense but your mother kinda flew under the radar in the First Contact War, even if my granddad did like talking about her."

"Oh screw you. She kicked just as much ass as everyone else down there."

"That's your main concern? Christ, you really are an idiot."

"Sorry...Ash, I really wish that you told me about this sooner. I don't want you to have to go through all of this by yourself."

"Do you have a suggestion?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Well, you said that your scared that if you mess up your family will be disgraced. I promise that from this point on while we're tracking down Saren, I'll have your back. That way if something does happen, I'll do everything I can to make sure we can salvage the situation, and if we can't? I'm the Commander who was given honorary Spectre status and given the job of hunting down Saren. They'll be after me as much as you if this all goes bad, we'll take the fall together."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?"

"It's all I can think of," John said weakly.

"It...is kind of sweet," Ashley admitted. "But I don't want you going through a public massacre either, so I'll cover your back too."

"You have my back and I have yours?" John said, "sounds like we have a plan here. And don't worry, I won't steal all of the glory."

"...Hug me before I decide I want to punch you more," Ashley said. John complied, wrapping his arms around her, Ashley mimicking his moves.

"I'm not even sure what you're worried about," he whispered into her ear. "I know you, you're not the type of person who would let your family down. In fact, I'd be willing to bet by the time that this is all over, you'll have topped your grandfather."

Ashley smiled. "You're just saying that to make me feel better...but thanks."

"So, I take it that you can handle our non-Human passengers?" he asked, pulling away. "Because while you may not have served with them, I can and I can vouch that they're not the type of people who will compromise us. You worrying about them is a little paranoid to be honest."

"Then called me paranoid, I'm still going to be keeping an eye on them. Still...I guess you do have a point. Doesn't mean I'm going to completely let my guard down around them, though. I'll play nice with them though, but if they try anything, don't expect me to hesitate to shoot them."

John smiled. "Well, you wouldn't be the woman I loved if you did."

Ashley blushed slightly. "Shut it."

XXXXX

"Well...I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting to have an alien working down here, let alone two," Engineer Adams said, looking across from his Terminal at the drive core. Tali and Opifex were standing in front of it, Tali pointing at it and explaining the fundamental basics of Element Zero and Mass Effect while Opifex listened with wide eyes.

"Aw come on, that's not fair. You've worked with Ken before haven't you?"

"Oh, ha ha lass," the Scottish engineer said. "Took ya all night to come up with that one didn't it?"

"To be honest, aliens are are a welcome change," Adams muttered. "They're a Hell of a lot less annoying and getting them to do their job is so much more straightforward and-oh! Captain when did you get here?"

Both Ken and Gabby looked up to see Jane standing in the doorway, a small smile on her face. "Not very long. I just wanted to pop in and check on Opifex."

"Oh, he's right over there," Adams said, pointing at the drive core. Jane nodded as she walked towards them, Tali's voice coming into focus as she neared them.

"-it's what makes faster than light travel possible, because when a ship's mass is zero, it isn't affected by time dilation."

"Amazing," Opifex said. "This engine isn't as nearly as large as the one on Mothership  
Zeta, but if what you said is true than it still might be able to power a Theta energy cannon. It's a possibility that deserves to be explored."

"I'd rather not to be honest, at least not on the Normandy," Jane said, causing the two of them to turn and look at her. "John would probably think that it would be cool, but the Normandy already has enough experimental tech in her. I'd rather not pile on more. If it ended up not working or backfiring, things could get messy. Anyway, didn't you say that you were working on a couple of protects?"

"Oh, yes I did. I haven't made much progress but I can show you what I've managed to do so far." Opifex walked towards a small makeshift workbench and stool that was near the drive core. Jane couldn't help but find it humorous how small it was, almost as if it was for a little kid, but various pieces of equipment were spread across it."

"Your Admiral Hackett managed to get me everything that I asked for," Opifex said, sitting down at his bench and moving around the various pieces of silvery equipment that were scattered across it. "I haven't had enough time to make anything major, but I have been able to make power cells for Volker's pulse gun, and I've also been able to replicate some of our repair fluid." As he spoke, he pulled a small tray towards him, a dozen tubes of the blue liquid in it. "You should be able to use them for field maintenance in case your weapons or armor is damaged."

"That should be useful," Jane said, taking the tray of tubes as Opifex handed them to her, holding them up to the light. "Everyone's been issued the equipment that we got back at Mars now, even Volker has had some heavy grades parts put into his MP-40. Just as good as Spectre equipment, but just as expensive, we don't want to go around trashing it. I'll be sure to ration this around. Thanks Opifex."

"Oh that's nothing, it's more or less basic materials. I'll make more when I get the time. Now then, I've also been trying to make addition Theta Energy weapons but...it's proving to be a little more difficult than I expected."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong, I have all of the raw materials that I need, it's just that the process is turning out to be longer and more complicated than I estimated. It will probably be some time before I will successful replicate them, until then you will have to make due with Volker's weapon." He looked up. "By the way, has he used it yet?"

"Not yet," Jane said.

"Well, please tell him to be careful with it. Exulan repair solvent may be advanced but it isn't a miracle worker. If pulse pistol is reduced to a pile of smoldering ash, then no amount of repairs will be able to fix it. He should also be conservative with the power cells that I have given him, I can only make so many and I can only do it so fast."

"I'll be sure to tell him that. Is there anything else?"

"Well, Exulan technology does include teleportation, I was hoping that I could replicate that and find a way for you to use it in your mission. Sadly though I'm making even less progress with that than I am with the weapons, so I make no promises. Apart from that there's not much else that I can do. I'll be sure to tell you if I manage to make a breakthrough though. I'm going to have a lot to keep me busy, your engineers are constantly asking for my help in maintaining this drive core of yours."

"You're managing to do that?" Jane said, looking down at Opifex with surprise. "I thought that it might take a little longer than that for you to learn how Mass Effect technology works."

"Oh, like I said, I was specifically bred to be an engineer. My memory isn't perfect, but it is very good, I hardly forget anything important. Tali has been telling me everything I need to know, and while I still have I lot to learn, I'm managing to keep up with everyone."

"Are you sure that you're comfortable working down here?" Jane asked, looking at the small bench. "I've told you we've got a lab on this ship. I'm not sure what the Hell the designer was thinking when he put that in...though to be fair the design was Quarian in nature." She glanced at Tali, "is that typical on the Migrant Fleet?"

"We do tend to modify our ships so that they can serve multiple roles, such as weapon manufacturing and repair, so yes, a lab on a frigate isn't the strangest thing that I've ever heard of," Tali replied.

"I can see how that works...but this ship isn't supposed to be supporting a race that's bound to a fleet, it's supposed to be a stealth frigate for the Coalition military. It's so impractical it's...kind of frustrating. Still, I may not like it but I know that I need to make the best of what I have. So Opifex, are you sure that you don't want to use it?"

"Oh no, I'm much more comfortable down here. I'm used to being near the drive core of a ship and I often help down here anyway...besides I can't reach anything in that lab. Compared to your kind I'm...I'm awfully short."

Jane fought back the urge to grin. "I won't argue that. Just remember Opifex, if you never need anything from me, don't hesitate to ask."

"I understand."

"By the way, where's Volker?" Tali asked, "I haven't seen him all day."

"Oh, he's down in the shooting range with Liara and Ashley. She's just making sure that they're both on the top of their game."

"Well if you see him, tell him that I'm still free tonight."

'What am I? A messenger?' Jane thought internally. "All right, seems like I've got a lot to tell him when I see him again. Anyway, I really should be getting back to work, I just wanted to make sure that you were ok Opifex."

"Well, thank you that. I find myself settling in quite-"

"Captain, there is something that requires your attention." All three of them looked up to see EDI's avatar materialize on a small plinth.

"What is it EDI?" she asked.

"I have received an encrypted message specifically directed to you. It appears to be of the utmost importance. Should I send it to your omni-tool?"

"Please do that. Also, how much longer until we get to Noveria?"

"Considering our current distance from the planet, it will take a least another day."

"Got it," Jane said, activating her omni-tool as she walked away and exited engineering. She typed into her omni-tool and the message that EDI had sent to her popped up. She began to read.

_Captain Shepard, first and foremost, I want to thank you for what you've done. Words cannot describe how relieved I am that my daughter is now safe. A handful of my closest commandos and supporters turned on me when they discovered that I was making moves to uncover Saren's plans. I am not certain if they turned on the spur of the moment or if they were longtime supporters of him, I am currently looking into that._

_I apologize for my vagueness earlier, but I was being watched by my former supporters and could not afford to try and contact the Coalition or my daughter without drawing attention to myself and placing Liara in danger. I barely managed to get half a minute alone to send a message to Admiral Hackett. I can assure you though, now that my daughter is safe, I have taken measures to make sure that the turncoats that were watching me will never pose a threat to you, myself or my daughter ever again._

_Recently, I was contacted by Cerberus, who informed me of my daughter's safety and the hand that you played in it. They also informed me of the information that you were able to extract from the mercenaries sent to kidnap my daughter. Currently, my informants are collaborating with Cerberus, doing everything that they can to find additional leads, while I am currently on a ship with my best and brightest commandos, heading for Noveria even as I type out this latter. I suspect I will arrive there shortly before you do. I will make sure that you are not ambushed when you land, and once you do arrive, I will do everything in my power to help you._

_I suspect that you, and many of the Matriarchs of the Republics for that matter, will take issue with me going to the front lines to get my hands dirty, but Saren's men, my former supporters, threatened to do unspeakable things to my daughter, things that I do not wish to repeat in this letter. Saren made this personal, the man that hired the Eclipse mercenaries made this personal. I do not know if you are a mother Captain, but when someone threatens your child, you cannot simply sit back and watch from the sidelines, especially when you are as old and have as many enemies as me. Many of my followers that turned on me are still alive, and I intend to make sure that the people who did this never have the chance to do this again._

_Matriarch Benezia T'Soni_

_P.S. Keep Liara safe._

In the back of her mind, images of a Matriarch flinging bodies through the air with a look of pure rage on her face appeared. Jane fought back the urge to shudder. From what she had heard, Asari Commandos and Matriarchs weren't exactly numerous, but they more than made up for their lack of numbers with powerful biotics and centuries of training. "I'm glad that they're on our side," she muttered, continuing to walk forward.

XXXXX

Sheryl allowed herself a slight smile as she sat in the mess hall of the Normandy, a knife in one hand and a block of wood in the other. "Hello there." She glanced up and saw Adam sitting down across from her, a bottle of Nuka-Cola in his hand. "What are you doing there?"

"Oh I...it's just a little hobby that I picked up when I was younger, I carve figurines when I have spare time. Jenkins asked me to make him a Deathclaw and I'm trying to get some work on that done."

"How does it work? The process I mean."

"Well, first of all I need to cut off the larger chunks, get it into the rough shape of whatever it is that I'm trying carve, then I need to do the detail work. That's the really hard part, because one screw up and I have to start all over again. I need to take it very slowly, and get specific details done one at a time. It takes weeks sometimes to get just one done."

"Wouldn't that be frustrating? Spending weeks on each sculpture?"

"For the first couple of year I definitely thought so. But then again at that point I either completely butchered them or did a very rough job. But as I went on, I learned to be patient, learned to take it slow and really focus on each one and then I started getting better. There's still a lot for me to learn though. I may have been doing this for years but I'm self taught, so I figure things out by trial and error. I've done some ones that I would call good, a few that I would call great but never one that I would say is perfect."

"How is that one coming?" Adam asked, leaning over the table and looking at the hunk of wood in Sheryl's hand. It was a rough four limbed figure that was hunched over.

"Still getting the rough figure out. Might want to spend another day or two doing just that. It's really just carving off bit by bit until you're finally done. There's not really a lot to talk about, it's actually pretty boring, the end results are a lot more interesting."

Adam smiled, sipping his drink. "Are you trying to avoid talking about this?"

"I...no," she said. "It's just...I don't know, no one's ever really taken an interest in this before."

"No one?"

"No. Back in my village everyone liked to pretend I didn't exist except an old medicine woman who took me in. She...she was pretty nice. She took care of me, put a roof over my head."

"What's her name?"

"I don't know. She gave up her name when she became the medicine woman of the village. My people were a little bit like Krogan in that respect, but she wasn't really a spiritual leader, she just made medicine, and treated people. I helped her from time to time, gathering herbs for her, helping her mix her brews, not to mention I delivered more than a couple of babies with her."

"It appears that we have a couple of things in common," Adam said. "As part of my Left Hand training, I spent a lot of my younger days at the Vatican's refugee camps, helping people that managed to get away from harsh conditions in Africa." He shook his head slightly. "That continent is still dangerous, we only have footholds in the very top, and nowhere near enough manpower to move any further down."

"Is it really that bad?"

"You bet your ass it's that bad." The two of them looked up to see Roger approaching them, an apple in his hand. "The place was never a paradise, even before the bombs dropped. Now the place is crammed with warlords, raiders and all sorts of mutated ship. You ever try to take down a mutant Elephant? You have to shoot the fucking thing in the face with a rocket launcher if you want it do die before it steps on you."

"You've been there before?"

"Two years in the Earth Reconstruction Project. Thought I could use a change of scenery, biggest waste of time I've ever had. I still can't believe people want to live on that shit hole."

"As much as I hate to say it, I agree with you," Sheryl admitted. "I joined the Coalition military just to get away from it all."

"Glad someone has some fucking common sense. Maybe Earth was a nice place to live before the Great War but all of it's resources are depleted, it's filled with things that want to kill you, and I'm willing to bet that it'll be completely abandoned by the Coalition within the next couple of years."

"I doubt that," Sheryl said, glaring at Roger. "There will always be people living on the planet, just because I didn't want to doesn't mean that everyone will. And the Coalition isn't going to abandon them."

"Fucking fantastic," he grumbled, "I wish people would just realize that the damn place is beyond saving. I poured two years of my life into trying to fix it and I didn't even make a dent. Just let the poor thing die with grace, trying to keep it alive at this point is just fucking insulting, not to mention a waste of resources."

"I personally disagree with you," Adam said politely.

"Yeah well, you don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

"Very pleasant," Sheryl snarled.

"The truth hurts."

"The Hell are you doing?" Roger looked up to see Norman approaching them. "This guy giving you a hard time?" he asked, looking at Sheryl and Adam.

"Everything's under control," the Alaskan said.

"I didn't ask that," Norman growled.

"Oh calm down Prince Charming, I'm not hurting anyone. Sorry to kill your boner. I was about to leave anyway." He turned away from Norman, moving his apple towards his mouth.

"Christ, I feel sorry for the whore that dropped you from between her legs," Norman snarled, glaring at Roger's back. There was a loud squishing noise as the apple in Roger hand exploded, his cybernetic hand closing down around it in a snap. "Have you ever stopped and looked in the mirror. When was the last time that you ever met someone and didn't insult them? And the way that you act, Good Lord could you be anymore of a cocky arrogant prick?"

"Could you please repeat what you just said?" Roger said, his voice oddly calm.

"Which part, the part where you're a prick?"

"No, before that."

"The part where I feel sorry for the whore that's your mother?"

"Ah," Roger said, nodding said. "That's what I thought you said. Just wanted to make sure." Without another word, Roger curled his organic hand into a fist and punched Norman. The Roughneck recoiled from the blow, taking a step back before recovering, curling his own hands into fists as he did. Roger charged forward, swinging his hand again, but before he could connect a punch, he stopped in his tracks. He was faintly glowing purple, and Norman was holding his hands out.

"I'm a biotic bitch," Norman snarled before stepping forward with his fist raised. Before he could finish the punch, a fist slammed into his stomach, causing him to stumble backwards. Looking up, he saw Sheryl standing in front of him.

"What the fuck was that-" Roger began, but before he could finish, Sheryl had turned around and punched him in the face.

"Are you two serious!?" she shouted. "Are you seriously doing this? You!" she shouted, pointing at Norman. "I told you that it was under control! Why couldn't you just let it go!? And you!" she added, pointing at Roger, "Do you actively look for trouble?! You people I swear to...I need to get out of here before I do something that I regret." Sheryl stormed off, sliding her knife and wood into her pockets.

"Oh great, look what you did," Norman growled.

"What I did? You gotta be shitting me. I...fuck you pal I'm out of here." He started to turn away before stopping. "Oh yeah, one more thing. You ever insult my mother again and I'll break your fucking neck. I'd remember that if I were you." He then walked away.

"God, what's the galaxy coming to?" Norman asked, looking at Adam. The Left hand Commando said nothing as he got to his feet, draining his bottle of Nuka-Cola and walking off.

XXXXX

Author's Note: One person complained that he didn't like how Ashley was a little flat in this story, saying that because her grandfather won in the First Contact War there was no way to give her depth. Well to quote Family Guy "Oh Reginald...I DISAGREE!" I thought about it, and I came up with an idea. Why not have Ashley deal with problems from the exact opposite end of the spectrum? Anyone who has had any exposure to the modern media in the last decade knows that famous people fucking up is splattered all over the place and people NEVER let it go (Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Arnold, anyone who has ever said they don't believe that gays should be married, every last video game developer/publisher that isn't Valve) really a single fuck-up will get you a metric ton of shit for years to come...so I thought, why not write Ashley as the granddaughter of a war hero, with her being paranoid about messing up and tarnishing her family's  
reputation. Basically the exact opposite of what Ashley tried to do in the game, instead of cleaning her family's reputation, she's incredibly worried that she's going to break it and that she can't live up to the high standards that her grandfather set for her.


	30. Noveria

Chapter 30

Noveria

Author's Note: Some of you may have noticed that I took it upon myself to review a little fic called Mass Effect Parallel Realities, which was...an interesting little case. Please check out my review if you want to see more. Also, like I said, I WILL update Guardian in the Dark, but like I also said, it is a side project to From the Ashes. In my book, this story receives more priority. Still, I'll try to get a chapter for that one up soon. Anyway, time for Noveria. Oh, and don't worry, I've learned my lesson from New Origins, I won't follow the plot of ME1 like an idiot. Heck, we're not even going to Peak 15.

XXXXX

"So what's the plan here?" Volker asked, looking at Jane. Once again, he was sitting in a shuttle with her, along with Roger, Tali, Sheryl, Norman, and Fawkes. John, Ashley, Liara, Wrex, Cornelia, Jenkins and Garrus were on another one.

"I just got word from Cerberus, they managed to get a list of all the Salarians on this planet and ran an extensive search on all of their recent communicates, and they found one who had a bank account that had had literally billions of credits moved into it," Jane explained. "His name is Dolan Enten, and popular opinion in the Coalition and Cerberus is that he's our guy."

"So what? Do we run in and grab him?" Charon said.

"I doubt that that'll work," Jane said, "First of all, Dolan fell of the grid a couple of days ago, around the same time that word about the Eclipse attack on the Coalition got out, and there's a good chance that he left the planet."

"Then how come we're still going to Noveria?" Norman asked.

"Because when Cerberus was looking into Noveria something else came up. Guess who happens to own a significant amount of shares in the company that owns the planet and who's name was grouped when someone moved in and rented out one of the main labs?"

"Saren?"Norman growled.

"Right in one. He hasn't visited the planet himself in awhile, but like I said, one of the labs on the planet just got rented out by someone in his name. We're going to take a peak at it. It's probably going to be rather difficult though."

"What makes you say that?" Volker asked.

"Noveria is neutral territory, it's owned by corporation and no galactic powers have any pull with what goes on there. Even with John and Garrus' Spectre status, we might have some trouble getting into the lab and checking around. They might try to bury us under paperwork and red tape if we get on their bad side, so whatever you do, don't go flying off the handle and do anything to piss them off, otherwise this mission is going to be a real miserable one. And we're going to need their support, because while Cerberus knows that these people did rent a lab, we don't know which one, and there are dozens of different labs on this planet, most of them not connected to the main colony, Port Hanshan. Trying to force our way in without a set destination or trying to hack their databanks will turn this into a diplomatic nightmare, not just for the Coalition, but probably for the Migrant Fleet and the Council too, considering that we have two of their agents

with us."

"We're closing in on the port!" Cortez shouting from the pilot's seat. "There are blizzards all over the place, if you want to get anywhere else on this planet, flying isn't an option, I'd crash in this weather." As he spoke, the shuttle slowed to a stop, the side door sliding open as it did.

"We'll figure something out," Jane said as her team climbed out of the shuttle. "Take it back up to the Normandy Cortez." The pilot nodded, the door closing and the shuttle taking off, heading out of the hanger and into the sky. Jane looked across the building and spotted another shuttle dropping off John's team.

"Noveria huh?" Garrus said, as the two groups walked towards each other and met. "I've heard a lot about this place, and let me go on record as saying that nothing about it ever made me considering taking a vacation here."

"What's the matter Vakarian? Can't handle a little cold?" Wrex asked.

"You die out there in minutes, even if you're wearing protective gear!" Garrus retorted.

"Yeah...maybe you do," Wrex snorted.

"Pardon me for not being born a Krogan. Besides, I was talking about the bureaucrats."

"Oh yes, businessmen, the greatest threat the galaxy has better known. You defenders of the innocence better get on that. Have you thought about sterilizing them?"

"Probably not, it's proven to be rather ineffective at eliminating galactic pests."

"Cut it out, both of you!" Jane snapped. "You're a Krogan and you're a Turian, I get it, you're going to have your disputes, but I've said it before and I'll said it again. Personal grudges and hatreds? They don't exist when we're on a mission. If you can keep your mouth shut and do what I need you to do, then I don't care, but the second that you interfere with the outcome, you put someone's life in jeopardy, and I don't give a damn if you're a Council Spectre or a bounty hunter, you'll have me to answer to, and I swear to God I won't go easy on you."

Both Garrus and Wrex glared at Jane briefly before giving each other hostile glances. "All right, if we're done here, let's move forward," Jane said, walking forward towards the entrance to Port Hanshan.

Around half a dozen guards were standing in front of the entrance, their muscles tense and their weapons aiming at the group. "Who the Hell are you and what are you doing here?" the main guard, a Turian, demanded.

"It's kinda rude to point guns at people you know," Cornelia said, her eyes narrowing as she looking at the weapons.

"Yeah, well it's rather suspicious for around a dozen armed men to walk up towards you, especially when three quarters of them are Coalition. Now, answer my question, what are you doing here."

"Look, just let us through," John said, taking a couple of steps forward and causing all of the guards to train their weapons on them. "Haven't you heard the news? I'm Commander John Shepard, you know, the man who got honorary Spectre status?"

"Honorary Spectre status?" a Batarian guard said, looking like he was about to laugh. "That's got to be the biggest load that I've ever heard. The Council doesn't even have Elcor Spectres yet, why would they give that title to a Human? You're not even part of the Council."

"Hate to pop your bubble, but he's not talking out of his ass," Garrus said, walking forward and activating his omni-tool, pressing a few buttons and causing a holographic panel to be projected outward, facing the guards. It portrayed his name and face, along with additional personal information. "Garrus Vakarian, I AM a Spectre, and what this guy is saying is true, the Council gave them honorary status in response to Saren and the Geth threat. We have reason to believe that Saren has left evidence on this planet that could help us track him down. It would be very helpful if you let us in and let us take a look around."

"Letting Coalition soldiers in here? I don't think so pal," the Turian guard said. "Do you know how many Coalition investors this place has? None. People here don't like the Coalition, in fact, they come out here to develop technologies to compete with them. A lot of our investors might see you coming in as espionage or sabotage. It'll be bad for business, a lot of our investors will pull out and take their business somewhere else. I'll run that name of yours and see if you're not lying, but we're not letting a single Coalition trooper into-"

"What's the problem here?" Icy words filled the air, causing all of the guards to freeze on the spot. An Asari in a black cloak walked out of the entrance to Port Hanshan, two other Asari in armor on either side of her. Her robe was mostly unremarkable, not even having a window giving a view of her cleavage. The only noticeable feature was the pointed headset that it seemed to form.

"M-matriarch Benezia," the Turian stuttered. "We were just dealing with some Coalition intruders and-"

"Captain Jane Shepard?" she said, looking at the Human, interrupting the guard.

"Yes, that's me," she said.

"Let them in," Benezia said, glancing back at the guards.

"But if we do that, our profits-"

"I don't care about how much money your little business makes, I have important matters to discuss with them. Let them in...or do you really want to see exactly how many strings I can pull and how much I can bring crashing down on your head?"

"I...right away," the Turian said, practically shrinking under the Matriarch's glare. He hastily activated his omni-tool and viciously typed out a command. "I've let the interior guards know that you're coming and that you have authorization," he spluttered out, his words practically tripping over one another, "I am so sorry for the inconvenience, I-"

"Enough," Benezia said, silencing the Turian at once. "Come, we have much to do," she said, gesturing to Jane. Hesitantly, Jane followed Benezia as she began to walk after Benezia, the two teams following her. A couple of minutes passed as they all entered the main lobby of Port Hanshan.

Without warning, Benezia and her two commandos stopped, Jane and her men mimicking her actions. "You're awfully tense, Captain," the Matriarch noted, turning around to look at Jane.

"Well...no offense, but I've never met an Asari Matriarch before and only a couple of Asari Commandos," Jane said. "I apologize if I have offended you in some way and-"

"I just wanted to say that it was unnecessary," Benezia said, holding up a hand as she interrupted her. "I bear no ill will against you, if anything I am actually in your debt. You have done much for me, and I am here to help you as much as I am here to clean up. I take it that Cerberus told you about Dolan Enten?"

"Yes, he did, but there's a good chance that he might have left the planet."

"I doubt that that is the case," Benezia said. "I looked around and while I can find no trace of him here, I can find no trace of him having left either. No records indicate any ships or shuttles leaving while carrying a Salarian matching his description. It could be that he wanted you to think that he would leave so that he could hide out on this planet until everything blows over, or perhaps he is attempting to gain vital research that Saren plans to weaponize. I do not know, I am merely guessing."

"Do you have any idea where he is?"

"Saren had footholds in two of the research facilities on this planet, Peak 15, and Peak 7. However, I managed to corner one of the lower ranking assistants around here and squeeze some information out of him. Peak 15 hasn't been used in weeks, all of the research equipment and research data was pulled out of it before the attack on Eden Prime. I tried to learn about Peak 7, but before I could, the main Administrator happened upon me. Needless to say, he didn't take very kindly to me shaking down his employees. I had gone to him earlier, but I wasn't able to get any information out of him, he refuses to give up any information on his investors, even if they are mass murders."

Benezia shook her head in disgust. "Not only did he refuse to give me authorization to use the vehicles needed to travel to Peak 7 in this blizzard, but he's now posted guards around the garage. He doesn't want to aggravate me directly, so he's just buying his time until I lose my patience and leave" She tightened her fists in anger. "I was very close to throwing caution to the wind and make my way towards Peak 7, regardless of the consequences, but then you arrived. So, that is where I stand. The Administrator is actively hostile towards me, but I can still intimidate some of his men even though he has said I am to be ignored, and there may very well be something of use to us in Peak 7."

"So, forcing our way past the guards isn't an option?" John asked, looking at Jane.

"Yeah, at the very best it's a last resort," she said, screwing up her face in concentration. "I don't like this, this planet is run by business and not by law. I'm starting to see why Saren thought that it was a good idea to hide whatever he's got in that lab all the way out here."

"Yes. We need to be careful. One false move here and-" Benezia broke off as she saw someone in the group behind Jane move slightly. Her eyes widened. "L-Liara?" she stuttered. Almost at once, Volker and Cornelia hastily moved out of the way, leaving no one between Liara and Benezia. Not saying a word, the Matriarch walking forward, stopping in front of her daughter.

Liara looked up nervously, not sure how to speak to the woman and feeling rather intimidated. "Um...hello mother," she said softly. "I...I trust that you are-" Liara was cut off as Benezia raised her arms and, completely catching Liara off guard, pulled her daughter into a hug.

"Oh, thank the Goddess you're all right," Benezia said, her voice and face softening as she hugged her daughter. "I was so worried. For days they could me what horrible things that they would do to you once you were captured...oh Goddess, I'm just glad that you're all right."

"I...I didn't mean to worry you," Liara mumbled, blushing brightly.

"But...what are you doing down here?" Benezia asked, breaking away and looking at her daughter, taking note of Liara's light blue armor and pistol that had been given to her by Jane, being of the same high quality equipment that the rest of the Normandy crew had received. "Saren's men were trying to capture you and now you're here?" Her eyes narrowed as her head snapped to look at Jane. "What were you thinking!?" she shouted, causing the Captain to flinch slightly. "I entrusted you with my daughter's safety and you use her as a common soldier!? Apparently I was wrong to-"

"Mother, please, do not blame her!" Liara protested, raising both of her arms up and causing the Matriarch to look back at her. "Shepard didn't force me to do anything. I insisted on not being dead weight while I was onboard her ship, and I am far from incompetent in a fight. I...I wanted to help her, I wanted to help you. So much is going on, I couldn't stand to just stand by while everyone else just fought."

Benezia simply stared at Liara, looking rather shocked. After a moment, she raised her hand, causing Liara to flinch slightly. However, Benezia didn't strike her. In fact, she merely put her hand on Liara's head, gently tussling her. "My Goddess. You're not the same person that you were 50 years ago. You've done quite a bit of growing up Little Wing." Benezia gave a small smile. "So much more determined than you used to be and so much more brave than the little girl who wanted to learn about the Protheans...you remind me of your father."

"My...father?" Liara asked, her eyes widening slightly.

Benezia frowned. "I never did tell you about her did I...you've earned that much, after all you've been through. When this is done, I promise." Liara hesitated before giving a small nod. Benezia smiled again as she looked away from her daughter, only to find that the entire Normandy crew was watching her. "I...ah," she mumbled slightly, blushing ever so slightly. "Do me a favor and keep this private."

"I...I think that I can manage that," Jane said. "In the meantime, I think I might have a plan to get up to Peak 7 without making a complete mess."

Benezia cocked her head. "I'm listening."

"Well, it's a little unorthodox, but if we do it just right, it'll work beautifully. John." She looked at her brother. "I want you to take Garrus and Norman and go see this administrator, do whatever you can to to put pressure on him and make him break."

The Commander grinned. "All right! I'll make him snap. You two, come on!" He gestured to Wrex and Norman as he began to march off. The two glanced at Jane with confused expressions before heading off with him.

"...Not to be rude Captain, but I doubt that that will work. I tried to do the very same thing and I was unsuccessful."

"I know," Jane said, "that's just a distraction. Here's the main plan, this Administrator is a business man, therefore there are probably people that want to see him go down. There are dozens of companies on this planet alone, I'll be willing to bet that he's gotten on the bad side of at least one of them. If we can poke around without him noticing, we might be able to get some dirt on him that we can use to make him comply. Since he's more than willing to cover Saren's hide, I'll be willing to bet that his record is far from clean."

"Blackmail?" Benezia asked, looking at the Captain. "Rather illegal...though it is fairly petty compared to assisting a war criminal. There is a good chance that this won't work though Captain."

"I know, but I can't come up with anything better, this is our best bet."

Benezia nodded. "Very well, me and my commandos will do what we can. I hope that your brother is good at keeping the Administrators attention off of us. He'll most likely take steps to prevent us from getting any incriminating evidence on him if he knows that we're looking for it."

Jane smiled. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that too much."

XXXXX

Saren couldn't help but scowl as he read the datapad in front of him. He was standing on the edge of the massive dig site that he had had the Geth working on for the past few weeks. "SAREN!" He looked up to see Rana running towards them. "I have good news, I...what's the matter?"

"The Coalition," Saren growled. "They were faster than I was. Matriarch Benezia was looking into my actions, trying to uncover something about me, so I had a few agents near here threaten her daughter. I had to order them to threaten her before I actually managed to capture her daughter though, she was too close to uncovering some of my loose ends. I don't know how, but Benezia managed to get a message out to the Coalition, and they got to her daughter before my men did. I managed to clear out those loose ends with the few days that I had but...now they've gotten a new lead. Our operation on Noveria is most likely compromised."

"Godess...do you think that the Coalition will try and use the test subjects for themselves?"

Saren let out a bitter laugh. "I almost wish that they would. It would get the Council to open their eyes and take action, but I doubt that we'll be so lucky. I ordered them to be experimented on because we lack numbers and are desperate, the Coalition is neither. No, more likely than not they'll just destroy it...fuck," Saren swore.

"Saren?"

"I could have avoided all of this!" he shouted, throwing the data pad and causing it to shatter against a nearby building. "I shouldn't have told Dolan to pay the mercenaries on Noveria! I should have had they payment be far away from our experiments!"

"But...he's the head of our finical operations and we needed him on Noveria to make sure that the scientists are being funded properly. With something as serious as they were working on, we couldn't afford anything less than the very best equipment."

"That's no excuse! If he had gone off world, research might have been halted, but at the very worst for a week! But I was impatient and I wanted the experiments to be done as soon as possible, so I ordered him to remain on planet. This is all my fault."

"Saren, that's ridiculous. You had no way of knowing that the Coalition would be able to move so fast. What did you do wrong?"

"I underestimated Matriarch Benezia, that's what I did," Saren growled, "I threatened her and she hit back. I should have gone to get her daughter personally, I should have taken Sovereign and the Geth."

"But if you had done that, it would've been obvious that you were the one behind her abduction. You needed to use mercenaries for deniability."

"That doesn't change the fact that because of what I did, one of our greatest assets is most likely going to be destroyed by the Coalition! I...I'm not the leader that my brother was." Rana and Saren were both very silent as the last sentence reverberated through the air, Rana looking at the Turian with worry. "I...I did say that I might have to sacrifice my contingency plans just to buy some more time, and with the Coalition on Noveria, we might be able to draw them away from here. It won't draw them away forever though. When they don't find me there, they'll start looking elsewhere. I..." Saren's face stiffened, as if he had thought of something particularly unpleasant.

"What is it?"

He hesitated before letting out a long sigh. "We won't last long as things stand, Noveria will only keep their attention for a little while. We...we need something else to keep the Coalition off of our backs. I want you to see to it that the Reaper datacore is delivered as we planned. We're invoking our plan with...with them."

Rana's eyes widened in horror. "You can't be serious Saren. You're going to give technology from Sovereign to those people!? They're even worse than the Coalition!"

"I know that," Saren growled, "but we don't have any choice. Besides, remember the adjustment that we made to the core? If everything goes according to plan, we'll end up much better off, and if things don't go according to plan, then the Coalition ends up killing those monsters, hopefully losing a good chunk of their forces in the process."

"But what if they find your modifications to the core and find a way to bypass them?"

"I...I don't want to think about what could happen," Saren said, shaking his head. "I don't have a choice in the matter. I hate dealing with these people as much as you do, and we're going to have to hope for the best. It's a gamble but...this whole thing has been nothing but one big gamble. I'm willing to take that risk."

"We're out of options, aren't we?"

"We are...what was the news that you wanted to give me."

"Oh...oh right!" Rana said. "We finally managed to finish digging it up. The Geth are starting the repair process right now. Normally this would take years, but with the Geth doing it? We might be able to get it done in months, maybe even weeks."

"That's being a little overly optimistic. Besides, we still need the other ones ready, and some of them will take longer...if we can just hold out until we're done, we can take the fight to them." He began to walk forward, Rana just behind him. He headed to the edge of the massive chasm that had been dug. A huge black object with multiple legs was lying at the very center, made out of the same black metal as Sovereign.

"This thing, and the dozens of others throughout the galaxy are our best hope. If we get them operational, we can launch an invasion of the Coalition, using them to spearhead it. We can crush them within their own territory. Break them in the eyes of the galaxy, let them know that they don't have to be afraid and that the Coalition isn't invincible, that they can be defeated."

He looked down at the derelict ship, thousands of Geth scrambling over it, lowering tools as they began to peel off damaged plates and removed defect wire, replacing damaged parts with fresh ones. "It doesn't look like the same class as Sovereign."

"Odds are it was a more commonly produced ship, comparing it to Sovereign is like comparing a destroyer to a dreadnought. Still, it has the same technology and the same weapon design as Sovereign, that makes it invaluable to us."

He looked down at the ship. Unbidden into his mind, an image appeared. He saw himself leading an entire fleet of the ships into Coalition territory, shattering their fleets, burning entire cities, crushing their entire empire underfoot. He saw the people of the Coalition, Deathclaws and Humans of all kind running in fear as their soldiers died by the millions. He saw the massive Coalition, which rivaled the Turian Hierarchy in terms of size, reduced to a fraction of their normal size as he put them in their rightful place. Saren's eyes glazed over as he looked forward, a wonderful warm feeling filling him.

He felt a jolt run down his spine as he realized exactly what he had been saying. 'What...what am I thinking? I'm doing this because the galaxy needs to be saved from the Coalition. I'm...I'm not doing it for personal pleasure or power, I'm doing it because it's what needs to be done and no one else is willing to. That's...that's why I'm doing this.' There was a hollow feeling in his stomach as he watched the Geth continue to fix the ship.

XXXXX

"So what are we looking for exactly?" Jane looked at Jenkins as the two of them walked through the halls of Port Hanshan, Wrex, Tali, Sheryl and Volker right behind her.

"Anything that we can use to get some leverage over the Administrator. A deal gone bad, a bribe that he took, anything. If it can let us get to Peak 7 without us leaving a couple dozen bodies of people that don't need to die, I'm all for it."

"So...where are we going?"

"I heard from Benezia that one of the local businessmen on the planet had a bit of a falling out with the Administrator, mainly he got kicked out of his office. I'm thinking that that maybe he was doing a little bit of digging and found something that he shouldn't have. If we go in there and grab it, we'll be golden."

"If he found something that could be used against the administrator, and he got kicked out of his office, wouldn't the administrator do something to get rid of the evidence?"

"I don't think so. Contracts on Noveria are rather specific. Even after the administrator kicks someone out of his office, he isn't allowed to send in security until everything has been cleared out. Corporate espionage and all that. Technically he's already breaking the law but not letting that businessman clear out the files in his office before locking him out. Benezia and the others went to talk to him and get his help, while she does that, we're going to slip into his office and see if we can find anything."

"This is all so complicated," Volker said, shaking his head.

"Oh it's not that bad really," Tali said. "One guy's breaking the law, forcing a guy out of his office because of dirt that got dug up and we're going to see if he missed anything."

"You always make things sound so much more simple than they really are. Like that movie we watched last night. It...it was beyond confusing."

Tali sighed slightly. "I'm telling you, that vid wasn't hard to understand. It was very simple."

"There was a massive jellyfish with three rifles and it was sleeping with its partner's sister and he was trying to stop...oh I don't know."

"You showed him Blasto 6?" Jenkins said, slowing his pace for a few seconds and falling into step with the two of them. "That's a damn good vid. I've already seen it twice and I'm going to try and see it again soon."

"I know right?" Tali said, looking at Jenkins. "Remember the climax where he just storms into the gang's headquarters with four rifles and a rocket launcher?"

"Enkindle THIS," Jenkins said, dropping his voice before raising it up again. "How could I not forget that thing? It was freaking awesome."

"It doesn't quite top when his partner finds out that he's getting cozy with his sister," Tali said, sounding slightly giddy.

"It was...bizarre," Volker grunted. "I had no idea what was going on half off of time and there was an explosion every five minutes. No offense, but it seems like the type of movie that only an American would like. I can't say why, but it seems like the Yankees would just eat up that damn stuff. Also I'm pretty sure the body count was in the hundreds."

"Ok...so clearly your not a fan of action...what about a romance with a little bit of comedy?" Tali asked.

"If someone doesn't die every second, it'll probably be better than that...thing."

Tali smiled under her helmet. "Ok. The next time we'll give Fleet and Flotilla a try. It's one that I've been meaning to give a try for awhile but I just never had the time to watch, I've just been busy."

"Ok, but if I feel dumber ten minutes in, I'm out," Volker said. He paused for a second before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I'm being difficult. You're going out of your way to try and make me feel comfortable and I'm throwing it back in your face."

"It's not your fault if you don't like something. Besides, this whole thing is a little trial and error, eventually we'll find something that you like."

Jane smiled slightly as they reached the end of the hallway, stopping in front of a doorway. "Tali, I need you to get this door open, it's locked."

"Right," she said, walking to the front of the crowd and activating her omni-tool, punching in a series of commands. "And...done," she said, the door sliding open.

"Nice going," Jane said, walking into the office, the others following. The room was rather simple, only a couple of tables and chairs, with a lone terminal in the corner. "Think that you can do one more?" she asked, glancing at Tali again.

"Keelah Shepard, I'm starting to get the feeling that you drag be along because the Coalition doesn't have anyone who knows the first thing about cyber warfare," Tali joked, walking forward and activating her omni-tool again. "Firewalls are a bit tougher on this. I'd be a bit disappointed if they weren't. Just a little more and...there we go, I'm in the files I...oh my."

"What is it?" Jane asked.

"It looks like you were right Shepard. The owner of this computer, Lorik Qui'in, found out that the Administrator of this planet was taking bribes when it came to rent and it was getting some companies mad and hurting business. There's evidence on this terminal, a lot of bank transactions. Oh Keelah, according to this, Internal Affairs even has an agent undercover trying to get him convicted, and she went to Lorik about him testifying, but he refused."

"Well, looks like we just hit a gold mine," Jane said, fighting the urge to grin. "Copy those files and download them to your omni-tool." Jane was about to continue talking when she saw Sheryl stiffen out of the corner of her eye. "Is something wrong?" she asked, looking at the sniper.

"I heard footsteps," she whispered, "someone's coming." The six of them turned on the spot, drawing their weapons. No sooner had they done so than half a dozen guards had entered the room. They were momentarily surprised by the presence of Jane's team, but that quickly vanished as they drew their own weapons.

"What the Hell are you doing here!?" a Turian guard demanded.

"Just getting a little evidence that makes your boss look rather bad," Jenkins said, smirking slightly.

"I doubt that, you're just a bunch of thieves, nothing more," the guard growled. "But then again we have Humans, a Quarian and a Krogan. I'm not surprised at all."

"Oh, and you're not?" Jane asked. "I'd be willing to bet that you're here to wipe all of the data out under orders from the Administrator. He's just covering his ass and he's using you to do it and he's breaking more than a couple of laws, so don't pretend that you have the moral high ground here."

"So what if he is? Corpses aren't very good at making defenses."

"You're in no position to be threatening us. You don't outnumber us, we have superior equipment and I don't doubt for a second that we're more skilled. Put your guns down and walk away if you don't want to turn this into a bloodbath."

"I don't think you get it lady, we're the police on this planet. Do you know what happens when you kill a cop?"

"I'm not going to warn you again. Stand down."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from the Coalition, you're a self centered bunch of-" the guard was interrupted as a ball of green energy flew from Jane's plasma rifle, hitting him in the chest and reducing him to a puddle of green liquid. Instantly, the room erupted into a firefight.

Tali and Wrex both fired their shotguns at the same Batarian who had dove for cover behind a desk, riddling his body with holes and killing him almost at once. Sheryl drew her crossbow and quickly leveled off a shot at a nearby guard's throat, causing him to collapse to the ground, clutching at the wound as he bled to death. Volker and Jenkins opened fire on the remaining three guards, managing to gun down two of them before their guns overheated.

The last one raised an assault rifle and fired off several shots at Jenkins, impacting on his kinetic barriers. "Shit!" Jenkins shouted, dropping his assault rifle and grabbing his sickle, throwing it without thinking at the guard. He let out a roar of pain as the blade of the weapon embedded itself in the back of his neck. Grabbing hold of the chain, Jenkins yanked forward violently, causing the blade to tear through the man's throat, making him fall to the ground dead.

"Huh...they didn't even put up a fight," Wrex muttered, sounding disappointed.

"I told them, they didn't have any advantages over us. Besides, they were just hired help, not professional soldiers, Blood Pack mercenaries would be tougher to deal with than them...still I wish that it didn't have to go like this," Jane said, sounding slightly sad.

"Shepard?" Tali asked, looking at her.

"The whole point of this was to avoid people getting killed. I even tried to get them to stand down to avoid creating an incident." She let out a bitter sigh. "No point in getting worked up over what you can't change though. Anyway, we got the data. We should meet up with Benezia and see if we can talk this Lorik guy into testifying."

XXXXX

Author's Note: Crap, the number of reviews per chapter is starting to take a nose dive. I used to get around 20 or 30 per chapter, now I can barely break 10, and yet stories like Clash of Civilizations and the Last Spartan get 50 per chapter even now. I'm just wondering, how come people aren't reviewing as much anymore? Am I doing something wrong? Is my writing just crappy? Jeez, the downward review count is making me think that my story is just crap, even when I think about what I'm doing I just think badly about it and think about how lousy it is compared to what everyone else does and...Christ, my inferiority complex is royally kicking in again. If I'm doing something wrong, you need to tell me what I'm doing wrong so I can improve on it. So what am I doing wrong? Did I mess up? Or is my writing just not that good to begin with. Please, talk to me. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm whining, I've been a real wreck lately. I've started college and frankly I shouldn't be that upset, everything's been going rather well but I'm still depressed for reasons that I just can't pin down.

Also, this may be following the game a little, but I assure you that I'm throwing the rest of what happened on Noveria out of the window in the following chapters, heck they're not even going to Peak 7.


	31. Peak 7

Chapter 31

Peak 7

Author's Note: First of all, I want to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter. I'm going through a bit of a rough patch in my life and dear god that helped more than you know. A couple of people also mentioned that they were having a bit of a hard time keeping up with the massive amount of characters, and I can see where they're coming from on that, so I'm going to be having the main parties splitting up a lot and going in different directions so that in different sections I can have a tighter focus on them. I've been looking forward to Noveria for a long time because I'm going to use this chance to crank out some major character development. Some of them thought up on the spot, some of them I've been planning for months. Ok, moving on to peak 7. Also a quick explanation, I don't want to lead you on too much so...yeah the Rachni are going to be here, they're too important to not include in my book, but I changed the setting so that I could approach it in a completely different way and keep it fresh. I hope that you don't mind. Ok, let's move on.

XXXXX

"You're trying my patience," a dark skinned Salarian said coldly. "I am a very busy man and in the time that you've been here I could have been doing much more important things, so leave now before I call security." The Salarian was sitting behind a desk in Port Hanshan, Garrus, Norman and John standing in front of him.

"That would be a mistake Anoleis," Garrus said dryly. "We're here because we want to avoid violence. Call the guards and...well let's just say you'll be forcing our hand."

Anoleis' eyes narrowed. "Is that a threat?"

"Yes, it is," Norman hissed, cracking his knuckles. "Is there a problem with that?"

"As a matter of fact there is. I'd suggest you rethink that statement if you want to leave this planet alive."

"Norman, relax, we've got the situation under control," John said. "Listen Anoleis, take my word for it. You're really going to want to make this easier on yourself. The Council and the Coalition are doing everything that they can to hunt down Saren and put his head on a pike."

"And if you don't stop protecting him, I'll personally rip your own head off and put it on a pike," Norman hissed. "You're starting to piss me off. You're protecting a mass murderer, and you're doing it for fucking money. Are you really that broke that the money you're getting from him is all that's keeping your head above water?"

"My income is none of your concern. However, if you really must know, letting unchecked agents into the labs that are being rented out by my clients is bad for business. I estimate a 32% drop in profits by the end of the month. Noveria is only in business because it offers complete and total privacy and security. If I let one person into one lab, my investors will think that the same thing could happen to them and they will vacate the planet."

"And if a couple hundred thousand people die because of it so what right?" Norman hissed, smashing his fist on the desk. "I can't even describe how much I want to start breaking your fingers right now. Saren is more than a threat to the Coalition, you think a man with a fleet of Geth will just get bored and go away when he's done with us? He'll move on to the Council after that. As soon as they do something that he doesn't like, he'll start smashing up Asari colonies, Turian colonies SALARIAN colonies for the love of God. Your people could be next...but you don't give a fuck do you? As long as your pockets get lined, you don't care how many bodies you have to step over do you?" He glared at Anoleis, his hands tightening into fists. "I wish I could tell you how much I loathe people like you."

"Oh? And tell me, does your hatred justify your invasion of my personal privacy?"

Norman let out a harsh laugh. "Oh this is real good, you're just like that Eclipse bitch. You somehow got it into your head that you have the high ground, when you're the one aiding and abetting a war criminal. Is it some kind of disorder that scumbags like you develop when you decide that your needs are more important that everyone else's?"

"Norman, I'll tell you what," John said, an idea forming inside his mind. "If he doesn't start cooperating in the next thirty seconds, you can do whatever you want with him, my authority as a Council Spectre will cover you." He glanced at Garrus. "That's how it works right." The Turian nodded, grinning slightly.

"Oh, music to my ears," Norman said, drawing one of his pistols. "You heard him. I'd let us up to Peak 7 unless you want a couple of extra holes in you by the end of the day."

Anoleis glared at Norman, activating his omni-tool and pressing a signal button. "A dozen of my personal guards are on their way right now. They're be here in thirty seconds. They will escort you back to the hanger where your shuttle will take you back to your ship. If you attempt to resist them in any way, they will shoot you. Your little search is over."

"I'll work fast then," Norman growled, leaning over the desk and leveling the pistol right between Anoleis' eyes. "Now then, I'm going to count down from five. If I don't get what I want by then, I'm going to repaint these walls with your brain." Anoleis said nothing. "Five...four...three...two-"

"That won't be necessary." Norman, Garrus and John turned around to see Matriarch Benezia approaching him, her two commandos on either side of her. "Anoleis' guards are all unconscious. It only took a couple of biotic attacks. They'll wake up soon."

"What are you doing here?" Anoleis demanded. As an answer, Benezia threw an OSD at the Salarian, using her biotics to make it land squarely on the table in front of him. Anoleis started at it for a second before taking it and plugging it into his terminal, reading as text filled the screen. His face paled as he realized exactly what he was reading.

"If that information were to ever reach your superiors, it would be the end of your career," Benezia said coldly. "And I'll be more than willing to give it to them and watch with a smile on my face as you're dragged off to prison, where you belong. However, I have more important things to do right now, so I'll make you a deal. Pull out your guards and let us travel to Peak 7 and leave without getting in our way and I'll let you keep that information. However, do anything to try and stop us, and I'll make sure that everyone in the cluster knows that you've been taking dirty money. How long do you think that you'll last?"

Anoleis started disbelievingly at his terminal. Slowly, he reached forward and typed out a message. "They'll let you through now," he said quietly.

"Good," Benezia said, "the others are already heading for the garage. Let's go." The three of them looked at Anoleis before following Benezia and her commandos out of the room.

"I thought that they plan was that we pressure him into cooperation," John said, looking at Benezia.

"I...yes. Well, your sister beleived that time was of the essance and worked at the problem from a different angle, just in case you could not get it done in time."

"Oh...fair enough."

"So what? We're just going to let that son of a bitch walk? After everything that he did?" Norman hissed.

"Most certainly now," Benezia said, her voice dark. "I sent a copy of the data to an agent that was specifically send here to check up on Anoleis' activities, making sure that he wasn't doing anything that he wasn't supposed to. What's more I also convinced a local businessman to testify against him. They both agreed to wait a couple of days before moving in so that we could get to Peak 7 and take care of business. After all, we don't want any loyalists that he might have get in our way."

"Good," Norman growled.

"Norman, quick question," Garrus said, looking at the Roughneck. "You looked like you were actually going to shook him back there. I thought that we agreed that we were just supposed to be intimidating him."

"We had to do whatever was necessary. If that means putting a bullet in his head and forging a message on his computer to get his guards to stand down, I have no problem with doing that. Besides, I wouldn't shed a tear over him dying. I might actually enjoy it a little bit."

"You would...enjoy a man being killed?"

"Why shouldn't I enjoy killing him? He more or less said that he didn't care how many people died so long as he earned millions of credits that he didn't need. Should I feel saddened by his death and go into mourning after I kill him?" Garrus looked at Norman with pure horror. "Why are you looking at me like that?" the Roughneck said, his voice dangerously low. "Don't you dare judge me. Saren was a Spectre just like you, it's you not keeping him under control that caused this mess. The same with not keeping your corporations regulated and enforcing your laws. We're being forced to commit blackmail because of what a member of your government did. So don't you fucking dare judge me Vakarian, you've done far worst than I have."

Garrus simply stared at Norman before shaking his head slightly, walking forward and away from him. "Norman, that's enough," John said. "We're all in this together. Garrus is just trying to help us catch Saren, he wants him caught just as much as the rest of us. What you said back there is true, he's a threat to everyone. Pointing fingers isn't going to help anyone right now, so give it a rest."

"Yes sir," Norman growled through gritted teeth. Garrus glanced back over his shoulder at the Human before continuing to walk forward.

He felt deeply disturbed by what he had heard. 'And another thing, isn't his last name Hawkins?' Garrus thought. 'Now that I think about it I'm pretty sure I've heard that name somewhere before. I think it was...damn it, where did I hear that name before? Oh forget it, I'll do some research after this mission. Certainly can't ask him now can I?'

XXXXX

"These things are kinda cramped compared to a Rhino," Jane said, her team approaching a truck in the Port Hanshan garrage, looking into the rear section. Her team was right behind her, poking their heads into it. "We should be able to fit into it though."

"May I ask if you have room for one more?" Jane looked away from the truck to see Fawkes approaching her.

"Fawkes? How come you need to come with us? Isn't everyone else getting into the other trucks?"

"Yes but..." Fawkes rubbed the back of his neck, seeming slightly embarrassed. "There is...not enough room for me in the other trucks, and this one seems to be the biggest."

"Ah...I see. Sure, no problem, hop in." Fawkes nodded as he climbed into the back of the truck, Volker, Tali, Jenkins, Wrex and Sheryl climbing in behind him and sitting down. "It looks like the rest of the team and Benezia are already in the other trucks," Jane remarked, glancing at the trucks on the other side of the garage. "We'll be heading out now then. It's around a half hour drive to Peak 7, but that's on a clear day. I'm not sure how long it's going to take in this blizzard, so you may want to get comfortable. I'll drive." She pressed a button, causing the door to slide shut. There was a brief pause as she walked around to the front of the car before the engine roared to life and everyone felt the truck move.

"Well, this is going to be a long wait," Wrex grumbled, leaning back in his seat.

"A little break from the fighting doesn't sound too bad to me," Volker pointed out.

"Sure, it would sound nice. If you're boring."

Volker frowned slightly, but before he could talk, he felt someone's elbow, nudge him gently. "Ignore him," Sheryl said, as Volker looked at him. "He's not trying to be insulting or pick a fight. Getting angry won't accomplish anything here."

"How do you know that?" Volker ask. He didn't sound skeptical, if anything he sounded curious.

"I've been around enough people to know when they've got real hatred behind what they're saying and when they're just taking a jab at you. Ever since I was a child, I've always been insulted and ridiculed for my skin color by everyone in my village. I know what hatred looks and sounds like. Trust me, he doesn't hate you, he's just teasing you."

"That's...that's rather impressive," Volker said.

"I won't lie, it is a rather useful trait to have, espically for a hunter like myself, but I would rather have not gone through the unhappychildhood that I had to endure in order to obtain it. I became a soldier just to get away from my primative village and hoping that I would meet someone who would treat me like an equal." She smiled slightly under her wrappings. "So far...it hasn't gone that badly."

"You willingly joined the military?" Volker asked, "I wish I had had that choice."

Sheryl blinked as she looked at him. "I heard from the Captain that you are on the Normandy of your own free will."

"Well, I haven't become an official Coalition soldier yet. I'm still not sure if I want to make that move, and I was more talking about the Wehrmacht."

"I heard about that. It's rather hard to believe that you were born around the same time as Wrex."

"Oh, his kind is like the Asari in that they can live that long?" Volker asked, looking at the Krogan, who had taken out his shotgun and was preforming maintenance on it. "It's fitting I suppose, he does look rather old. Yes, it's hard for me to believe too. So much has changed, technology is so much more advanced, and the country that I fought for has been reduced to an entry in history. It's...it's very depressing I won't lie."

"There is some comfort," Sheryl said, "you're not alone. The Captain seems very concerned about your wellbeing and you seem to be making fast friends with Tali. You're surrounded by people that want to help you adjust and make your life in this time peroid comfortable. In many ways you are fortunate."

"I guess...thanks," Volker said softly. "Hey...Tali and I have thing where we watch mov-I mean vids. Is there any chance that you would like to join us?"

"I-what?" Sheryl said, her face darkening slightly under her wrappings. "You...nononono, I wouldn't want to intrude. It's a private thing between the two of you, I don't want to invade your privacy. Besides, I'd probably just make things awkward for the two of you."

"Oh come on," Tali said, looking at Sheryl from the opposite side of the truck. "We're just watching some vids, it's not like we're on a date or anything. I can make room for one more, frankly in my quarters I have more room than I'm used to having alone, one more person isn't going to be too much of a problem."

"I...oh I don't know," Sheryl said, looking back and forth from Volker and Tali with a worried look in her eyes. "I'd just be a burden on you two, I'd get in the way of you having a good time. Trust me, you're better off without me getting in your-"

"Oh come on, you give me that little speech about hatred and you're telling me that you're uncomfortable just relaxing with the two of us?" Volker said. "Come on Sheryl, we're not asking you to cut your arm off here, we just want you to spend a little bit of time with us."

"I...oh all right," she said, ducking her head slightly. "But don't say that I didn't warn you."

"And don't say that I didn't tell you that you're getting all worked up over nothing," Tali retorted.

Fawkes chuckled slightly as he watched. "The hand of friendship being extended, truly a beatiful sight," he muttered, so softly that no one else could hear him.

"Uh...Mr. Fawkes?" Fawkes turned his head to face Jenkins, who was looking at him. He was twiddiling his thumbs, as if he was nervous. "So much has been going on ever since we started hunting down Saren I never got a chance to ask you but...is it true that you're the same Fawkes that traveled with the Lone Wanderer? And Charon too, did he know him?"

A slight smile spread across Fawkes' face. "Yes, I knew him. He was a very dear friend, and I owe him my life. That's why I have dedicated myself to the Coalition, the very civilization that he and the rest of the Founders built."

"The Founders?" Volker said, joining the conversation, "who are they?"

"Seven people that were major figures in Post-War nations and are attributed with laying the foundation for the Coalition," Fawkes explained. "The Lone Wander, the Courier, the Champion, the Holy One, the Liberator, the Defender and the Warrior."

"I've only ever heard a little bit about them," Sheryl remarked. "Growing up in an isolated tribe, you don't exactly hear a lot about what happened on the mainland."

"Uh...what was traveling with the Lone Wanderer like?" Jenkins asked. "I mean, I'm sorry if I'm going to far, but the guy is a freaking legend and-"

"I understand," Fawkes said, smiling slightly. "You're not the first person to ask me about him and I doubt that you will be the last. I know Ambassador Raul, and He tells me that he is often asked about his adventures with the Courier. The Lone Wanderer was the type of man that you don't forget, he made himself known. I first met him and Charon during the Brotherhood of Steel's war with the Enclave, and by then, he had already gotten adjusted to the wasteland and had come a long way since coming out of his vault. Charon ran into him much earlier and said that circumstance had forced him to come a long way in a short time."

"So he had stopped being green by the time that you met him?" Jenkins said.

"He had fought his way through a vault filled with my blood lust filled brothers, no small feat. He was oddly enough a rather shy man. He could escape disoriented from the main base of the Enclave without either of our help, yet he had trouble talking to Sarah Lyons on his own. I suspect that he had a crush on her, but I doubt that she returned his feelings."

"Another odd thing about him is that he was also rather determined. I would imagine most people in his shoes would want nothing more than to run back into the Vault that they stepped out of and seal the door. He couldn't return to his Vault, but I have a feeling that he didn't want to. He may have just left to find his father, but once he was out in the wasteland and helping the Brotherhood completing project purity, he seemed to make it his own personal mission in life to do whatever he could to help the people of the Capital Wasteland. Even after he was in a coma for two weeks, the day that he woke up he slapped his armor on and joined the rest of the Brotherhood in an assault on an Enclave stronghold."

"Then he met the Courier, and I think that changed something deep down inside of him, and for the better. He never quite looked at someone with the same admiration and respect that he looked at her...though I must say I find their marriage rather ironic. For years he could not so much as speak to a woman, not even a childhood friend of his, yet he talked to her about his most personal issues, despite that when they met, they spent hours trying to kill each other. Then again, that might have been a helping factor, many say that you know someone better after you have fought them."

"So someone tried to kill him...and then he married her..." Volker said slowly. "There were a couple of women in the Red Army, but I didn't exactly feel a great urge to propose to them. I felt more of an urge to run away as fast as I could because they were trying to kill me. They tended to be the more brutal ones now that I think about it."

"I does sound a little odd, I admit that, but their fight was more the result of a misunderstanding than anything else. Besides, they seemed to get along rather well despite everything that happened between them. And then they met the rest of the Founders...that was a rather interesting sight to see. So many different people from bizarre locations working together towards a common goal. It was odd but...at the same time it was comforting, to see them put aside their differences and fight alongside eachother as allies...as friends even. And I must say, while with people on the Normandy such as Norman and Roger tarnishing it slightly, the crew that has been gathered to stop Saren reminds me very much of the Founders. I am very excited to be part of such a diverse and skilled group again."

"I'm nothing special, seriously," Sheryl said softly, lowering her head as she blushed again. "I'm just a primitive tribal the Coalition took on because I wasn't that bad a shot."

"And I'm just the son of a farmer from Germany that got a gun shoved into my hand," Volker said.

"And I'm just-" Jenkins started, but Fawkes held up a hand before he could finish.

"Yes, I suppose that you are a rather bizarre combination, many of you coming from less than professional backgrounds, but I have lived a very long time, and I see potential in every last one of you, even in Norman and Roger. I see potential in this team." Fawkes face was permanently contorted into a scowl, but even now, the faintest glimpse of a smile could be seen underneath it. "I look forward to the day when it is fully utilized"

XXXXX

John narrowed his eyes as he stared forward through the windshield of the truck that he was driving. "Hey sis, I think I can see Peak 7 up ahead, but it's kind of hard to tell through this blizzard." He was driving at the head of a convey of three trucks, one driven by him, the other his sister and the third one of Benezia's commandos.

"It looks like it," Jane replied over the COM lines. "The garrage entrance should be right on the front. I'll send out an access code that should get the doors open."

"How come they need that? Why can't they just leave the door open?"

"The cold out on Noviera will kill you in minutes, even if you're wearing protective gear. The garages on this planet operate a lot like air locks, they're an isolated room that makes it so that the cold doesn't in."

"Why the Hell would anyone live on this place then?" John asked.

"Being in such a hostile place has benefits. For starters, you're less likely to run into people that are looking for you, that's probably why Saren hid whatever he's doing out here for example."

"Well I guess that makes sense, I...whoa." As he neared the facility, John realized that it was on top of a hill and streched out towards another hill. In-between, there was a massive ravine that John couldn't see the bottom of, the main portion of the facility floating over it, anchoring by the secionts on the hills.

"Why...why the Hell is it designed like this?" he asked.

"Peak 7 is specifically used by those that are using dangerous elements," Benezia's commando replied over the COM lines. "Should there be a contamination leak, the main section can be detached from the anchors, sending the lab down into the ravine below, which is at least two miles deep. It is highly unlikely that any being within the lab would survive the fall, and all hazardous materials would be safely isolated."

"Do you think that Saren went here because he was trying to weaponize something that he couldn't fully control?" Jane asked.

"It is a possibility," the commando answered, "and we may have to detach the lab in order to ensure that it does not bring any harm to the galaxy."

"If it comes to that, we'll do that, but right now this lab is the only lead that we have on Saren. We need to get into that lab and get some hard information about where he is and what he's planning. If we destroy that lab, we lose all of that, so unless we have no other option, we leave it intact, got it?"

"I have spoken with Matriarch Benezia on the matter, and she agrees with you. It will be a last resort."

"All right, sounds like a plan," John said as the trucks neared Peak 7, a very obvious opening in the side of the building. The three trucks drove through it and the doors slid shut behind them. There was a loud beeping noise and even through the truck, which was specifically designed to be insulated, John could feel the temperature rise a few degrees.

"Ok, it should be safe to get out now everyone," Jane said as John turned off the truck and the back doors on all of them slide open, the teams climbing out.

"I have to say, you make a pretty shitty vallet," a voice said as John opened the door to the truck. He glanced down and smiled as he saw Ashley standing there.

"Yes, well, there's some good news. While I was in Port Hanshan, a Hanar was selling stuff and I spotting something that you might like." Reaching under the seat, he grabbed a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag and handed it to Ashley, who took it, unwrapping it.

"Batarian ale?" she asked, looking down at it. "I love this stuff, say what you want about the Batarians the stuff they brew packs one Hell of a punch, but getting it out in Coalition space is freaking expensive."

"Yeah, well the Hanar in there gave me a pretty good deal for it. I won't have to saw off my leg for him for starters. Besides, I was thinking that after we clear out this lab and we're back on the ship we could have a couple of drinks. After all we haven't had a whole lot of alone time since Eden Prime."

"You know, you really can be sweet sometimes," Ashley said, "but now really isn't the time to be talking about this," she added, handing the bottle back to John. "We'll talk about it later, right now we've got a job to do."

"So, that's a no?" John asked, sounding slightly disappointed as he jumped down from the driver's seat.

A slight grin spread over Ashley's face. "I never said that, I just said that we've got more important things to take care of right now. Thanks for the thought though."

"No problem," John said, unholstering his laser rifle as the two of them began to walk forward. "Love you Ash."

Ashley fought back the urge to roll her eyes slightly as she replied, "love you too."

"All right," Jane said as everyone converged at the center of the garrage, looking at Benezia, "how do you want to do this?"

"Since there aren't guards waiting for us here, it's safe to assume that they don't know that we're here yet," she observed, looking around the garage. "But we can't count on it staying that way, and once they realize that we're here, there is a good chance that they'll start destroying any evidence that might lead us to Saren. Like you I came here in the hopes that I would be able to track him down, so it would be fore the best if we split up into teams so that we can cover more ground and helpfully find the evidence that we're looking for before it is destroyed."

'Well, it worked on Mothership Zeta, no reason it won't work here,' Jane muttered, "Ok, I suggest three teams. You take Liara and your two commandos along with Norman and Wrex. John, you take Ashley, Roger, Fawkes and Cornelia. I'll take Volker, Tali, Garrus, Jenkins and Sheryl."

"Fighting with a Matriarch?" Wrex asked, looking at Benezia. "This should be fun. I've been fighting mercenaries so long that I haven't seen someone who can control their biotics like a master."

"All right Williams," Roger said dryly, stretching his arms above his head. "I'll play nice if you play nice. Deal?" Ashley scowled at him, but nodded her head stiffly. "Perfect. Same goes with you muscles," he said looking at Fawkes.

"You did not have to worry, my cooperation was already-"

"Whatever, whatever," he said dismissively, walking away and towards the entrance to the main building.

"I swear to God, the second he gives me an excuse I'm smashing his head into a wall," Ashley growled," speaking so that only John could hear her."

"I don't doubt it," he said, playfully patting her on the back. "But he is kinda useful, we wouldn't be able to prove that Saren was behind the attack on Eden Prime without him. Give him some credit."

"I'll give him that and nothing more," she said. "He's still a complete asshole."

"Ok, everyone move up!" Jane called out, and everyone moved forward, drawing their weapons. "Here's the plan, we're looking for information on Saren, so secure any terminals that you can along with any other vital information. Kill anyone who posses a threat to you, but hold your fire if you don't there might be civilians caught in the crossfire. Also, it if turns out that Saren is experimenting with someone that turns out to be dangerous, get the Hell out of here and regroup back here. We're not here to be targets in whatever he's putting together, so find what we need, but don't be an idiot."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

The Founders: The founders are a group of seven people who all played a hand in developing the Post-War nations of Earth and then the Coalition. Below are entries describing each of the Founders in detail.

The Lone Wanderer: William Huber, also known as the Lone Wanderer, was a Paladin in the east coast Brotherhood of Steel and one of the founders of the Washington Confederacy. Huber spent his childhood in Vault 101, know known as City 101, and was unaware of the role that his father had played in attempting to supply the Capital Wasteland with clean water via Project Purity until an incident in the Vault forced him to flee, looking for his father. He eventually found his father, who was killed by the Enclave, but not before telling his son about the GECK.

Huber would travel to Vault 87, retrieving the GECK there and using it to complete his father's dream and finishing Project Purity. He then joined the Brotherhood of Steel and took part in the war against the Enclave, destroying their mobile carrier and scattering the survivors. He also served under the command of Sarah Lyons when she took command of the Brotherhood following her father's death and lead the Lyon'd Pride against Caesar's Legion when they attacked the then blossoming Confederacy. He also served in the Battle of Nashvile, where he fought for hours against the woman that would one day be his wife and helped establish contact with the NCR. Both he and her would go on to meet the rest of the Founders and help establish the Coalition.

The Courier: Christina Foley, also known as the Courier, was a woman who helped shape the fate of the New California Republic. Foley was a member of the Mojave Express, but was ambushed while delivering a package to New Vegas, robbed and shot in the head twice. Miraculously, she managed to recover with no brain damage, and set off to New Vegas, finding herself caught in a three way struggle between Caesar's Legion, the NCR and Mr. House, tipping the scales in the favor of the Republic by killing House and Caesar.

She became a massive figure in the NCR and continued to help them as they pursued the remnants of the Legion, despite technically being only a civilian. She took part in the Battle of Nashvile where she would meet her husband to be, despite fighting him to the point where both of them were too exhausted to move. She, like her husband, would meet the rest of the Founders and help create the Coalition.

The Champion: Princess Eleanor, also known as the Champion, was a member of the British royal family and the commander of the royal army at the time of the fourth World War. Eleanor directly defended the Royal British Empire when France attempted to invade it, sinking their ships and preventing them from ever setting foot on land. She then took the Royal Army and set sail for the European mainland, where she would meet forces from the Vatican and the Russian Union already at war with France. Britain's naval support proved to be invaluable in defeating the hostile nation.

She led the Royal Army to Paris, invading it at the same time as the Russian Union and the Vatican, storming the stronghold of the warlord who ruled the Post-War nation and killing him, along with the help of the Holy One and the Liberator. The three of them would help broker peace between the three nations as well as the other Post-War nations.

The Holy One: Alexander Richmond, also known as the Holy One, was a priest and a Left Hand Commando that played an important role in World War VI, possibly ensuring the survival of the Vatican. Richmond was a volunteer in one of the Vatican's northern refugee camps near Germany, when it was attacked by French forces. Half of the defenders and refuges at the camp were wiped out before they were pushed back.

Knowing that France would try and attack again and with the Vatican having a smaller military than them, emphasizing skill over numbers, the Holy One asked for a hundred Left Hand volunteers to invade France and fight its armies with guerrilla warfare. He killed many French soldiers in his campaign, but as he continued to fight, he discovered a massive French army retreating from a mass of soldiers in a formation around three functional tanks. The Holy One met the Liberator and the Russian Union on that day, and they would go on to Paris to meet the Royal British Empire and the Champion

The Liberator: Vera Baskov, also known as the Liberator, was a General in the Russian Union and one of the founding members of the nation. Russia was hit very hard in the Great War, all traces of the USSR government completely destroyed. Large portions of the USSR military survived the bombs though, and they took advantage of the situation, carving out personal empires for themselves that would last for centuries. This ended when Vera Baskov, then an ordinary civilian, sparked a revolution that would topple the oppressive rule of the Soviet military by single handily breaking through the bodyguards of a Soviet General and killing him with her bare hands.

After leading her people to victory and freedom, Vera turned down the chance to rule the newly formed Russian Union, preferring to head the military as a General. However, less than a decade after the nation's birth, a French invasion swept at the boarders of the country. Many expected Baskov to lead a devastating counterattack, but to the surprise of many, she hoarded enough rations to feed her army for six months and ordered them to dig in, preventing the French from moving any closer into Union territory, but making no efforts to repel them.

For months, the French soldiers mocked the entrenched Russians from afar, calling them cowards and weaklings. But as they continued to hold their position, the French where shocked when Baskov revealed the secret weapon that she had been waiting for, which devastated three quarters of the invading army and sent them running back to their home, the Russians hot on their tails. Before leaving to finish France, Baskov was quoted as saying, "the French never change. They're never ready for the Siberian Winter. All I had to do was be patient, and I would win this battle without firing a single shot."

The Defender: Toshiro Kago, also known as the Defender, was a ronin who many argue single handily created the Japanese Federation. Originally a samurai, his home providence was sacked by foreign raiders, who took advantage of the country's feudal state to attack it. Seeing the devastation that killed his lord and destroyed his home, Kago vowed to unite his country, to make it strong so that nothing of the sort would ever happen again.

He spent years traveling Japan, making deals, alliances, preforming blackmail and assassinations in his attempt to create a united Japan, forming a large following as he did. Eventually, he succeeded and created the Japanese Federation. After he finally succeeded in securing the safety of his country, he would head north to China, where he would meet the Chinese Alliance, and the Warrior.

The Warrior: The Warrior was a mysterious man without a name who is a major figure in founding the Chinese Alliance. Many modern historians consider China to be the country that suffered the worst devastation from the Great War, being on the receiving end of countless nuclear missiles from the United States. Anarcy ruled the country, citizens killing each other over food that wouldn't last them a day, order completely breaking down, and untold hundreds of thousands dying in days.

A small group of survivors sought refuge in the Forbidden City, finding it deserted and still intact. For many months, they were able to live there in solitude, until a massive band of bandits arrived to sack the city. Many of the survivors where preparing to flee when a cloaked man appeared and attacked the bandits, slaughtering them with ease and driving them away. The survivors tried to thank the man, but before they could reach him, he had disappeared.

Years went by and more and more survivors took refuge in the Forbidden City, forming a large community. While they formed their own armies and fortified the city from attack, the man, called the Warrior by the locals, continued to appear and help in their time of need. In time, the people of the Forbidden city began to spread out, finding other cities like theirs that had been fortified by survivors. Eventually, these cities would become the Chinese Alliance, the Warrior defending them from the darkness. The only one the Warrior ever spoke to, was the Defender when his envoy from Japan arrived. He would later appear to and speak with the rest of the Founders, but even they knew little about him.

XXXXX

Author's Note: I hope that the abnormally large Codex Entry is considered enjoyable by you guys and not annoying. Once again, thanks for the kick in the ass you gave me/ the motivational boost you gave me last chapter (it was a bit of both really) I seriously needed it. Now that the first week of college has gone by and the second one has started, I think I'm managing to adjust, it's not quite as bad as I was expecting (not letting my guard down though, there's going to be quite a few papers coming up in the future) but I think I'll manage. Besides, because of college I've got a shiny new laptop to write my stories on, and on Monday and Friday I've got a 3 hour free period in-between classes to write, and on Tuesday and Thursday, classes are over by 11. So...yeah, I've got plenty of time to keep writing, provided my workload doesn't pile up too much. Also, I swear I'll get around to updating Guardian in the Dark soon.


	32. Revived Threat

Chapter 32

Revived Threat

Author's Note: Glad to see that the last chapter managed to get around 15 reviews. I think I'll be more than happy with around that amount (sorry sorry, I have a bit of an ego). Well in the meantime let's get going.

XXXXX

"This is unnerving," Ashley muttered as the three groups made their way deeper into Peak 7. Much to to their surprise, they had yet to meet any resistance, or even find a trace that the lab had been inhabited any time recently.

"It could be an ambush," Garrus remarked.

"Somehow I don't think so," Jane muttered. "It doesn't seem practical for Saren and his men to let us this far into the base if it's just to set up an ambush. If they knew that we were coming, it would've made more sense for them to hit us the second that we got out of the trucks, while we were off guard and disorganized, or where we could have frozen to death, Hell, just opening the doors would've killed us within minutes."

"So, we're catching them completely off guard?" Garrus asked, looking at her.

"Normally I would say that but...something about this still seems off. Even if they didn't see us coming, they should've still had a couple of guards stationed towards the front of the lab, enough to at least see us coming in. Frankly, we should have found someone by now, at least a scientist. Something feels really wrong about this place."

"Didn't you say that the purpose of this place was to release hazardous material into a ravine if it was necessary?" Liara asked, looking at one of her mother's commandos.

The older Asari nodded. "That's right."

"Then...isn't it possible that this is all because of whatever they were experimenting on?" Liara asked.

"It is perfectly-" the commando began, but before she could finish, they had rounded a corner. Liara gasped and nearly everyone tensed, raising their weapons. Down the corridor in front of them, dozens of bodies lay in pools of blood. Many of them were wearing armor of some kind and had weapons lying next to them, but many seemed to only be wearing jumpsuits. However, what really caught the eyes of the teams was the other bodies that were lying among the piles of corpses. Massive insects with tenndrils coiled around their bodies, dozens of bullet holes leaking blood as they lay next to the mercenaries and the scientists.

"God," Volker whispered as they approached the bodies, many of the group stopping to check some of them. "What happened here?" He looked at one of the giant insects. "What are these things? Giant...bugs?"

"For once Volker, I'm just as lost as you are," Jane said, looking at the insects. "I've never seen anything like these things before."

"Looks at these turrets," Roger said, pointing at two turrets standing on tripods at the end of the hallway. "They're facing inward. I think that these people were trying to keep these bugs continued, or at least hold them off long enough to get evacuated." He looked down at the corpses. "That plan got royally fucked up though."

"Fair enough of an assessment," Jane said, "And it's safe to bet that these things were being experimenting on but that doesn't answer what they are. It-" she stopped as she heard a low, raspy cough. Turning, she saw a Salarian in the pile of bodies shift slightly. "We've got a survivor!" she shouted, running towards him. "It...it's Dolan Enten."

"They one that sent Eclipse after Liara?" Benezia asked, her voice thick with rage.

"The same," Jane said.

"Oh, is that so," Norman said, walking through the pile of bodies and crouching down in front of Dolan. "So, feel like sharing what these things are?"

"P-please," Dolan whispered, clutching at his chest, blood dripping out of a massive gash. "I...I need medi-gel. I-GAH!" He cried out in pain as Norman slammed his fist into the gapping wound.

"Well then, I'd talk fast if I were you," Norman growled. "What are these things? What's going on here?"

"We...we were trying to clone the Rachni," the Salaran wheezed.

"The Rachni?" Norman snarled, "they've been extinct for thousands of years."

"We...we found a derelict ship...it had an egg...a Queen. We hatched it...forced it to bread. Please, it's hard to stay...I need-"

"Talk first," Norman growled, "what's going on?"

"There was...a containment failure. The Rachni are...loose."

"How many?"

"Hundreds...maybe thousands. I'm just the businessman...I'm not in charge. A commando was leading the...the operation, she had others...with her. She took her men and the Geth back to the main storage area...she...she's trying to salvage this. Please...please I don't know anything-"

"Fine," Norman snapped, getting to his feet. "Give this piece of shit some medi-gel."

Benezia nodded at one of her commandos, who bent down on one knee and began to apply the gel to the Salarian's wounds. "A commando is leading them huh?"

"Matriarch, it sounds like-" the other commando started, but Benezia interupted her.

"It sounds like Alestia Iallis." She looked at the purple skinned commando. "That's what you were going to say, wasn't it Shiala?"

"Yes. She did specialize in infiltration, she spent years at a time undercover as a scientists. And she was the head of the traitors. It only makes sense that she would be here."

"Good," Benezia said, her voice dangerously low as her biotics flared. "The things she threatened to do to my daughter...I'll enjoy killing her more than I should." She looked back at her other commando. "Get him back to the trucks, I doubt that that's all that we can get out of him. Make sure he doesn't die though." The commando nodded as she got to her feet, putting the arm of the barely conscious Salarian over her shoulder. As she did though, she slipped a small chip out of his robe and tossed it at Jane as she headed back to the garage, supporting Dolan.

"What is it?" Benezia asked, looking at Jane.

"It's his omni-tool," she muttered, sliding it into a slot on her armor and activating it. She pressed a few buttons, causing a holographic map of Peak 7 to appear, floating in front of her. "Ok, if the Rachni really are here and there are hundreds of them, we don't have the manpower to take them out in a direct fight, we'll get overwhelmed."

"But we can't just leave them here either," Benezia pointed out. "Rachni can survive incredibly hostile environments, we don't know for certain if this cold will affect them at all. Also, they're intelligent, they might get to the garage and commander the trucks, and if they escape, people will die and that's if the Rachni don't manage to breed even further. Dolan did say that there was a Queen here after all."

"I agree," Jane said, "Rachni can fill up an entire planet within months, if that thing gets lose, it'll be genocide. That's probably what Saren was looking for. But we can't afford a direct assault...so we'll bury it." She pressed a button and one of the lower sections of the lab glowed. "These are the main anchors that keep the lab from falling into the ravine, we're going to have to release them."

"Are you sure that that'll do the trick?" Roger asked, sounding skeptical. "What if that thing is still alive at the bottom of the ravine?"

"I doubt that even a Rachni Queen will be able to survive the force generated by a two mile fall," Jane said. She looked closer at the map, frowning as she did. "There's a problem though...if this thing is correct, the controls for the anchors were damaged. We won't be able to release them from here, we're going to have to do that manually. And...it looks like you'll have to be inside the lab to do that."

"Oh great, who's the dumbass who came up with that idea?" Roger asked.

"Andrews, be quiet!" Jane snapped. "As I was saying, it looks like the original design was intended for the anchors to be released from the outside, but there's too much damage for us to do that now. However, the manual controls are still electronic, we can rig it and put it on a timer, giving us a good amount of time to get out of the lab before it releases."

"We can't forget why we came here though, if we don't get a lead on Saren, we're lost," John pointed out.

"The main lab would probably be the best place to look for information," Jane said, typing into the omni-tool again, causing a room near the top to glow. "There it is."

"And my renegade commando, Alestia Iallis, she needs to be dealt with too," Benezia pointed out.

"Won't she just be killed when the lab falls into the ravine?" Sheryl asked.

"Not necessarily," Benezia replied. "There's going to be ten minutes where she can escape, and there's another anchor on the other side that will remain stable when the lab falls. To make matters worse, that anchor is where the shuttle hanger is," she added, pointing at the holographic map.

"I thought that the blizzard was too dangerous for flying in," Cornelia said.

"It is, but it won't last forever. Eventually the storm will die down and the shuttles will be able to take off. If she can get to there before the lab falls, she can wait there until she can take off and jump to FTL. We'll never get another chance to catch her. Also, if we can't find any leads in the labs on Saren, we might be able to get some information out of her. Besides," she growled, cracking her knuckles as her biotics flared around her, "I still have some cleaning up to do in my followers."

"Dolan said that she was heading to the main storage area, that's here," Jane said, pressing another button and causing a room towards the far end of the lab to glow. "It looks like splitting up is the best choice. One team can head towards the lab and get whatever data that they can find there, one can head towards the main storage area and take care of the enemy commander, capturing her if possible, killing her if necessary. At the very least, get her omni-tool. And the third team can head down to the main anchor and set the lab to fall into the ravine."

"I imagine things would get rather complicated if we set the lab to fall while everyone else was still working on their objectives," Tali pointed out.

"I know. The team that goes down to take the anchor will most likely have to hold position there until the rest of us have gotten everything else done. With the Rachni crawling throughout this lab it'll probably be the most dangerous job out of the three."

"I can handle it," John remarked, looking around at the rest of his team, what about the rest of you?"

"I few bugs aren't going to slow me down," Ashley said, smirking slightly, the rest of his team nodding in unison, even Roger.

"We've got this one Jane," John said, looking back at his sister.

"And I take it that you'll want to head to take care of the commander?"

"I would highly appreciate it," the Asari replied.

"Very well, my team will take the lab." She turned to look at John. "This is a very delicate situation, while we are trying to track down Saren, making sure the Rachni don't pose a threat to the galaxy takes priority. If it looks like we're about to be overwhelmed and we haven't accomplished all of our objectives yet, release the anchors and tell everyone to run for it."

"But-" John started, but Jane interrupted him.

"I know, I don't want to let Saren get away either, but frankly, the Rachni are just as much of a threat as the Geth, especially if they can breed, and right now we need to deal with them."

"I...fine," John grumbled.

"We'll just have to make sure that it doesn't come to that," Ashley whispered into John's ear. A small smile spread across his face.

"Good," Jane said, typing into her omni-tool again. "I've sent you a copy of the map, we should each start moving out now. Good luck." The three teams slowly moved forward, weapons at the ready, branching off as they began to head to their various destinations.

XXXXX

"RIGHT!" an Asari shouted. She and two Geth raised their rifles and opened fire and three Rachni that had just rounded the corner. Bullet after bullet slammed into them, causing two of them to fall to the ground, the the third out continued to charge at the Asari and the Geth, letting out a loud screeched as it did. The Asari grit her teeth in rage as she aimed at the center of the insect's mass and pulled down on the trigger to her rifle. A stream of bullets flew from her rifle and into the Rachni, countless gaping wounds appearing in the Rachni as it continued to charge, growing slower and slower until finally falling dead to the ground, no more than five feet away from her.

"Fuck, these things can take a lot of punishment," the Asari swore.

"Iallis!" the Asari looked over her shoulder and saw two more commandos approaching her, a group of Krogan mercenaries right behind them. They were standing in the middle of a long hallway, a doorway in-between them. "The other end of the hallway is clear for now, but the Rachni will be back. Ma'am, I don't think that we can hold them off for much longer, maybe we should try and move the Queen instead of holding this position."

"Move the Queen?...impossible in our current state," Iallis said dismissively. "We lack heavy machinery required to move it, it was all destroyed in the attack, and even if we did have some, the Rachni soldiers have gone completely feral. I doubt that they would hesitate to kill their own mother, and she's too much of a giant target to move through cramped corridors. We need to clear out the lab or hold out until reinforcements arrive. I've sent out an SOS to Saren, requesting that he send more Geth to reinforce our position. If we have to, we'll extract the Queen when they arrive."

"Ma'am...I'm not sure that we can hold out against these things much longer," the other Asari said. "They keep chipping away at us, every time they make a charge we lose a couple of our people, even now that we've dug in, and there's no end to them. Eventually we're going to be overrun. Maybe...maybe we should just consider abandoning the Queen."

"Abandon the Queen?" Iallis described, sound slightly angry.

"I know what you're thinking, but staying here is too dangerous and won't accomplish anything but-"

"Stabbing Benezia in the back was considering to be too dangerous, but we all decided to go through with it anyway. We abandoned her and the Republics because we all agreed that Saren was right and that the Council wouldn't do what needed to be done. We NEED the Rachni in order to accomplish our goal, if we abandon the Queen now, all of the research and resources that we've poured into this project will be for nothing."

"But we have the Geth, we have Sovereign!" the commando protested. "Saren was able to smash through a Coalition defensive fleet like it was nothing, why do we need the Rachni?"

"Because while Saren's forces are powerful, but they are limited," Iallis countered. "The Geth are many, but so are the Coalition, and the Coalition also uses Artificial Intelligence. They can mass produce machines to fight for them just like Saren can, and we can't rule out the chance that they might find a way to successfully hack Geth. We need the Rachni because we need every last asset that we can get in this war that we're waging, and the Rachni are an army that we need desperately. If you want to abandon this cause so easily, then fine. If you start running now, you might reach the shuttles before the Rachni tear you to shreds."

"But-"

"Go ahead, I won't stop you, someone under my command who doesn't want to fight is nothing more than a liability, so go if you don't want to be here. If you do want to follow through on the promises that you made when you helped me betray Benezia, then stay here and keep your mouth shut. Your call."

The commando opened her mouth before shutting it again, looking down at the ground in either fear or shame. "Good, now get back to your post." Iallis fought back the urge to sigh as the commando turned and went back to her station at the end of the hallway, the other commando and the Krogan going with her. "Damn it, everything is falling apart here," Iallis growled. "You two, keep guard here, let me know if anymore Rachni show up," she said to the two Geth, who silently nodded as she walked forward, entering the room that she had been defending.

It was mostly filled with metal crates, bits and pieces of research equipment sticking out of them, and more than a few corpses were lying on the floor, but what drew the eye was stationed at the back of the room. A giant cage made out of a transparent alloy was containing a massive insect that seemed to be sagging slightly.

"Everything's gone to Hell every since your little brats that you call kids went on a rampage," Iallis snarled, glaring at the massive insect, "you're nothing but trouble...what the Hell am I doing? Talking to a massive bug, what a waste of my-"

"You...tainted them." Iallis blinked, looking at the origin of the voice. One of the bodies, a commando that had been killed in the initial outbreak, was getting to its feet, looking at Iallis. "They never heard our song, and now they are forever lost." Iallis fought back the urge to shiver. There was something that was simply wrong about the Asari, her eyes weren't focused and the movements that her mouth made didn't match the words that she was saying. What was more, she jerked awkwardly and sporadically, as if her body was something alien that she wasn't used to.

"What the Hell is this?" Iallis growled, looking at the Asari before looking at the Queen. "It's you isn't it? How can you do this?"

"It is easy...our song fills her but...her song is flat...it is unnatural," the Queen said.

"What the Hell are you...wait a minute, what the Hell do I care? It's because of you that the damn Rachni are loose throughout the entire lab."

"You tore them from us...experimented on them...they will never know our song and now they are beyond saving. You...you did this to them."

"Cry me a river," Iallis snarled, drawing a pistol from her side and shooting the animated corpse in the head. She wasn't sure why, but as she did so a noise that was halfway between a screech and a wail filled the room, the corpse falling to the ground at the same time. "Pull anything like that again and I don't care how valuable you are. If you're a threat to us, I'll drown you in that acid."

She glared for a moment at the Queen, who didn't respond in any way, simply staring at her. "Goddess, how are we supposed to salvage this mess," Iallis growled.

"Ma'am?" Iallis turned around and saw the other Asari commando approaching him. "When we sent out our forces to form checkpoints and retreive whatever supplies that they could, you wanted them to report in every half an hour, correct?"

"Yes. Why, what has happened."

"The squad that was sent to secure the security control room has spotted something on camera...three trucks pulled into the garage of Peak 7 no more than five minutes ago. There are intruders in the base."

"What?! How many of them?"

"It was hard to tell, the camera was damaged when the Rachni got loose, but it appears to be a team of around a dozen soldiers. The majority of them appear to be Coalition, but...Ma'am, Matriarch Benezia was with them, along with two other commandos.

"Iallis' stomach went cold as these words reverberated in her ears. She had been more than willing to betray Benezia, but that had been when they had been threatening her daughter to ensure her cooperation. Now that the Eclipse mercenaries sent to abduct her had failed, there was nothing to stop Benezia from reaping her vengeance. And as a former servant of Benezia, Iallis knew exactly what the Matriarch was capable of.

"G-Goddess," she stuttered. "W-why is she with the Coalition?"

"I would imagine that she is cooperating with them in an attempt to track down and defeat Saren," the commando pointed out. "After all, the whole reason that we blackmailed her in the first place is because she was getting too close to discovering some of Saren's projects, and Saren made an enemy of the Coalition at Eden Prime. It only seems natural that they would pool their forces."

"Right..." Iallis said slowly. "This...this makes thing complicated for us, more than they already were. They'll kill the Queen without a second thought, and everything that we've been fighting for here will be destroyed. We can't afford them finding any intelligence either." She looked at the commando. "Contact the Geth that we sent out, tell them to move and intercept the intruders. Kill them, or at the very least hold them back, tell the rest of the commandos to get to the lab and make sure that everything there is either fried or wiped."

"What if the Geth aren't enough to take care of them?" the commando asked. "If these people are from the Normandy, then they're the same people who took out five Eclipse ships. A handful of Geth won' be able to stop them."

"What makes you so sure that this is the Normandy?" Iallis asked.

"Didn't you hear about the Council giving a Human honorary Spectre status? He was a part of the Normandy crew, they say that that ship is dedicated to hunting down Saren and by extension us."

Iallis bit her lip. The situation was getting worse and worse by the minute. She wasn't sure if she even believed the story about a Human getting the same status as the most elite of the Council, half convinced that it had only been a publicity stunt, but right now she couldn't afford to take any chances "We don't have a whole lot of options here. Tell the Geth to do whatever they can to stop then...wait a moment," Iallis said, realization covering her face. "I have an idea."

"What is it?"

"Tell the Geth to look out for Rachni. If they should happen to encounter a horde of them before the intruders reach them, attract the horde and lead them to the intruders." A smirk slide across Iallis' face. "If trained commandos like us are having trouble with the Rachni, imagine what they'll do to the Coalition."

"M-ma'am? You want to use the Rachni against the Coalition? You...you do know what these ferals do don't you? They completely tear people apart, like wild animals. I heard that in the war, the Rachni were much more tactical in their attacks, going for throats and vital organs. But these...monsters...they're nothing like that. Do...do you really want to release them on the-"

"Yes, I do," Iallis growled. "I don't see what the problem is, the whole point of coming here was to figure out how to weaponize the Rachni, this is doing the exact same thing, just a little cruder. Besides, like you said the Normandy crew isn't to be triffiled with. If we pull any punches with them, they will reach us and they will not hesitate to kill us, Benezia will not hesitate to kill us, and do you really want an enraged mother of a Matriarch using her biotics to rip the flesh from our bones?"

"I...no," the commando said softly.

"Me either. Now contact our forces and give them my orders." The commando nodded she she put her finger to her ear, walking away as she did. "Goddess, everything is coming apart at the seems. The experiments, our secrecy, and now my own ranks," Iallis hissed, glaring at the tank holding the Rachni Queen. "And I haven't even gotten a response from Saren about the reinforcements that he was supposed to send. He should have gotten it by now. What's taking him so long?"

As she thought aloud, a terrible thought occurred to her. Saren had to have known about the failed abduction of Liara and that they mercenaries were supposed to receive their payment on Noveria. She had no doubt that that was how the Coalition had found them here, but if she had figured that out, then by extension, so should have Saren. "And if he knew that they were coming...why didn't he send reinforcements? Did he...no...no he wouldn't do that. He's not like the Coalition." She shook her head, mentally telling herself to stop being paranoid. Sighing, she turned around and walked out of the door, her rifle at the ready. After all, the fight was long from over, and the Rachni would probably be back soon.

XXXXX

"This feels...very uncomfortable," Fawkes whispered as he and the rest of John's team slowly walked forward through the lower sections of Peak 7. "These hallways are too constricted, why was this place designed like this?"

"I know what you mean, but building settlements in environments like this is a lot like building it in space," Ashley said. "Getting materials all the way out here and putting together buildings is expensive, especially when the workers don't take standard fee when freezing to death is a very real problem. Making the hallways a little narrow saves quite a bit of money."

"It still makes me feel uncomfortable, especially now that the Rachni are here."

"Uncomfortable? Out of all the people here, who has muscles thicker than his head, hyper regeneration and a gatling laser?" Roger said, looking over his shoulder at Fawkes. "If the damn bugs pop up, you'll be able to mow them down by the hundreds."

"Don't you think that you're going a little overboard?" Cornelia remarked, looking over at Roger. "I mean seriously, was that really called for?"

"You're wasting your time trying to reason with this guy Cornelia, he's just being an asshole for the sake of being an asshole," Ashley said darkly.

"Fuck you too Williams," Roger swore.

"Seriously? Again? Do you two ever give it a rest?" John groaned, sounding both tired and frustrated. "Save it until after the mission." Both Roger and Ashley glared at each other, but said anything else.

"Personally I like Ash, but I wish that she would stop clashing with Roger like this," Cornelia whispered to Fawkes, falling into step with the Meta-Human. He nodded sternly. The group continued down the hallway, bunched together with their weapons at the ready. It was a very narrow passage, only wide enough for three people to fit through at the same time, two if one of those people was Fawkes.

"Well so far so good," Cornelia said, "this might actually turn out to be pretty easy."

"Call me crazy, but now that you've said that I get the feeling I'm going to have one less limb by the end of this," Roger said.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Just going out and saying things like 'everything's going to be all right,' while we're heading to someplace dangerous, like the bottom of a lab hanging over a two mile deep ravine, just...it rarely ends well. That and waving a picture around of your family back home and talking about your upcoming retirement. So how about we all try and refrain from doing that?"

"For once we agree on something," Ashley said.

"Ok, we should be getting close to...ohhhhhhh," John said, coming to a complete stop, the others doing the same thing. The hallway in front of them narrowed even more, stretching out in front of them, so thin that at the very most only one person could squeeze down it at a time. It stretched down for a fair distance before turning right, metal grates making up the ground. "This could be a bit of a problem."

"Damn, if people save money by using less metal, then they were really cutting corners here," Cornelia said, staring down the hallway.

"Actually it makes sense," Ashley said. "Up till this point, everything has still been part of the facility, but this tunnel probably just exists to allow someone to get to the controls to the anchors. And frankly if you're going to be running down this hallway, it's to make the whole lab fall down into the ravine, not really the thing you bring a party for. The architects probably weren't expecting it to be part of a war zone so they didn't design this place to accommodate to our needs."

"Big deal, everyone squeeze in and we go down there single file," Roger said.

"That...that probably wouldn't be a very good idea," John said. All of them turning to look at John, who was activating his omni-tool, brining up a map of Peak 7. "That tunnel is a dead end, it stops right at the controls, and it doesn't get any wider, even at the end. If we all go down there, and the Rachni come after us, we'll be in a bad situation. Only one of us will be able to get a clear shot off at them, everyone else will have to try and shoot around whoever's in front. We should try and come up with a different plan." He looked up from the map, only to find everyone looking at him. "What?"

"I don't think I've ever heard you analyze a situation and talk about how a certain approach would be bad before," Ashley pointed out.

"I'm not stupid Ash. I can tell when a plan is complete suicide. What we should do is send one person down there and the rest of us should dig in and make sure that the Rachni don't get down there."

"Huh, look at you," Ashley said, smiling slightly. "Guess you're a Commander for a reason," she said teasingly.

"So, who's going down there?" Cornelia asked. "You remember what Jane said, we have to wait for her and Matriarch Benezia to get their jobs done until we set this place to fall. We're going to be here for awhile."

"That place will be a meat grinder if anyone get's through," Ashley pointed out. "No where to run."

"Yeah well, this place isn't too much better," Roger replied. "Still a meat grinder, just a little more spacious. If anyone manages to get into that tunnel down there, it's going to be over corpses."

"Oh, I take it that you would like to go down there then," Ashley said.

"You..." Roger started, but trailed off as an interested look covered his face. "...You know what? Yeah, I would like to go down there." He turned to look at John. "Commander, I volunteer for this mission."

"That's...thoughtful of you Roger," John said, sounding rather surprised and a little off guard. "Would anyone else prefer to be the one to go down there?" John asked, looking around at the others. "It can be anyone to go down there. All they need to do is push a couple of buttons."

"Eh...not really," Cornelia said. "I'm good."

"I am uncomfortable enough in this tunnel," Fawkes added, "going down there would cause me to relive...rather unpleasant memories."

"You know what? I got no problem with it," Ashley said. "Really I can't see any downsides to this. What is he going to do, blow it up?"

"Great, I could use a little but of alone time," Roger said.

"Ok," John said, holding up the map of the facility again and pressing a button, causing it to be replaced with a readout. "My sister send me a message after she looked at this. The tunnel goes on for a little, the control station that we need to get to is right at the center, just underneath the rest of the lab. It's the manual control of the anchor after all, so it's directly wired into it. It'll take you around two minutes to get down there so you'll want to set the timer for fifteen minutes, that'll give us a good chunk of time for us to get out of here and you to get back down that tunnel."

"The terminal is pretty simple, just a panel and a timer. I'll send the password that Benezia manage to pull up to your omni-tool. Jane will probably contact you personally to give you the all clear, until then, don't do anything."

"All in all, don't be a retard," Roger said dryly. "Thanks, I think I could've figured that out by myself. All right then," he said, walking down the tunnel, holding his assault rifle in one hand. "See you in a couple of hours maybe," he shouted. 'This will be interesting,' he thought to himself, 'this way, this time they actually have to do their fucking jobs, unlike...unlike...focus.'

"What the Hell was that all about," Ashley asked, watching Roger as he walked away.

"I think he just wanted to get away from us," Cornelia said.

"It's a possibility," Fawkes said.

"Whatever it is, we'll figure it out later," John said. "We need to be ready for just about anything. Fawkes, you think that you can get up front?"

"I can do that," the Meta-Human growled, moving to the head of the group, facing away from the tunnel that Roger had gone down, aiming his gatling laser down the hallway.

"Cornelia, Ash, back here," he said, standing behind Fawkes with his laser rifle at the ready. The two women nodded and stood next to him, Cornelia drawing her SMG and short sword and Ashley her assault rifle. "Here's praying that this goes well," he said as they all aimed their weapons down the hallway.

XXXXX

Author's Note: I'm starting to realize how much I hate politics. Not matter what side you end up taking (at least in this country, I don't know much about politics in other countries so I'm going to keep my mouth shut about that) people are going to hate you for the stupidest reasons. You're a Democrat? "YOU HATE AMERICA! YOU'RE A COMMUNIST! YOU THINK PEOPLE SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO MAKE MORE MONEY THAN OTHER PEOPLE!" You're a Republican? "YOU'RE RACIST! YOU'RE SEXIST! YOU WANT TO TURN AMERICA INTO A THEOCRACY OR A FACIST STATE!"

Yes both parties have extremists that really do tend to show their worst aspects, but honestly those are the only two parties we can chose from when electing people, the Independent party just doesn't have enough people backing it up to get an Independent president, and I can count all of the Independent senators on my fingers. Like South Park said "odds are you're going to have to end up choosing between a giant douche and a turd sandwich" and that's what modern politics feels like, pick your poison. Pick what asshole you want to elect and pick what name you're going to get called. Frankly I just want to look up what politicians believe in come election day, find the one that's closest to me, vote for him and at all other times, completely ignore politics. It's just a massive headache generator.


	33. Blood Stained Snow

Chapter 33

Blood Stained Snow

Author's Note: Well College can be described with the simple phrase, "so far so good" at the moment, but I get the feeling that it's going to get a lot harder, so I don't think I should get too cocky. Until then, I am finding large free periods to write in, so there's that. So, let's keep moving.

XXXXX

"Matriarch," Norman said, as Benezia lead her team through Peak 7, heading for the main cargo area. "You said that the leader of the forces here used to serve under you? It would be helpful if you could tell us about her, so that we know what we're dealing with.

"A fair point," Benezia said, glancing over her shoulder. "Liara, do you remember Iallis?"

"Faintly," the archeologist said slowly, "she came around the manor every couple of years, but she never stayed for long. She didn't talk much either."

"She used to be one of our infiltration agents," Shiala explained. "Your mother would send her undercover in countless organizations to obtain information. Eclipse, slaver rings, the inner circles of other Matriarchs, anything that posed a threat to your mother."

"I also sent her to get information on Saren," Benezia said darkly. "I don't know when she became loyal to him, but it must have been before then. There's little doubt in my mind that she is the one that told Saren that I was looking into him, and by extension the one who lead my treacherous followers. It's why I'm planning on cleaning up. She knows too much about my secrets, how I run my organization. She's a threat to my people and she will never get another chance to threaten my daughter again."

"Taking down a person who posses a threat to your family and society...I can respect that," Norman said. "So what should we expect from her?"

"Iallis might specialize in infiltration but she's far from helpless in combat," Shiala said. "She had commando training just like me, she's skilled with firearms and biotics and can be deadly in a fight. If you get a chance to kill her, don't hesitate, she's the type of person that will take any opening in your defenses and snap your neck. She might also try to disguise herself as a civilian to get close enough to strike, she's down that more than once. So if we find a scientist cowering in a corner and I tell you to shoot, it's her."

"Sounds like a bit of a coward using tactics like that," Wrex grunted. "Still, I can't deny that they're pretty effective, especially with younger boys. Still completely gutless though."

"Yes, well when we get there, you'll have all the time in the world to tell her how much she sucks," Norman said. "It...hold on, what's this supposed to be?" They had come to a large metal door that was directly in front of them.

"Hold on a second," Benezia said, activating her omni-tool and bringing up the map of Peak 7 again. "It looks like it's the facility's mess hall. We're around halfway to the storage area. Keep your weapons at the ready just in case we have to deal with anyone in there." The rest of her team nodded, raising their guns. Benezia's biotics glowed brightly as she reached forward, opening the door in front of her. They moved in, aiming their weapons in different directions.

"Oh Goddess," Liara whispered, sound nauseated, "not again." There were around a dozen bodies in the mess hall, many of them lying at the base of a table in the center of the room, while a few were across the room, just short of the door, their arms reached out, as if they had died crawling. None of the bodies were Rachni, nor were they wearing armor. They were all scientists, and they had massive chunks of their body missing, looking like they had been bitten and ripped off.

"Son of a bitch," Norman swore, walking over to the table. It was laden with plates and glasses, all of them still filled with food and drink. "It looks like they were just sitting down for lunch when the Rachni showed up."

"Should we really be feeling sorry for them? I mean they were working in the lab where they were trying to breed the damn Rachni," Wrex pointed out. "If you ask me it sounds like they got what was coming to them."

"It's possible that Saren didn't tell them what he was doing here, or that they were assistants hired to work with whoever rented the lab," Shiala pointed out. "It's hard to tell. Whatever happened to them though, it's pretty clear that they weren't prepared for what happened to them. I'd be willing to bet that they didn't even know that the Rachni were coming."

"So, the Turian who wants to deal with the Coalition, but isn't afraid to throw his own men to the slaughter while doing so," Norman said, his voice thick with disgust. "It's beyond me why anyone would willingly side with him."

"What happened?" Liara asked, looking around, "how did everything end up like this? This whole situation with the Rachni, everything in this lab spiraling out of control. How did it all happen?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Norman asked, looking at Liara. "Saren found something that he thought that he could use as a weapon but it turned out to be too much for him to handle. Sounds pretty simple to me."

"But that doesn't make any sense, nothing about this makes any sense!" Liara practically shouted. "Saren was somehow able to gain the Geth as an ally, he has one of the most powerful warships ever seen under his command. If he was able to do that without any trouble, how come he tried to do the same with the Rachni and failed?"

"I...don't know," Norman admitted. "Maybe he got cocky after the Geth and bit off more than he could chew."

"Maybe," Shiala said softly, causing everyone to look at her, "maybe...Saren has access to technology that's far more advanced than anything that we've ever seen before, one that he apparently took from a Batarian who discovered it near Geth space. Whatever he did with that ship got the Geth on his side, and he probably used the same to try and add the Rachni to his ranks. But what if...what if he doesn't fully understand how to use that ship's technology."

"You clearly didn't see the records of what happened at Eden Prime," Norman said dryly, "that thing ripped through our defensive fleet like it was made of plywood. He knew how to use it just fine."

"She has a point," Benezia said. "Ships are not comprised solely of weapons, they have many complex systems working in tandem to allow itself to preform the many operations needed to operate, countless different types of technologies are incorporated into them. None of us are quite sure what Saren found on that ship, but whatever it was was apparently enough to make him confidence enough to launch an invasion of Coalition territory, so he must have found quite a bit. However, Shiala has a point, getting the Rachni on Saren's side should have been easy compared to the Geth, especially if he managed to get the Rachni isolated."

"So...Saren doesn't have complete mastery over that ship of his?" Wrex asked.

"No, it sounds like he's still trying to figure out how that technology it has works, either that or he's overestimating it's capabilities." Benezia looked at the others. "We need to move as fast as we can. If he really is playing with equipment that he doesn't know how to use, we might be able to use this as an advantage against him, catch him while he's still messing up."

"This all feels like it's a bit of a long shot," Norman said, sounding rather skeptical.

"We can't do much more than theorize at this point," Shiala said.

"It's rather pointless to do so I suppose, especially when we have a job to do. We need to-" Benezia began but was cut off as her COM unit began to beep. "Shepard?" she asked, putting her finger to her ear.

"Not exactly Matriarch," a cold female voice said, "I see you haven't changed your frequency yet. That's rather sloppy for a woman of your standards."

"Iallis," Benezia growled, her free hand tightening into a fist. "So you are here. I'm coming for you."

"I imagine that you are, after all I am the one who set the Eclipse mercenaries on your daughter. Just so you know Benezia, I meant every word that I said. If you hadn't kept your mouth shut, I would've down every last twisted and depraved thing that I could have thought of to her. Beaten her, whipped her, burned her, broken her legs and stood on them, cut off her fingers and toes one by one and sent them back to you, pull out her teeth, and of course I would have made that whore my little bitch."

Benezia snarled. "I'm already going to kill you for what you did Iallis, don't tempt me into dragging your death out. It will make things more miserable for both of us."

"Oh, how touching," Iallis said sarcastically. "The great and powerful Matriarch Benezia, bowing to no one, always taking things into her own hand, but secretly loves her daughter more than anything else. You're pathetic."

"Strong words for someone who's now a fugitive of the law, betraying her own people and government to side with a madman!" Benezia snapped. "You're nothing more than a traitor!"

"Traitor?! I'm the traitor? I'm not the one who has always been in support of the Coalition, even after everything that they've done. Practicing fields of science that were outlawed for good reason, attacking people that we were supposed to be protecting while doing nothing, and all the time you were supporting them, you led them to the Council, and you destroyed the only chance that we had at getting them under control."

"I really am disapointed in you Iallis," Benezia hissed. "I thought that you were one of my brightest commandos, but now I see that you're nothing more than a spoiled child, throwing a temper tantrum because things didn't turn out the way that you wanted them too."

"I'm doing what people aren't brave enough or intelligent enough to do, standing up agains the Coalition, while people like you sign our own death warrants! That's why I was more than happy to betray you, that's why I was more than happy to threaten your daughter, and that's why I would've been more than happy to pin her down beneath me and make her moan as I fuck her. And when I'm done with you, I'm going to take her and do exactly that, so let her know won't you?"

"I'm coming for you," Benezia hissed, deactivating her COM unit. Everyone in the room stared at Benezia, whose eyes were narrowed in rage and her hands clenched into fists.

"Mother?" Liara asked, walking forward, "is everything all right?"

Benezia glanced at Liara, the anger temporally being replaced with worry. For a second, she considered sending Liara back, where Iallis wasn't and where she would be safe. However, she quickly realized that that meant that she would either be on her own and in danger of being attacked by the Rachni, or they would have to split up the team and greatly diminish their man power. She bit her lip before saying, "Just...just stick close to Shiala and I, and be careful. Ok Little Wing?"

Liara nodded silently. "Matriarch," Shiala said, walking towards her. "I served with Iallis more than once, I know how she operates. Whatever she said to you, she's just trying to make you get angry, make it so that you get careless and screw up in battle."

"Oh, thank you for your concerns Shiala, but I am perfectly aware of the situation," Benezia growled. "I know that she was only trying to make me mad. Now I want to show her just how much she succeeded. Come on, we're not too far away from where we need to be." She turned and began walking towards the exit the others hesitating before following.

"I have to say T'Soni," Wrex said as the rest of them followed her. "You have one Hell of a mom."

Liara bushed slightly. "Thank you."

XXXXX

"Miranda?" Miranda looked away from the viewport in the Cerberus frigate that she was in, looking out at a space station with the Eclipse symbol painted on the side. Jacob had walked into the room. "We finished our sweep of the station. All armed personnel were killed and we managed to take a couple of prisoners as well as data mine computers onboard the station. Our contact was good, they never saw us coming."

"Good," Miranda said, looking out the viewport again. Several other Cerberus vessels were circling the station, and the debris of eight Eclipse ships that had been defending it floated around through space. "This station is one of Eclipse's main bases of operations," Miranda whispered, "and we just stormed it, killed all of the commanders on it, preformed massive espionage, and took prisoners, and Eclipse now has several thousand less personnel on its side. I'd say that today was a victory."

"Well, once we managed to take the control room of the station, all we had to do was open all of the airlocks," Jacob said. "That was a smart move by the way."

"It was basic. We were prepared for sudden decompression. They weren't. This will teach them, and the Galaxy what happens when you make an enemy of the Coalition. You also make an enemy of Cerberus."

"Yeah well...I also wanted to tell you that we have an incoming call from the Illusive Man."

"Oh? Just a moment," Miranda said. Lifting up her hand, she revealed a detonator in the flat of her palm, which she pressed. Explosions tore through the station in front of her, heat and force tearing away at the hull and sending chunks of metal flying through the airless vacuum of space. Within seconds, the massive station had been reduced to a cloud of rubble. "That should send a message," she said, tossing the detonator to the side and walking away from the viewport. "Get some rest Jacob, you must be tired. I'll take care of the Illusive Man."

Jacob nodded as Miranda walked out of the room, heading through the bowels of the Cerberus frigate, heading for the CIC of the ship. As she walked, she passed a dozen other Cerberus operatives in white armor hard at work, either checking the ships systems, examining cargo that had been seized from the station, or simply writing out reports. Eventually, she reached the CIC, stepping onto a circle in the middle of the floor, which glowed as a ring rose out of the floor and scanned her. As it did, a hologram of the Illusive Man appeared in front of her.

"Operative, Lawson, I trust that everything is going well?" he asked.

"Yes sir," she responded curtly. "The Eclipse station was destroyed, the majority of the personal onboard were killed as well. We also have several prisoners and captured data caches, hopefully they will lead us to further Eclipse positions."

"Good, I'm glad to see that you're on top of things, but that's not what I contacted you about."

Miranda blinked slightly, "it's not?"

"Yes. I have a new assignment for you. It involves the Geth."

"The Geth?" Miranda said, her eyes widening slightly. "What is it? Have they attacked another colony?"

"Not yet, but there have been several sightings of Geth ships near the Veil. It seems like every once in awhile, a scouting ship comes out of the Veil and then makes an FTL jump."

"I didn't know that we had scouts that far out."

"We don't. Our forces are too busy in our home territory and the Terminus Systems. This information came from the Migrant Fleet. Apparently the Quarians were rather shaken up by the return of the Geth and ever since they've been keeping an eye on the Veil. I've recently managed to make contact with them, and much like Matriarch Benezia, I've been pooling my resources with them."

"I'm not sure I understand what this has to do with me getting a new assignment. Besides, Eclipse attacked the Coalition, I should be taking care of them."

"Miranda, I have countless operatives that can handle Eclipse, I need you to take care of the Geth. They're an enigma, even the Quarians have limited information on them, and they're far more dangerous than a pack of thugs could ever be, especially with Saren leading them. As for what the connection is, I have little doubt that the Coalition and the Quarians are the best experts on synthetics in the galaxy, and the Geth need to be stopped. Therefore, I think that it is only logical that we should work towards a common goal, ensuring that they are no longer a threat to either of us. I want you to work with the Migrant Fleet on stopping the Geth threat. Do whatever you can, develop countermeasures, find weaknesses, figure out how they move, anything that you can do to help us fight them."

"Working with the Quarians," Miranda said wearily. "I'm not certain that that is a very good idea sir. We can't trust anyone that doesn't answer to the Coalition in some way, there's always a chance that they'll turn on us. How do we even know that their information is accurate? How did they get so close to the Veil without the Geth noticing them?"

"I suspect that they used the same designs that they gave us," the Illusive Man responded, taking a drag on the cigarette in his hand before letting out a puff. "It would make sense to have at least one ship with that design, even if it was only a prototype. Odds are they built it before selling the designs to us, just to make sure that they were giving us a product that worked. As for trusting the Quarians, I can understand your concerns on the matter, but our first and foremost goal is ensuring the security of the Coalition, and at the moment, accomplishing that goal requires the help of the Quarians."

"Can't our own scientists and engineers do this on their own? Do we really need the help of the Quarians?"

"Our personal have been working around the clock ever since the attack on Eden Prime, analyzing every last piece of Geth technology that we were able to recover from that planet. However, the progress that we've made is rather minimal, we simply don't have enough experience with the Geth. The Quarians do."

"I imagine they would," Miranda said, her voice slightly cold, "after all they built them in the first place." The implications that she was hinting at did not go unnoticed by the Illusive Man.

"Having grudges is very unprofessional Miranda," he said, stubbing out his cigarette into an ashtray. "It does little more than cloud the judgement of an otherwise levelheaded individual. I understand that it is natural to have them, but I am going to have to ask you to put them aside, you have a job to do."

"I...I understand sir, I apologize. What exactly will I be doing?"

"You will be taking a small group and a couple of ships to meet up with a splinter fleet of Quarian ships not that far away from the Veil. Once there, you will spend several days collaborating your resources before moving closer to the Veil and attempting to capture a Geth ship."

"Capture a Geth ship?"

"Yes. Geth computers have all their information deleted before we can infiltrate them, much like Geth they're almost impossible to hack. However, the Migrant Fleet has informed me that they've made a breakthrough when it came to cyber warfare against the Geth. They have yet to completely finalize their new technology though, but with the advanced technology of someone else who has a different angle on synthetic technology, we should be able to hit the Geth where it hurts. I want this theory tested, I want you to do whatever it is you can to combine our technology with the Quarians and use the result to cripple a Geth ship. Several of our finest scientists will be accompanying you, you will help them in whatever way that you can and making sure that they're safe, in addition to heading this operation."

"This seems awfully risky."

"I won't lie, it is, but fighting the Geth naturally comes with risk, they would not be such an intimidating foe otherwise. We need to develop better countermeasures against them and gain information on them, and this is a good way to kill two birds with one stone."

"Very well sir. Tell me what I need to do."

"I'm sending you an encrypted message with the coordinates of the rendezvous point where the Quarians have agreed to meet with us and what information they have given us. It also contains the team that I have assigned for you and which ships you are to take with you while the rest of our forces continue to deal with Eclipse. This looks to be a promising lead Miranda, don't let me down. You may have feelings about the Quarians, but they have the largest fleet in the galaxy. If this goes well, they will be more inclined to help us should we need it in the near future, and I have a bad feeling that Saren and the Geth are symbolic of something much more dire."

"Understood sir," she replied crisply as the hologram of the Illusive Man disappeared. "God," she whispered, spotting a nearby chair and sitting down in it. "First Benezia and now the entire Migrant Fleet? Is Saren that big of a threat that Cerberus isn't enough to handle it on its own?" She shook her head slightly before activating her omni-tool and bringing up the message that the Illusive Man had sent her.

"Huh...that's rather interesting. Two Admirals are going to be taking part in this little joint operation, Rael'Zorah and Shala'Raan. They didn't develop the technology though, Daro'Xen did." She paused, looking up from the datapad for a second. She couldn't help but feel that the name Zorah sounded slightly familiar. "Oh right, his daughter is on the Normandy," she said, remembering the file that she had read on the ship's crew in preparation for the mission involving Benezia's daughter. "Hopefully this means that they can be trusted...hopefully." She shook her head, deactivating her omni-tool as she did.

"Nothing seems to make sense anymore, the entire galaxy is being turned on it's head. Turians leading armies of Geth, Humans with honorary Spectre status, joint operations between Cerberus and aliens...a year ago so much of this would've sounded ludicrous, but now it's just accepted fact. So much has changed in so little, and all we can do is scramble about, trying to adjust and keep up with the changes. And if so much has already changed, what's going to happen before all of this is over...God I don't want to think about that."

XXXXX

"Keep moving forward, we're on the right track," Jane said, holding her plasma rifle out in front of her as she and the rest of her team continued down one of the hallways to Peak 7.

"Sis?" said a voice over the COM lines.

"What is it John?" she asked, putting her hand to her COM unit. "Are you in position?"

"Yeah, we decided that we could get bottlenecked if we all went down that tunnel, so we sent Roger in, the rest of us are standing guard at the entrance. Just give us the word and we can send this thing falling."

"Good to hear, keep me updated if your situation changes," Jane said, lowering her hand. "Well...they're in place," she said, glancing at her team over her shoulder. "We've got a giant Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads now."

"I vote we get this done as fast as possible," Jenkins said, sounding a little nervous. "I'd rather not get turned into a red smear on a rock."

"I don't think that anyone does," Sheryl said softly.

"Sheryl's right Jenkins, I don't think that there's a person in the world that goes on a mission without praying that he makes it home all right. So be careful all of you, don't break rank and concentrate your fire. If the history books are anything to go by, Rachni take a lot of fire before going down. Volker, I think it's time to break out that Theta pistol of yours."

"All right," he said nervously, holstering his SMG and drawing the Exulan weapon.

"You've been using it at the shooting range right?"

"Yeah, in reality it doesn't feel that different from a pistol when you're shooting it, but still it feels a little...weird, like it doesn't really belong in my hand."

"That's probably because Exulan's have less fingers than you, I imagine that you'll get used to it before long. I...hold up." Everyone came to a sudden halt as Jane stopped in her tracks. "Do you hear that?" she asked. Everyone strained their ears. A sound was coming from up ahead, a combination of gunfire and a high pitched scream.

Jane made a silent gesture, indicating for her team to move up. they slowly did so, making their way to the end of the hallway until they came to a large metal door. Jane stopped in front of the door and made another gesture to the team, indicating for them to get ready. Slowly, she opened the door, revealing what was on the other side, and aiming her weapon through.

On the other side, three Geth were firing their rifles at an oncoming swarm of Rachni, five other destroyed platforms lying at their feet. They didn't seem to react to the door opening behind him, they merely continued to fire at the Rachni as they reached the Geth. Within seconds, tendrils had flown forward and the Rachni tore the Geth apart. The continued to hack away at the Geth until they noticed the team in the doorway.

"FIRE!" Jane shouted, leveling a shot from her plasma rifle at the nearest Rachni, liquidizing it. The others followed suit, bullets flying through the doorway as the Rachni screeched and charged forward. "Move back, but keep shooting!" Jane shouted, slowly taking steps backward as they continued to fire. Dozens of bullets hit the front ranks of the Rachni, causing many of them to fall over. A ball of white energy also impacted on one of them, reducing it to dust.

"Garrus! Grenade!" Jane shouted. The Turian fired another burst from his rifle before reaching down to his belt and grabbing a grenade, pulling the pin out and throwing it into the throng of Rachni. The explosion tore through the ranks of the insects, ripping off the legs of several. They, however, did not seem mentally impeded by this, still screeching and crawling towards their opponents, despite many of them missing several legs.

"The Hell is this!?" Volker shouted, firing another blast at a Rachni that had gotten too close for comfort, disintegrating him. "How are they still coming?"

"That scientist said that they had gone feral!" Garrus shouted, pumping five bursts into another Rachni, "maybe pain doesn't bother them anymore!"

"Then just aim for vital areas!" Tali shouted, spotting a Rachni that was charging at her and blasting it directly in the face with her shotgun, causing it to fall limply to the side. "Don't bother shooting limbs or using grenades!"

"Understood," Sheryl hissed, holstering her pistol and unholstering her sniper rifle. Dropping down to one knee, she hastily lined up a shot and fired, the bullet tearing directly through the head of one of the Rachni.

"Keep up the fire, they're starting to thin out!" Jane shouted. Indeed they were, the Rachni continued to charge directly into the line of fire from the team, not caring that they were dying by the dozens. Only another couple dozen were left by this point. Jane fired two more blasts from her plasma rifle, killing two more of the Rachni, as the rest of her team continued to fire. Shot after shot was fired until, finally, all of the Rachni were dead.

"Oh...oh God," Volker whispered, looking at the pile of dead Rachni, his face slightly pale.

"Are you ok?" Tali asked, looking at him with concern.

"I...I think so. This brings back bad memories. The Red Army liked to order charges like this, they didn't care how many people they lost as long as they broke our lines. Seeing dozens if not hundreds of enemy soldiers charging you, not caring if they die or not...it's intimidating."

"This isn't like the Rachni," Garrus said, looking at the dead Rachni. "I studied the Rachni Wars, it was mandatory for all Hierarchy soldiers. They produced rapidly enough so that they soldiers could be used as cannon fodder on a regular basis if they wanted to, but here's the thing, they didn't. The Rachni were intelligent, they were clever, they used tactics like flanking, ambushing and decoys. Those tendrils? They did use them a lot, especially in close quarters, but they also used ranged weaponry, like guns. It's why they were so intimidating. These things though?" he said, pointing at the corpses. "They were just a pack of wild animals. They didn't care when they were getting slaughtered, and they just tried to keep killing us, even when their legs got blown off."

"What are you trying to say?" Jane asked. "That these things aren't Rachni?"

"No, they're Rachni all right," Garrus replied. "They look just like them. It's actually a little unnerving how close to resemblance is, they look like they popped right out of one of the pictures of the war, even if they don't have the combat gear. Whatever Saren and his lackeys did to them, they changed them."

"Changed them?" she said. "Changed them how?"

"I couldn't tell you," Garrus said. "I'm no biologist. All I know is that Saren either wants minions that die by the hundreds taking out a single squad, or that these things are all failed experiments. Considering how they killed a good chunk of his personnel, I'm more inclined to believe the latter. He's playing with fire."

"What is he planning?" Jenkins asked. "What? Is he just trying to build up his forces and launch an all out invasion of Coalition space?"

"I wouldn't put it past him, he certainly has a grudge against your kind for the First Contact War and your refusal to follow Council laws. He thinks that you're a threat, a lot of people do."

"No offense Garrus, but I'm not going to say that this whole mess is our fault, when all we did was refuse not to style our entire way of life off of the Council and actually forge our own path," Jane said, sounding slightly angry. "We lived our lives a certain way, he committed genocide, and somehow he thinks that he's in the right?"

"I'm not trying to say that this is your fault Shepard," Garrus said, raising a hand, "I'm just pointing out what Saren thinks, and he thinks that you're a threat that needs to be dealt with. It's almost kind of ironic, what he's doing is what every last Turian learns in boot camp, only fight when something becomes enough of a threat than it can't be ignored, and when you do, hold nothing back."

"Oh, well at least he's doing it professionally," Tali said dryly.

"We need to keep moving," Jane said, shaking her head slightly as she pulled the drained microfusion cell out of her rifle and replacing it, Volker pulled the spent cell out of his Theta energy pistol and reloading it too. "More Rachni could show up at any second, and the lab isn't that far away. Let's get in there, get whatever data that we can and then get out of there." She began to head forward, the rest of the team hesitating slightly before following after her, weapons at the ready.

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Cerberus Wet Work Fleet: In order to allow it to properly combat budding threats to the Coalition behind the scenes, a private fleet was commissioned and build for Cerberus to use. Separate from the main Coalition Fleet, the Cerberus fleet numbers at 50 starships, all of them frigates and cruisers, although there is an unconfirmed rumor that it also has a single dreadnought.

The Wet Work Fleet answers directly to the Illusive Man and is outside of the chain of command that the normal Coalition Navy is governed by. They commonly take part in black ops operations, the exact details of which are not known by the public. Much like Cerberus, the personal of the Wet Work Fleet were recruited from the regular Coalition military, seeking out talented individuals who noticeably stood out among their peers. The Wet Work Fleet is equipped with advanced communications arrays, interrogation cells, a data processing lab, and many other resources that will assist Cerberus in their goal.

XXXXX

WAR ASSETS UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

CERBERUS WET WORK FLEET 50: Numbering at 50 warships and crewed by skilled and talented personal, the Wet Work Fleet answers directly to the Illusive Man, and strikes against any and all that are deemed a threat of the Coalition.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Well, Halo 4 is two months away, and I'm a little nervous to be honest, but I'm willing to give 343 a try. Hell, I paid 80$ for Mass Effect 3, I'm pretty sure Halo 4 can't be more of a disappointment for that, even if I buy the Limited Edition (besides, 30$ of the extra 40$ is going to map packs), besides, this game is a first chapter, not a last one, and it'll have a multiplayer I'll probably enjoy playing for months, maybe even years.

People are a little divided over the new Halo game (but then again from what I hear, people are divided over every new Halo) saying things like, "oh the trilogy had a sound ending, they're just milking it now" (speaking of which, am I the only one who remembered the cliffhanger ending? That warranted a sequel in my book) and, "The Elites are loosing all of their character development and are becoming generic bad guys to be overshadowed by the Prometheans." A much more understandable complaint, but it's been stated that it's just a splinter faction and...well some minor spoilers have been leaked and I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say that the Storm Covenant, yeah that's what the faction is called, isn't there just to get their rears kicked by the Prometheans. If you want to know what the spoiler is, PM me and I'll tell you. Also Thel 'Vadam is heading a Human friendly faction of Elites, and they say that he's going to show up in Spartan Ops. Hell, they say that there is a good chance that there will be an Elite Ops. So yeah, there's a lot of complaints about Halo 4, but the game still looks worth giving a chance, to the point where I'm going to buy the Limited Edition. See you on Infinity Spartan.

P.S. Oh yeah you can't play as an Elite...does me not caring make me a bad person?

P.S.S. I recently got my own computer and I decided to download Steam. I picked up a game called FTL Faster Than Light (odd name) and it's a fun sprite based ship simulator. Simple, but fun. Check it out, it's not even ten bucks.


	34. A Mother's Wrath

Chapter 34

A Mother's Wrath

Author's Note: Well, there's not a whole lot to talk about here. I think it's time we finally let Matriarch Benezia finally let loose, in case the title didn't give it away.

XXXXX

"It should be right around the corner," Norman said, his pistols at the ready, the other drawing their own weapons too. "Let's do this."

"I don't think I like how this is going," Benezia said softly.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Can't you see it?" Wrex asked, "at the very most we're about sixty seconds away from where we're heading and we haven't run into anyone yet."

"He's right," Shiala said grimly. "They're probably going to try and ambush us. Keep your guard up, a well trained Asari Commando only needs one good shot to end a fight."

"Mother...what should we expect? Liara asked, looking at Benezia with concern.

The Matriarch softened at her daughter's expression. "Most likely only a few commandos, Iallis lost most of them after you were safely in Coalition custody. She'll probably have some hired help to make up for her low numbers and there's not doubt that we'll run into some Geth up here. My advice, pick off the enemies that pose the lowest threat early on, because when an Asari Commando is going all out on you, the last thing that you need is someone else shooting at you."

"We're coming up on it now," Norman said, holding both of his pistols out in front of him. The team rounding another corner, slowing their pace as they did. For a moment, they hesitated. The hallway was empty, save for a single door on the right. "Seems clear," Norman said, walking forward. "Maybe they decided to run for the shuttles."

"Maybe," Benezia whispered. She slowed to a stop, staring off blankly into space. Then, without warning, she thrust her palm upward, sending a blast of biotic energy up to the ceiling. It hit Iallis, who had been holding herself up by pressing her limbs against the sides of the wall. She let out a gasp as Benezia pulled her down, causing her to slam into the ground, knocking all of the air out of her. "Hello, Iallis," she said icily.

"NOW!" the commando gasped out. As she did, the door burst open and two Asari Commandos burst out, several Geth and Krogan in tow. Iallis attempted to get to her feet, but before she could, a biotic foot slammed into her stomach. She was sent flying across the hallway before smacking into the wall with a cry of pain.

"Shiala, take care of the others. She's mine," Benezia hissed, walking down the hallway towards Iallis, even as the hostile soldiers opened fire, a handful of bullets impacting on her barriers.

"Yes ma'am!" Shiala shouted, extending her hands in front of her and projecting a biotic barrier, absorbing the brunt of the bullets.

"Nice barrier!" Wrex shouted out, firing a blast from his Claymore, the pellets tearing through one of the forward Geth, shredding it.

"Compliments later!" she shouted, "I can't keep this up forever! Shoot!" Norman stepped out from behind the barrier, firing both of his pistols at one of the Krogan mercenaries. Several shots hit it in the chest, but the Krogan merely snarled and started firing at Norman. A few shots hit Norman's barriers before he fired another shot, this one hitting the Krogan directly between the eyes, killing him instantly.

Before the alien's body had even hit the ground, a Warp flew from one of the commandos, hitting Norman directly in the chest, shattering his barrier. "SHIT!" he shouted, diving behind the barrier that Shiala was projecting, narrowly avoiding a shot from the commando.

"Yeah, that's how the Asari fight," Wrex said, firing his Claymore and taking down another Geth.

"If you're done messing around, could you please kill them?" Shiala hissed, a hailstorm of bullets hitting the barrier in front of her, "this isn't as easy as it looks."

Liara whipped around the barrier, squeezing off a dozen shots at one of the Geth troopers, managing to down it. With flash reflexes, the other Asari Commando fired at her, draining her barriers within seconds, forcing her behind the massive barrier that Shiala was generating. "We're not going to get anywhere with those commandos shooting at us like that," she panted.

"Wrex go out on the right, Norman to the left," Shiala hissed, beads of sweet running down her face as he outstretched hands began to tremble. "Hit the commando on a right with a Warp, then shoot her before she can recover." Norman looked like he was about to object, but shut his mouth as both he and Wrex popped out on either side of her barrier, sending out balls of biotic energy as she had ordered them to. The barriers on the commando were drained from the overwhelming force, and as she raised her rifle to fire back, Wrex fired another blast from his Claymore, sending her limp body flying through the air.

The remaining commando hissed in anger and turned to face Wrex, firing her rifle, but as she did, Shiala dropped her barrier and drew her own rifle, firing on her. Liara and Norman also raised their pistols and opened fire on the commando. The combined assault proved to be too much for the Asari, and she fell to the ground, dead. "All right, the rest will be easy compared to those two!" Shiala shouted, "keep firing!"

While this was happening, Iallis scrambled to her feet as Benezia coldly strolled forwards her. She drew her assault rifle and aimed it at the Matriarch, but she idly flicked her hand and biotic energy enveloped the rifle and it was sent flying out of her hands. "Looking fine Benezia," Iallis hissed, her heart hammering as she did, "I thought your wardrobe always had a nice cleavage window, did you decide not to dress up like a whore in front of your daughter!?" As she spoke, she threw a punch at Benezia, biotic energy wrapped around her fist.

Benezia, however, neatly sidestepped it and returned the favor, slamming her own fist into Iallis' stomach, causing her to smack against the wall again. "Iallis, please," Benezia said coldly, "enough with the taunts, you're embarrassing yourself."

"Fuck you, bitch," Iallis swore throwing a Warp at Benezia, only for the Matriarch's barrier to block the attack, weakening only slightly.

"You really are acting like a rookie," Benezia said, disgust evident in her voice. "You think that if a tactic works once on one person, it's infallible. Taunting to make someone reckless? Maybe on a teenage Krogan, but I'm a one thousand year old Asari Matriarch, I never would have made it this far if I didn't know how to control my temper. Don't get me wrong, I'm still VERY angry!" she shouted, elbowing Iallis in the stomach as she charged her again, knocking the breath out of her and causing her to fall to the floor in pain.

""Goddess that felt good," Benezia remarked. "I really shouldn't enjoy this sort of thing...but then again you were the one insisting on acting as if you got off to the thought of torturing my daughter. I can't exactly feel guilty about hurting you in a fight. Now then, why don't you just surrender and make this easier on yourself. I imagine that you have a lot of information that will prove to be helpful to us."

Iallis glared at Benezia, realizing that she was outmatched. "Surrender...fuck you bitch," and without another word, she reached down and grabbed a pistol at her side and pressed it against the side of her head. Before Benezia could do anything, a loud bang filled the room, and Iallis' body fell the the ground, a massive gaping hole in her head.

Benezia watched, half with disgust half with anger as the body hit the floor. She let out an irritated sigh. "You'd rather kill yourself than face interrogation? Either you truly believe in Saren's cause or you are a fool. Most likely a little of both." Sighing again, she bent down and reached for Iallis' arm, pulling her omni-tool out of the armor. "Still at least she's dead and we have this. On the whole this is a victory."

Turning around, she walked back to where the others were, just in time to see them gun down the last Geth. "Ah, I see that you are finished hear. Well done."

"Thank you Ma'am," Shiala panted, resting her hands on her knees, "but you should know that your daughter handled herself very well. Quite a few of those kills are because of her."

"Really?" she said, looking at Liara and beaming ever so slightly. "I will be certain to keep that in mind for the future. But that will come later, now that Iallis and the last of my traitors have been dealt with, we should report in and-"

"Uh...Benezia," Norman said, looking through the door that Iallis' reinforcements had charged out of. "You might want to take a look at this."

"What is it?" she asked, walking forward and stopping in front of the door. "Oh...oh Goddess," she whispered, entering the room as she spoke, the others right behind her. There were in the main storage area, countless metal crates surrounding them, but one thing in particular caught their eyes. A massive see through container, with a giant insect the size of Fawkes.

"Is that the Queen?" Liara said, sounding slightly nervous.

"Looks like it," Shiala said, "what should we do with it?"

"That's a no brainer," Norman said, raising both of his pistols. Before he could fire off a single shot, he felt something bump into his back. Reflexively, he craned his neck to look at it. His eyes widened as he saw one of the Krogan that they had killed earlier limping by them, dragging its right foot, as if it had forgotten how to use it. "What the fuck?" he whispered, noticing that the Krogan's massive wounds were still bleeding and by all rights it shouldn't still be alive.

The Krogan continued to walk like it was being controlled by a poorly trained puppeteer before stopping in front of the Rachni Queen's case. "You...you are different from them," the Krogan said, it's mouth not matching the words that it was saying.

"It's talking to us?" Wrex said. "Don't remember hearing about the Queens doing that, and when I was a kid the Rachni War veterans never shut up about how they knew everything about the Queens."

"Different? What do you mean by that?" Shiala asked.

"The others...took the children away from us. They never heard our song...they are beyond saving now."

"That's why the Rachni went feral?" Norman said, looking at Benezia, "they took them away from their mother?"

"It sounds like it," Benezia said warily.

"It is...much like that time long ago, when a sour yellow note fouled our song. We could not control ourselves...we ordered the children to fight...they all perished. We lost them then too."

"Wait a minute," Liara said, "is she talking about the Rachni Wars? Did she just say that the Rachni were forced to fight?"

"Liara, it's cornered, it's trying to save it's life and it's spinning bullshit stories," Norman said.

"I'm going to have to go with him on this one," Wrex said, "just let me shoot it with my shotgun, one shot should do the trick."

"Wait," Benezia said, holding a hand up. Slowly, she walked forward, stopping in front of the glass, looking directly at the Rachni Queen. "What happened during the Rachni Wars?"

"We...we do not know," the Krogan responded, not turning to look at her, "the sour yellow note came...came from a strange device on our homeworld. Many of my mothers were contaminated...they...they killed those that weren't."

"She can't exactly prove that," Norman said.

"Actually, she can," Benezia said, "Rachni Queens have genetic memories." She looked directly at the massive insect. "I would like to enter your mind. If what you say is true, then...things will change vastly. It will affect what we do with you."

The Queen hesitated before replying. "If it ensures the safety of the future children...I will allow it."

"Thank you," Benezia said softly, reaching out and touching the container, one of the Queen's tendrils directly opposite her hand. "Embrace eternity," she said in a deep powerful voice, her eyes going black. Within seconds, Benezia found herself pulled into the mind of the Queen. Thousands of years worth of memories flew past her all at once as she focused on a particular set of memories, the Rachni wars.

She stiffened as the Queens thoughts filled her mind. She saw legions of the children moving forward, invading entire planets, slaughtering armies of Asari, Salarians that were trying to stop them. She gave the commands, ordering genocide after genocide. But at the same time she was not herself. She was restrained in a glass cell, watching herself ordering the children to their deaths. She screamed as loud as she could smashing against the cell but to no avail. Her strength slowly left her, her assaults growing weaker and weaker as she saw herself continuing to order the children to fight, even as tides of Krogan rose to meet them, beating them back, killing the other Queens. She lay motionless on the bottom of the cell, watching helplessly as her race died.

Benezia gasped deeply as she pulled her hand off of the container, stumbling backward and nearly falling over. "Goddess," she whispered, clutching her heart, feeling as if it was about to burst out of her chest."

"Mother!" Liara called out, running to where Benezia stood, "what is it?"

"She...she's telling the truth," Benezia said. "Something was controlling the Rachni Queens during the war it...Goddess, I can't even describe the feeling. It was a violation, having your own body turn against you."

"We...do not know what happened," the Krogan said, "but we harbor the races that fought us no grudge. They...lost many of their kind as well. If you release us...we will live in peace and isolation."

"I still think we should just kill her," Wrex said. "Maybe she found a way to trick you Benezia, Rachni are far older than either of us and they've got the combined memories of generations. They might have found a way. Besides, if she attacks again, my people aren't going to be around to stop them this time."

Benezia said nothing as she reached up and pressed a finger to her ear. Unbeknownst to any of them, a single damaged Geth lay in the corner of the room, recording everything that they had said and transmitting it.

XXXXX

"Ok, here we are," Jane said, her team streaming into the lab of Peak 7. It was filled with research equipment and several terminals, many of them humming gently. It was also completely deserted, but a few Rachni corpses were strewn across the floor.

"How come no one is here?" Volker asked, slowly looking around the room with his Theta energy pistol at the ready.

"Remember what that Salarian that we took prisoner said?" Jane replied. "The main enemy commander routed her forced to the cargo area to try and salvage this mess. They probably decided that the lab wasn't enough of a strategical position to bother keeping some soldiers here." She turned to look at Tali. "I'd rather not get rushed again by Rachni, so I'm going to need you to make this quick. Get everything that you can off of these computers."

"I'll do what I can," she said, hastily activating her omni-tool and heading towards the nearest terminal, typing furiously.

"Jenkins, Volker, Sheryl, I want you three to stand guard. If anything hostile comes down the hallway, don't hesitate to open fire."

The three nodded as they headed to the doorway, their weapons at the ready. "Well, I thought I was ready for anything after the Geth," Garrus sighed, looking at Jane. "And yet the second planet we stop on we end up fighting a race that was supposed to be dead. It was bad enough with the Geth, at least we knew that they still existed, but the Rachni were supposed to be history. Is this going to be a recurring thing with you people?"

"I certainly hope not," Jane said. "I'd rather just find Saren and put him in front of a firing squad with no more drama."

"You're not the only one," Garrus said. "And I get the feeling that a lot of other people want the same thing to happen too, even the Council. After all, they may not like the Coalition, but even they can't advocate what happened at Eden Prime without pissing a lot of people off."

"Here's hoping to that. A lot of people in the Coalition aren't happy with the Council right now. They were angry after the First Contact War, but Eden Prime makes it look petty by comparison. The body count was a least ten times bigger, it was premeditated, and it was with an army of synthetics that are mainly known for nearly wiping out another race. There's a lot of anti-Council feelings right now."

"Do you think that anything will come out of it?"

Jane shrugged. "I'm no politician, I couldn't tell you. I-" Jane was cut off as her COM unit beeped, Garrus' too. "Yes?" she said, pressing her finger to her ear, Garrus doing the same.

"Sis?" John said. "Benezia just contacted me and told me to get you and Garrus on the line, she said she had to tell us something."

"Captain," Benezia said, sounding out of breath, "agent Vakarian. I...I found the Rachni Queen."

"Really?" John said, sounding surprised.

"Good," Garrus said, "if you did you should probably kill it to make sure it doesn't-

"Vakarian...I can't do that," Benezia said.

"What!? Why not?" Garrus demanded.

"The Queen...it spoke to me. It said that it had been forced to attack the Council during the Rachni Wars. I even joined minds with her in order to confirm her story and...Captain she was telling the truth. Something on the Rachni home world brainwashed the Rachni and forced them to wage war on the rest of the galaxy. I saw it with my own mind. Her children are only attacking us because Saren's experiments turned them feral."

"I...are you sure about this?" Garrus said, his wides widening slightly in shock.

"I am certain. I touched her mind with my own. It is impossible for her to have fooled me. She promised that if we let her go, she will live in peace and isolation, she bears no ill will to any races of the galaxy. I believe that freeing her is the right decision, but seeing as how I represent only the Republics and not the Council or the Coalition, I didn't believe that it was my choice to make alone."

"I...I don't know," Jane said hesitantly.

"...it kind of sounds like we should let her go," John said.

"You were convinced rather quickly," Benezia remarked, sounding rather surprised.

"Well...you said that you looked into her mind and saw that she was telling the truth, she isn't a threat and the Rachni Wars weren't he fault. There really isn't a lot of room to argue."

"Still," Garrus said, biting his tongue, "this is a rather large decision to make, even as a Spectre...maybe...maybe we could try and contact the Council, or at least the Coalition."

"Somehow I doubt we'll have the time," Benezia said, "feral Rachni are still crawling through this base. We need to make a decision now."

"I...oh the Hell with it," Garrus swore. "I always hated red tape, I must be going insane if I honestly considered willingly throwing myself into that. You've got my backing Benezia."

"This...this is a big decision to make," Jane said hesitantly. "If I could contact Admiral Anderson this would go so much more smoothly."

"I know Shepard, but you need to make a call now. We can't stay here long and if we leave the Queen, she'll either get crushed by the fall or butchered by her own kids," Garrus said.

Jane bit her lip before taking a deep breath. "Very...very well Matriarch. You have my backing as well."

"Thank you," Benezia said softly. "First my daughter and then this? Goddess it's going to take awhile to pay you back." And with that, the line died.

"You made the right call sis," John said comfortingly before his COM line disconnected too.

"Christ," Jane said, looking around the lab. "I'm a soldier, I didn't sign up to decide the fate of the galaxy, I signed up to protect the Coalition that's it. Order my men, make sure they stay safe while getting the job done. Not make a call for the entire galaxy." She sighed. "I take it we can't just keep this a secret from the Council?"

"That would probably blow up in your face if they found out later down the road," Garrus replied.

"It's not the crime that kills you it's the coverup," Jane muttered, "unwritten law of politics. I suppose that you're right. This is going to be ugly, we royally overstepped the chain of command on this one. We weren't nearly qualified enough to make that decision."

"We did everything that we could," Garrus pointed out. "Benezia got some pretty hard evidence that we did the right thing, and a Matriarch, a Spectre and a Captain all agreed on the same decision. I'm nervous I won't lie, but I don't see how we could've handled that situation any better."

"I suppose you're right," Jane grumbled. "Still, this is going to hurt like Hell."

"Done!" Tali exclaimed, deactivating her omni-tool. "Most of it is encrypted, but I got everything in here."

"All right," Jane said, "we're done here."

"What was that all about?" Sheryl asked, looking at Jane. "I could only hear your side of the conversation."

"I'll explain back on the ship," Jane said, putting her finger to her ear. "I've got to tell everyone to get back to the garage. And to give the order to drop this place."

XXXXX

Roger let out a slight groan as he sat with his back to a terminal at the end of the narrow tunnel, the terminal being the anchor control. "Fuck this is boring," he swore. "Maybe I should've gone back up there and stood guard for the Rachni just to make something happen, it would've made these a Hell of a lot more fun and..." he trailed off as he noticed his cybernetic arm out of the corner of his eye.

'The fuck am I saying?' he wondered, reaching out and grasping it with his organic hand. 'That's asking for it...you remember that Mom and Dad were scared stiff last time. And Alice...she kept looking at me like she was going to start crying. Don't put your little sister through that again Roger, your parents either. They're pretty much the only ones that you can count on.'

He sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. 'Maybe I should think about throwing in the towel,' he thought. 'The military career had it's benefits, but they've all dried up. Alice's operation was paid for and I'm almost done paying off the medical bills for my cybernetics. I should probably head back to Moriea, Mom and Dad said that their door would always be open to me, and after everything that happened on Earth they wouldn't blame me for wanting to quit.'

'Yeah...yeah I think I'll do that. If I couldn't count on those cunts to cover my ass, I doubt I can count on anyone else, no point in sticking around playing Russian Roulette longer than I have to. When my term of service is over, I'll take my papers and walk. Dad worked in the mines for decades, he's still working there, and if he can do it, so can I...probably should see this to the end though, at the very least.'

Roger's hands tightened into fists as memories of Eden Prime filled his head. The screams of civilians as they were gunned down, the smell as fields filled with ripe crops were set on fire, piles and piles of bodies. 'Yeah, Moriea could be next, and I'm not letting that split jaw cocksucker hurt them. The least I could do is finish what I started back there and rip Saren's fucking head off. Then I bow and exit left. Heck, maybe if this ship does manage to track down Saren, maybe I can convince the Coalition to give me enough cash to move them off of that rock and somewhere nice, like Remus, Titan, maybe even Mars.'

A slight smile crossed his face. 'That...that'd be nice. No more having to worry about assholes getting me killed...just the ones trying to sleep with Alice.' His grin widened with a slightly mischievous look to it. 'Oh yeah, she's going to start dating soon. I can't afford to miss that, what's the world coming to when a guy can't give death glares to his little sister's boyfriend?'

"Roger," Jane's voice said over the COM lines, "are you there?"

"Yup, what is it?"

"Benezia has taken care of the enemy commander and my team managed to clear out the lab. We're done here."

Roger frowned. Jane's tone sounding a little odd, like she was depressed or maybe nervous. "The Hell is wrong? You sound like you just saw your dog get run over."

"Something...something happened with the Queen. Something none of us could have ever seen coming. It doesn't matter right now though, we're done here. Both teams are heading back to the garage. Set the lab to fall, fifteen minutes."

"Got it," Roger said, getting to his feet and lowering his hand. "Well Peak 7...you were boring as fuck and I'm kinda glad that I'm the one that gets to smash you on some rocks," he said, reaching out and punching in the code that John had sent him. As he did, a green holographic image of an Asari appeared to his right.

"Hello, this is the anchor control VI. You appear to be accessing the main release. Are you sure that you want to release the anchor?"

"Yeah I do," Roger said

"Are you certain? I must remind you that doing so will send the main lab plummeting into the depths below us, which is approximately 2.13 miles deep. Chance of survival if in the lab are estimated to be 0.0034%. Are you sure that-"

"I'm sure," Roger growled, typing into the panel again.

"You have set the timer for fifteen minutes. Are you sure that this is the time that you want to-"

"I'm sure!" Roger said, sounding rather agitated as he raised his voice before punching one last command.

"You have pressed the main command button. Doing this will set the timer off and once this is done, it cannot be reversed in order to prevent intelligent threats sabotaging it. Are you sure that you want to-"

"I"M FUCKING SURE!" Roger shouted.

"Very well," the VI said, "the countdown has now started. Peak 7's lab will be disconnected from the anchors in fitted minutes. Please evacuated to avoid certain death. Thanks you for choosing Noveria for your vital research projects. Thank you and have a nice day."

"Fuck's sake VIs are annoying," Roger swore turning and starting to head back down the hallway. He had only taken five steps when he heard something clang above him. Stopping he looked up at the origin of the noise, feeling rather puzzled. He squinted at the ceiling, but couldn't see anything. He was about to start walking forward again, when he saw something large shuffle through the grates on the ceiling. His stomach turned upside down as he realized exactly what he was looking at.

"FUCK!" he swore, drawing his assault rifle and aiming it at the ceiling, spraying bullets at it. The Rachni squealed in agony as it struck downward, causing the grate to fall out, leaving a massive hole in the roof. It was about to jump down when a burst of bullets flew directly into its cerebral cortex, causing it's body to go limp and fall to the ground. However, another Rachni emerged from the same hole, dropping down and letting out a shriek as it charged Roger.

"SHEPARD! WILLIAMS!" he shouted into his COM unit, putting his organic hand to his ear while he continued to aim and fire his rifle with his cybernetic arm, it being powerful enough to resist the recoil. "You better be fucking dead up there!"

"What? What happened?" a voice shouted, Roger not sure who's over the sound of his rifle firing and the Rachni screeching.

"The fucking Rachni are down here! They're coming out of the fucking vents! You-" before he could say anything else, one of the Rachni's tendrils flew forward, aiming directly at his head. Desperately he leaned to the side to dodge it, but it still scrapped the side of his face. There was a loud crack as the side of his helmet split off from the force of the impact, a gash appearing on the side of his cheek too.

Stumbling back and gritting his teeth in pain, he put both hands back on his rifle and fired on the Rachni, it shrieking and charging again before the bullets slamming into it finally killed it. "Shit," Roger swore, his head pounding in pain as he reached up and ripped off the rest of his damaged helmet. He didn't doubt that while it had taken the brunt of the blow, he had still most likely gotten a concussion, but more importantly, his COM unit had been destroyed along with the helmet.

He started forward when a third Rachni dropped down from the ceiling. "Oh fuck off," he hissed, firing again at the Rachni and managing to down it much more quickly than he had been able to kill the others. However, as he did, he heard rustling underneath him, followed by a loud clanging noise that sound like metal on metal. His stomach dropped as he wheeled around and saw that a fourth Rachni had burst out of the grates and was already charging at him, the distance between them already minimal. His organic eye widening in horror, he aimed his rifle at the insect, but he was only able to get a few shots off before it reached him, it's mouth opening wide before snapping down like a bear trap.

Roger felt an overwhelming and sickening pain tear through his body, loosing his balance at the same time and falling over, landing on his back. Tilting his head up, he sawing the Rachni viciously chewing and swallowing something, but didn't waste time trying to make out what it was. Letting out a bloodcurdling shriek he aimed his rifle at the Rachni and fired it until it overheated, the massive insect being riddled with bullets until it finally died.

Panting, he pulled himself into a sitting position looking at the dead Rachni. Pain still tore through his body, and he looked down to see the source of the agony. His stomach nearly dropped out of his body. One of his legs had been reduced to nothing more than a bloody stump, the rest of it had been torn off by the Rachni. He bit his lip as he realized just how painful it was. "I'll...I'll bleed out at this rate," he whispered, looking at the blood that was pooling around him. "I need to...wait."

He looked down at his cybernetic arm, the rough outlines of a plan forming in his head. Reaching down to the side of his arm, he turned the setting on the plasma cannon down to 30% before wrapping the palm of his head around the stump. "Come on...come on," he said to himself, his hand shaking slightly as he reached for the trigger of the cannon. "Come...ON!" he roared, pressing it. Blinding pain tore through his stump of a leg and a pang of nausea filled him. He inhaled deeply for a second before doubling over and vomiting all over the floor.

Wiping the sick away form his mouth, he looked down and saw that his plan had worked, his leg had been cauterized. "So, I won't bleed to death," he said weakly, the edges of his vision going a little black, "guess I get to live for a few more minutes. There...there's no way in Hell I can get out of here in time with this thing," he said, looking at his stump again, "but...fuck it I'm not going to just give up," he hissed, reaching out and grabbing one of the grates in the floor, using it to pull himself forward.

He was about to repeat this process when another panel on the ceiling dropped down and three Rachni streamed out of it, screeching. "Fuck," he said weakly, aiming his rifle at them and opening fire, managing to down one of them quickly before the other two began to scuttle along the tunnel, aiming for him. Roger grit his teeth and he continued to fire at the Rachni in front, finally managing to kill it, but as he did, his rifle overloaded. He dropped the rifle and raised up his cybernetic arm, flipping the setting back to 100% and firing five shots of plasma at the last Rachni, hitting it in the face with all of them and causing the insect to collapse to the ground, dead.

"Shit," he mumbled, reached down and pulling out the spent microfusion cell. His vision was slowly going black as he fumbled to grab another microfusion cell, but he fumbled and dropped. "This?" he whispered, "heh, didn't...didn't know that I was such a pussy. T-thought that I was a little t-tougher than this," he said, trying to force a smile on his face, but even as he did, tears began to stream out of his organic eye. "C-crying now?" he whispered, "w-what's wrong with you? Man up." Even to himself his words sounded empty and hollow.

He looked back at the new hole in the ceiling and saw five more Rachni streaming out and heading for him. He watched them weakly, feeling helpless to stop them and wondering if he should close his eyes as they closed in on him. But just before they reached him a massive roar filled his ears and a torrent of lasers flew through the air, shredding through the Rachni. "What?" Roger said weakly, trying to look around.

"Come on you son of a bitch," a voice said, and Roger felt himself being lifted up into a fireman's carry.

Her craned his neck, barely making out the face of the person that was carrying him as his vision continued to darken. "W-Williams?" he whispered.

"Who else would it be?" the Gunnery Chief said.

"I...but...why?"

"You're a complete asshole and a jackass, but you're still a Coalition soldier, I'm not going to just leave you there to die like this. I-" she stopped as she turned to look at him, seeing a look of pure shock and disbelief on his face, along with the tear streaks. "What's with that look?"

"I...I..." Roger said, trying to speak. That was the last thing he remembered before darkness completely filled his vision and he blacked out.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Have I ever told you that sometimes I have scenes planned out in my heads for months before finally getting around to writing them down? Roger loosing his leg was one of those scenes. I've been wanting to write that for a long time and I'm REALLY glad with how it came out. Now then for the part that I've been wanting to writing even more. The follow up. More on that next chapter

Also, I'm not sure what time this chapter is going to be out, but on Saturday, me and some friends from the Escapist are going to playing a co-op Halo Reach campaign. Sadly there isn't enough room for anyone else, but one of them has said that she will be recording the play through, audio and all. I'll try to keep things interesting with what I say and try to get you a link to the video once it's up. We're doing this to celebrate Halo 4 coming out and we're going to be doing stuff like this for a couple of weeks with all of the co-op Halo games.

P.S. Also, to remind myself of the days Bioware didn't suck, I have downloaded Knights of the Old Republic onto my computer. I haven't played it yet but I'm looking forward to it. After all, people say it's the best game they've ever made.


	35. Scar Tissue

Chapter 35

Scar Tissue

Author's Note: Well the last chapter was fairly well received, good to know that people liked the scene with Roger, and now it's time for something a few people have been asking for a long time...ok just me but let's do it. Also, FUCK! my review of Parallel Realities got pulled. Was kinda worried that that would happen but oh well. I've still got a backup though, anyone got any idea where I can post it?

XXXXX

Roger groaned as his eye slowly fluttered open, blinking at the light hit it. He was lying in a bed in the Normandy's medical bay, his armor in a neat pile on the bedside table. Groaning, he adjusted himself into a sitting position, groggily rubbing his eyes with his organic hand. "The Hell happened?" he whispered. He sat there for a second, thinking, before all of the memories of what happened came rushing back.

"Jesus Christ the Rachni, they..." he started before trailing off. He looked down at the sheets covering his body and saw two legs stretching out over the bed. He did not feel a sudden burst of hope that everything had been a horrible dream and that he still had his leg, for he had once gone through a situation very similar to this once before. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the covers and ripped them off.

He looked down at his legs and let out a tired and sad sigh. While one of his legs was normal, the one that had been bitten by the Rachni wasn't. It was now dark black, the same dark black that his cybernetic arm was made out of. For a moment, he stared at his new leg, at a lost for words.

"Oh good, you're awake." Roger looked up to see Dr. Chakwas approaching him. "I had to step out to get some more supplies from the cargo bay. Are you ok? I'm sorry but...you needed a replacement limb...and...it's procedure to replace amputated soldier's limbs with cybernetic-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

Roger grunted as he swung his legs off of the bed and attempted to stand up. So sooner had he done so, he overbalanced, falling forward and nearly smacking his head on the wall. Chakwas rushed forward and was barely able to catch him as he fell. "You haven't adjusted to your new leg yet!" she chastised him, pushing him back so that he was sitting on the bed. "You should know this, you need three days worth of bed rest so that the nerve endings can have time to stabilize, and even then you're going to need a week of physical therapy to get used to the differences between it and your old leg!"

Roger didn't reply, simply looking down at his cybernetic leg, a dead look in his eye. "Look, I've been with the Followers a long time, you're not the first person I've met that's lost a limb. I know it's tough, maybe I should get Kelly down here to talk to you. I..." there was a knock on the door. Chakwas turned around and saw the door opening, Ashley walking into the room, a bottle in her hand and two glasses in the other. "Oh, Ash, what is it?"

"Thought I'd check up on him," Ashley said, walking towards Roger's bed and sitting down in the seat next to it, setting the glasses and the bottle on the bedside table. "Thought that a little drink could help."

"Don't go overboard with it," Chakwas said cautiously. "And make sure he stays in bed. I need to run and get Kelly." With that, Chakwas walked away, exiting the medical bay.

"So, why are you really here?" Roger said, a growl in his voice, but a rather weak one. "It's to rub it in right? The dirty Moriean shock trooper had to be saved by the knight in shining armor right?"

"I came here to have a drink," Ashley said simply, uncorking the bottle and pouring the bright orange Batarian ale into both glasses. "That and ask you a couple of questions."

"What kind of questions?" Roger asked, sounding rather hostile.

"When I got you out of that tunnel, you looked surprised. It was almost like you didn't even think it was going to happen. Also, I helped Chakwas get your new leg out of the cargo bay and...well I found this." She produced a photo and spread it out on the table. It was of Roger with his arms around a blonde woman in armor, smiling at the camera. "I can't help but notice that in this picture you don't look like you're completely unpleasant to be around, and you don't have your cybernetic eye." She looked at Roger inquisitively. "Come on Andrews, you're hiding something. What is it.

Roger's teeth grit in anger as he glared at Ashley, feeling as if he was about to scream. The seconds passed by slowly, and as they did, the facts slowly pieced themselves together in the back of his mind, one at the forefront. Ashley Williams had saved his life. He deflated, all of his anger seeping out of him as he slumped back against the post of the bed, looking defeated. "That woman...she used to be really special to me."

"Girlfriend?" Ashley asked, taking one of the glasses and handing it to Roger. He hesitated before taking it and gently sipping it.

"Yeah."

"Did something bad happen to her?" Ashley asked, picking up her own glass and taking a gulp.

"I sure as fuck hope so," he growled.

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Not how most people talk about their significant other."

"I...how do I explain this?" he asked, rubbing his eye. "My eye and my arm? I didn't get them because I thought they looked pretty, I got them...because of what that bitch did."

"I'm listening."

"I...I was in the Earth Reconstruction Project," Roger explained. "They had offered double salaries to people that volunteered to try and get more people into the program. My little sister was in a car accident and we needed a lot of money so that she could walk again, so I signed up to chip in. Two years of service later, and my family and I had raised enough cash, she got an implant that replaced one of her vertebrate. Three months and I would finish up my tour on Earth but..." Roger shook his head, sighing. "Everything went to shit."

"You lost your arm and eye," Ashley said.

"Yeah," Roger said huskily, draining the last of his glass. "I was in South America, and apparently when the NCR was expanding and clearing out their territory, feral Deathclaws migrated to get away. I was on point to clear out a group of raiders when...one got the jump on me. I lost my arm and eye before I was able to kill it...but even though it completely ignored them and went straight for me, that bitch and the rest of the squad was gone when I was done. I had to crawl all the way back to the nearest Coalition base by myself with a missing arm. They abandoned me, they never checked up on me, they didn't fucking care that they were supposed to cover me, and that their fuck up made to that I'm 30% metal."

"So...that's why you're so hostile all the time," Ashley said. "You have trust issues."

The anger from Roger's face vanished as Ashley drained her glass before picking up the bottle and refilling both of their glasses. "That's one way to put it yeah. I mean if I couldn't count on that bitch to cover my back then who could I trust...and then you pull my ass out of a swarm of Rachni, even after all the shit that I gave you...why?"

"Because you're Coalition soldier dumbass. You're a complete and utter asshole, but I'm not about to let a friendly soldier get torn apart by giant bugs. That's why I went down there, that's why we all went down there."

"Huh...and I thought that you were all talk," Roger said, chuckling weakly as he lowered his head. "Everything I said and in the end I could count on you more than I could count on her...Christ I'm a fucking piece of work." As he spoke, a single tear emerged from his eye and slid down his cheek, another one following it soon after. "Seems like no matter what I do I just end up making things more of a mess."

"Well...maybe you should think about letting go."

"What?" he asked, looking up, tears still silently streaming down his face.

"This woman, she hurt you, I'm not going to debate that, but you're letting her rule your life. If you act the way that you do because of what she did, then you're trapped in the past, trapped by what one woman that wasn't as great as you thought she was did. You need to let go if you ever want to move on with your life."

"I...oh fuck," Roger whispered, "Christ...you're right. Ever since then, I've always been...you know, adamant about having to take care of myself, that she proved that I couldn't rely on anyone, because if I couldn't count on the person I wanted to marry someday, who could I? But...you came along and kinda proved me wrong. I...thanks Wi- I mean Ashley. You...you didn't deserve the crap that I gave you."

Ashley gave a small smile. "Don't mention it. Just do me a favor and try to be a little nicer to everyone else."

"I...I'll try."

"And cut down on the swearing."

"Ok, you're asking miracles now." Both of them laughed. "Hey...can you give me that?" he asked, reaching out for the picture.

"Sure," Ashley said, handing it to him. "Why, what are you going to do?"

"What you told me to do?" Roger said, holding it out in the palm of his cybernetic hand, adjusting the dial on the side. A small spark emerged from his palm and immediately the picture caught on fire. "I'm letting go." He held the burning picture in his hand, watching at the fire slowly spread across it, disfiguring the image until it had been reduced to nothing but a charred mess.

"Well, good," Ashley said as he reached for his drink again and downed it.

"Listen...thanks for everything Ashley. The Commander is damn lucky to have someone like you behind him. Sorry I was such an ass."

"No problem," she said, getting to her feet, picking up the bottle and the glasses. "Well, I promised I would share this with John and I don't want to use it all up in one go. Anyway I really should check up on him. We'll talk some more later." She turned and began to walk towards the door, but as she did, it opened revealing Tali and Sheryl on the other side. "What are you two doing here?" Ashley asked in surprise.

"Uh...I um," Sheryl said nervously. Tali gave her a gently smack in the back. "Tali wanted me to come down here and check up on Roger, I didn't want to but she forced me. And...we might have eavesdropped a little and..." she gave a reluctant sigh. "Roger, can you and I just talk?"

"Yeah, no problem," he said, looking rather surprised.

"Thanks," she said, sitting down in the chair that Ashley had recently vacated.

"I'll be off," Ashley said, exiting the medical bay, the door closing behind her. "Gotta say, I didn't think he had a side like that."

"You don't really sound that upset."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm sad that he had to lose a leg, he already had way more cybernetics that the average person should be forced to have...but I'm kind of glad that he's not so much of a jackass anymore."

"So...would you say that you respect him now?"

"I...yeah," Ashley said, smiling slightly. "I'm kind of glad that the two of us can actually talk now. Did you know that he's a big brother? I didn't."

"So you respect him...interesting." Ashley blinked. Even through her mask, Ashley had a pretty good feeling that Tali had a massive shit eating grin on her face.

"What is it?"

"Oh nothing...so when are you going to kiss Garrus?"

"What are you talking..." Ashley began, stopping as she remembered something that she had said to Tali back on Eden Prime. Her eyes widened. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Hell no Tali, I'm not doing that."

"Oh? I could've sworn that you said that you would keep your word?"

"We'll talk later," she said gruffly, walking off. Tali, determined not to be outmaneuvered to easily, ran after her.

XXXXX

"DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE!? Jane had to fight back the urge to wince. She, John, Garrus and Benezia were standing in the Normandy's COM room, holographic images of the Council floating in front of them. "You unleashed the Rachni? Without consulting with us first!?" Sparatus shouted "Did you even stop to consider the consequences?!"

"With all due respect Councilor," Jane said calmly, forcing herself to keep her voice level, "we had a limited time to make a decision, and we made the choice that seemed appropriate with the information that we had."

"That decision happened to be releasing a race that has committed genocide on the galaxy as a whole," Valern said. "I fail to see the logic in that."

"Benezia joined minds with the Rachni Queen," Garrus said defensively. "Something affected the Rachni back in the war, that's what made them attack."

"People lie when backed into a corner Vakarian," Sparatus growled. "The Queen lying about the Rachni's intention when starting the war wouldn't be the first time someone stretched the truth to save their own hide."

"She wasn't lying Benezia hissed. "I saw something forcing her to order her children to their deaths, even when the Krogan started their counter-attack. She was telling the truth. Besides, she promised to live in isolation and peace, not to attack any other races out of revenge or spite."

"Are you certain of this?" Tevos demanded, starting at Benezia. "Are you sure that the Queen wasn't able to trick you somehow?"

"I would like to think that someone as old as myself would be able to tell the difference between a false memory and a real one," she replied coldly. "Besides the Queen had spent days in isolation, she struck me as weakened and weary. She wasn't in peak condition and I doubt that she would've had the energy to trick me."

"Even if that is true, that still doesn't change that you had no right to made that decision!" Sparatus shouted. "Unleashing a race that powerful? The Council made that decision long ago, and it ended with the Krogan Rebellions. Even if your intentions are good when you do something like this, that doesn't mean that it will be impossible for it to backfire on you one day. Perhaps the next Queen won't be as merciful as this one. Perhaps the Rachni will respond violently if any alien ships get to close to their borders. There are too many variables to consider to reach a conclusion in mere minutes."

"No offense, but I get the feeling that you would find the negative side of whatever we did," John pointed out. "Somehow I feel like if we had killed the Queen, you would be getting on our backs for committing genocide."

"You can act like you're the victim as much as you want, but that doesn't change that even if you were completely right, what happened today is going to have massive political repercussions," Sparatus argued. "The galaxy is a very dangerous place and the Council is one of the few things acting as a beacon of unity, but it is dependent on the species that make up its ranks for stability. If one of the more powerful races or several of the lesser ones become disillusioned with it and leave, it could cause political turmoil. The three of us need to act as leaders for the Council, and if they become dissatisfied with our decisions, the Council could collapse. Did you not think about that? Benezia? Vakarian? Did you not think that a Council Spectre and an Asari Matriarch helping one of the deadliest races that ever lived go loose would affect us? We are already under massive fire for Saren's attack on Eden Prime, two incidents like this in a row could be disastrous for all of us, even the Coalition."

"Yeah, we thought about this," Garrus said softly. "And you know what? Politics is already just a giant mess, power is constantly shifting from one person to another, the oppressed of one day are the ruler of another, and the mightiest of powers one day are the lowest of the low the next day. I don't really worry about upsetting politics that much, it seems to do a pretty good job without my help.

"To answer your other question, yes I did think about the consequences to all of this. I knew that there were some risks, but I also knew something else. The Council has survived a Hell of a lot worse than this. The've survived the Rachni's first appearance, the Krogan, the rise of the Geth, and the appearance of the Coalition. Despite them researching into artificial intelligence and the Hierarchy's brief war with them, the Council remanned politically stable. It has endured before and it will endue again."

"Perhaps," Valern said skeptically. "But it would be foolish to suggest that no political fallout would originate from this. There will be repercussions because of this, and they could be massive. We will expect your full report on this within a day. We are not done discussing this."

"Also," Tevos said, looking at Jane. "Captain, it would most likely be for the best if this was kept a secret from the general public. There is already panic caused by the return of the Geth, the Rachni would only make it worse."

"I agree," Jane said as the holograms of the Council disappeared.

"Well, I think that that went as well as that it could have," Garrus groaned, rubbing his eyes. "And in order to get them off my back I'm going to have to write up a pile of paperwork to keep them from lighting my ass up."

"I never did like dealing with them," Benezia growled, "they were always so stuck up and stubborn, it was like trying to reason with a group of particularly obnoxious Maidens."

"I'm just glad that we were able to walk away from Noveria with everyone still alive," John said, looking slightly pale. "I mean...we just fought the Rachni. They're not really well known for leaving survivors...right?"

"Correct," Benezia said. "They were rather thorough in destroying any resources that could be used by the Council. Unfortunately they saw people as a resource. Once they landed on a planet, they didn't stop fighting until either they were all dead, or every last thing on it was dead."

"Oh...well good thing that we...yeah," John said, looking around uncomfortably. "I just...I think I need some water." Without another word he turned and walked away.

Garrus blinked and looked at Jane. "Is he ok? He's usually a lot more light hearted."

"I don't know. I'll talk to him. You might want to get Benezia's help in writing that report of yours, it should help to minimize the backlash," Jane said, walking out after John. She managed to catch him at the galaxy map, gripping the railings tightly. "Are you ok?"

"Frankly I should be asking you the same thing," John said. "How...how can you be so calm right now?"

Jane cocked her head slightly. "Why? What's happening?"

John let go of the railing, turing around to face her. "In case you didn't notice, Roger Andrews is currently missing one of his legs," he said, his voice rather soft. "It...it was me who let him go down into the tunnel. I had to make the call and I just did it like it was nothing, I actually kind of thought that it was actually kind of a relief that I wouldn't have to put up with him swearing like a thirteen year old for a little. And then we got on the COM line saying that he got ambushed and...oh Christ." John rubbed his forehead, turning around and looking at the galaxy map. "I really messed up."

"Compared to how bad things could have gone, everything turned out rather all right in the end. Roger's tough, he's gone through this before, I know that he can pull through this in one piece."

"I know," John hissed, "but he shouldn't even be in this position in the first place, my job as a Commander was to keep him safe and I messed it up."

"You asked why I'm so calm about this?" Jane asked. "It's because when I was given command of this ship, I realized something and I accepted it. I can be at the very top of my game, triple check every strategy that I come up with and have the very best luck in the galaxy and be the greatest commander that the galaxy could offer. If I had all of that, I would still loose people under my command. Maybe I would make a mistake, maybe the enemy would be able to outmaneuver us, maybe one of them would get a lucky shot in. The point is John, we're soldiers, and the very sad, very real truth about soldiers, is that there's a good chance that we'll die."

"The very best that you can do is make sure that the deaths under your command are as few as possible and that they mean something in the grand scheme of things. Expecting to go through your entire military career without loosing a single person is just overly idealistic. Getting upset over it is understandable but...it's reality John, and I have a bad feeling that both of us are going to have to face it one day. A person getting injured because of what we ordered is one thing, them getting killed is a whole other thing all together. Physically wounds are temporary in most cases, but death isn't."

"I...what the Hell am I supposed to do? I'm not...I'm not sure that I can handle that."

"All you can do is give it your all, do the very best that you can. You certainly did that today little brother, Roger might be missing a leg, but if you had been just a little less suburb, he would've lost a lot more, he might have even died down there. You can't just beat yourself up for something like this. You're a great Commander John, I'm proud of you, and so is Mom." A grin spread across her face. "EDI scans all transmissions in and out of the ship, I saw that letter that she wrote you. She was practically glowing, and she had every reason to."

"I...thanks sis," John whispered.

Jane smiled before walking forward and giving John a brief hug before pulling away. "I think you should go find Ashley and crack open that bottle that you bought her."

"Yeah...yeah...I'll do that," he said, turning around and walking away, giving a brief wave to his sister as he went.

"Never thought that he would have a moment like that of all people."

"Captain," EDI said, her avatar popping up by the galaxy map, "may I have a moment of your time?"

"What is it?" Jane asked, turning to look at the A.I..

"The Salarian that you took captive has stabilized, but is currently unconscious. He is in the brig currently. What is more, the data from the Peak 7 lab and the omni-tool that Matriarch Benezia recovered is encrypted with Geth code. It will take some time to decode it, even if I do it personally."

"How long?"

"I suspect at the very least a week. I may be a synthetic, but so are the Geth. Breaking their code will take time, and it is unlikely that your captive has much information on Saren."

"So, you're saying that for a little while the trail has gone cold?"

"Yes, it is unlikely that you will be unable to do much to accomplish for objective until the data is decoded."

"Great," she said dryly. "Any suggestions on what to do until then?"

"I estimate that within seventeen days that we will exhaust our fuel supply. We are within no danger of being stranded, but it wold be wise to refuel. There is a Coalition colony two days away from our current location, Demeter, a farming colony with several refueling stations in orbit. I suggest that you dock over the planet to refuel and resupply, and until we have a new lead. Besides, one of your main combat operatives requires physical therapy. Studies show that a peaceful, environmental setting is soothing to many and helps recovery."

"You're suggesting a week of shore leave?"

"Your crew did just fight the Rachni, a week off seems like an appropriate reward."

Jane chuckled. "All right, set a course there. Matriarch Benezia is going to be sticking around with us for a little bit, but I imagine that she'll be leaving soon, as soon as she can charter a shuttle back to Republics space. Still, a little bit of a time with her daughter would be nice."

"Very well, I will tell Joker. I will advise him not to, as he put it, 'pick up some hot chicks' while we are there."

Jane grinned. "You do that."

XXXXX

Saren held his head in one hand as he sat at a metal table, a glass in his right hand, a bottle of Turian brandy not that far away. "Saren?" he looked up to see Rana approaching him. "Are you ok?"

"I...no," Saren said, lifting up the glass and draining in a single gulp. "I had the Geth on Noveria send constant transmissions for me. I've been going through them," he said, gesturing to a datapad on the table. "The Coalition stormed Peak 7. The Rachni are probably dead right now. I'm still looking through them though," he said, pressing another button on a datapad, causing audio of gunfire to play.

"How...how many did you have?" she asked, looking at the bottle.

"I'm not sure," he said groggily, looking down at the empty glass, "I've lost track. It helps a lot."

"But...I thought that sacrificing the Noveria team to buy yourself some more time was your plan? Isn't this what you wanted?"

"It is...but that still doesn't change that it hurts. I put months upon months of planning into Noveria, the Rachni could have powerful enough to destroy the entire Coalition by itself. And...I had to throw them away like trash, just to cover for my mistakes." He reached for the bottle of brandy, pouring himself another glass.

"You probably shouldn't drink that much," she said warily, "too much will cloud your judgement."

"That might be for the best," Saren said, lifting up the glass he took a gentle sip, "my judgement has not been particularly impressive as of late."

As he looked down at his glass, voices continued to play on the datapad, voices of Matriarch Benezia and a Krogan. "Listen to this," he said, gesturing to the datapad. "Benezia is talking to the Rachni Queen about setting her free. The Rachni may very well take the Coalition's side when we finally make our move. I-"

He trailed off at the recording continued to play. "The sour yellow not came...came from a strange device on our homeworld. Many of my mothers were contaminated...they...they killed those that weren't."

Saren had been lifting his glass to take another sip when his hand came to a stop. Slowly, his fingers slackened as the glass slipped through his hand, shattering on the ground, the brandy soaking the floor. "Oh Spirits!" he shouted, scrambling to his feet.

"What?!" Rana shouted as Saren staggered and caught himself on the table.

"I...when I first found Sovereign one of the...the scientists said that it had a device that was capable of controlling the mind's of organics, but...but it was not functional. I...I thought that it would be the same with all of the other Reapers, that if they did have the same technology that it wouldn't work. But...but it sounds like the technology on the Rachni homeworld WAS Reaper technology and if it indoctrinated them, then...oh Spirits, the sites that our teams are at could still have working indoctrination technology!"

"Wait a minute, are you saying that-" Nana began.

"It's a possibility! When was the last time we had a report from all of the teams!?"

"Uh, two weeks ago. You told them to keep contact to a minimal so that we wouldn't have to worry about being traced."

"That changes right now, I want all of them to report in, I need to know that the Reapers that they've been working on haven't indoctrinated them. Once they've reported in that they're all right, send them schematics of Sovereign showing them where the indoctrination technology is. If it looks like it might still be operational, I want them to rip it out of the ship and throw it into the nearest sun. If the Rachni Queen wasn't able to resist it, we can't take any chances, for all we know the process could have started with us already! Get the Geth to look at the Reaper out there too, make sure that it isn't-" Saren trailed off, staggering backwards under the influence of the alcohol in his system.

"Saren, you need to sit down!" Rana shouted, "You can't be walking around like this, much less be giving orders."

"I...I need to...if my men get indoctrinated, it could ruin everything," Saren muttered as Rana gently pulled one of her arms over her shoulder, leading him to a bed in the corner of the building that we were in. "I can't rest right now, I have work that I need to do."

"If you were to try and do anything important right now, it would probably end up doing more harm than good. You're not thinking straight right now, you can't make a call in a vital situation with the same sharpness that you can normally do."

"Rana...please," Saren whispered as she gently helped him into the bed, "everything that I said, having the Geth examine this ship, the reports...please take care of that. Everything could depend on it."

Rana smiled gently. "Don't worry about it, I've got it under control. Just get some rest. You'll have your reports from your teams in two days at the very most. Now get some rest." He watched as she got to her feet and walked away, exiting the building.

Saren sighed as he looked up at the ceiling, his mind still fuzzy. 'Desolas would be disgusted with you right now,' he thought to himself. 'Getting drunk like this, a high ranking officer like yourself. It's so unprofessional, even if you lost one of your major assets.'

A rather uncomfortable thought occurred in his mind. All of the commandos that had betrayed Matriarch Benezia and pledged their allegiance to him were now dead. Most of them had been killed the second that Benezia had learned that her daughter was safe, the rest of them had been assigned to Noveria and Peak 7. Now that the Coalition had raided the lab, all of them were dead, because he had cut them loose and used them as bait.

But that was not what disturbed him, or what had driven him to drink. He was mainly upset over the loss of the Rachni and that what was had caused him to pick up the bottle. What disturbed him now that he had time to sit and think, was that he didn't feel anything towards the commandos that had died under his command, he wasn't angry, he wasn't sad, he felt completely indifferent towards the women that had sworn to follow him and his cause, the cause to protect the galaxy from one of the greatest threats that it had ever known, and he simply didn't care that they were all dead because he had sacrificed them.

'Maybe I can't think straight with all of the brandy that I drank," he thought to himself. 'Yes...yes what would certainly make sense. If I was sober I would feel something." Those words sounded rather hollow to him now. While he was definitely far from sober, he had been coherent enough to realize what the recording of the Rachni Queen had meant and give Rana instructions on how to respond to it. He was far from completely drunk, he still had much of his senses around him.

'It...it could be that I've just accepted that it's going to happen,' Saren thought to himself. 'Yes...yes that makes sense. Everyone fighting with me knew what they were getting into when they joined me, they know how dangerous the Coalition was. They knew that they wouldn't all walk away from this alive. They knew that this was going to happen...that's why I don't feel upset, they knew what they were getting themselves into.

Smiling to himself slightly, Saren relaxed into the bed, his muscles slacking. However, as his eyes slid shut, he felt a rather unpleasant gnawing feeling in the center of his stomach, as if his body was saying something completely from his thoughts. It was a long and unpleasant night for Saren

XXXXX

Author's Note: There was an announcement for Halo 4, the infection gametype is being reworked, instead of gray ninjas with energy swords, you are...the Flood...the Flood...you can control the Flood in Halo 4...to quote Fry from Futurama, SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY! Well, in other words the Halo play through went rather well, I'll post the link when it pops up. So in other words, this chapter was dedicated to things cooling down and some character development, please tell me what you think. Sorry about the long update time, but you know, college and all that.

Also, there's something kinda random that I want to talk about. I went out and bought a PS2 after friend came over and seduced me with Persona 4. I went online and starting watching videos about it, and without spoiling anything for people who haven't played the game, there's a certain quote in it "those that actually succeed in life, they just happen to be born with the magic ticket called talent." As many in game characters and commenters pointed out, that is complete bullshit.

Life doesn't quite work like that, if you have talent you succeed and if you don't you bag groceries your whole life, it doesn't work like that. You need to apply yourself to things, be willing to put your all into it, you can't just give up when you start to meet resistance. Now you're probably thinking "well that's easy for you to say, you churn out stories hundreds of thousands of words long, you're on the TV tropes fan fic recommendation page, you ARE talented." To which I say, yeah I guess I am talented...but I wasn't born this way.

When I started writing back in my Freshman year of high school...I freaking sucked. My chapters were only a thousand words long, my characters were flat, I had no idea what the word "flow" meant, my plot with a joke and I was literally making the entire thing up as I went along. Four years later, I'm much, MUCH better, and do you know why? Because I kept at it, I learned from my mistakes and I honed my craft. It wasn't easy and I've still got a long way to go, but it's a path that I don't regret taking. After all, you know the old saying. If it's easy, it's probably not worth doing.


	36. Hollow

Chapter 36

Hollow

Author's Note: The last chapter got rather good reception for the most part. Like I said before, the updates probably aren't going to come as fast as they used to. I'm in College, I have a part time job, I recently got a Playstation 2 and a copy of Persona 4 and that's going to eat up a LOT of time, and I recently got invited into a group of friends that is probably going to take up some time in my plans. It doesn't help that I occasionally get writer's block too. I do love writing though and I promise to get these chapters out as quickly and efficiently as possible.

XXXXX

Garrus typed viciously into the terminal in front of him, pausing temporarily to take a sip of water from a glass. He was sitting at a table in the room that had been given to him by Jane while he was on the Normandy. He squinted his eyes as he continued to type. Ever since Noveria, he couldn't get Norman's last name out of his head, he was certain that he had heard it somewhere. "Hawkins...Hawkins," he whispered, "I had no idea that it was such a common Human name."

He groaned slightly, rubbing his eyes. Simply going by last names wasn't a very effective way to find someone on the extranet. Even in putting in Norman's first name hadn't achieved any results so far. "Maybe I should give it a rest," he muttered to himself. "Then again, I never knew when to give up...where the Hell did I hear that name. Was...was it a scandal? A company?" He shook his head. "Well, it's worth giving it a shot," he said, typing into the terminal again.

As he hit the search button, a list of results appeared. As he read them, he smacked his forehead. "I remember now! Hawkins Industries! Major starship manufacturer, third biggest in the Coalition." He hastily clicked on a link, bringing up an extra-net page on the company. "CEO is Alexander Hawkins, involved in a major scandal ten years ago about being involved with taking bribes and the illegal narcotic trade...interesting." He glanced further down the page. "Oh lovely, he's a registered member of the Terra Firma party, goody, a man in power who belongs to a party literally dedicated to xenophobia."

He rolled his eyes slightly before continuing to read. "Been around since just after the First Contact War, got a lot of support to get the company up and going...they aren't allowed to make military ships, well that's good. Oh Spirits, this isn't what I'm looking...oh wait." He blinked as he scrolled down the page. "Ah here we go...had two kids, a son and a daughter...no names...great," he said dryly. "Why the Hell wouldn't it have names? I...he had them blocked to protect his privacy, oh nice. So I can't see if the name matches Norman's...wait a minute."

He started to scroll down the page again, his eyes widening as he continued to read. "The daughter was kidnapped and held for ransom, but she was never seen again. The son disappeared right after that...huh." Garrus leaned back into his chair, his mind racing. 'That could be him,' he thought, 'it makes sense when I think about it. A man from a rich family has his sister get kidnapped and he never sees her again. He runs away and joins the military to do what needs to be done. It would explain why he's gets his kicks from punching wounded Salarians in the chest."

Garrus frowned as he looked at the screen. The evidence certainly made that situation a possibility, but he didn't feel content just calling it a day and assuming that he had Norman analyzed. His inner C-Sec detective was shouting at him to continue his investigation and make sure that he had all of the evidence and not to jump to conclusions. If it had been involving chasing down a murderer or a drug lord, he probably would've have been able to be patient enough, he would have gone directly after them, but since this was simply to satisfy his curiosity, he felt that he could afford to wait.

"Doesn't look there there's a whole lot else here," he grumbled, looking at the rest of the extra-net page and seeing that there was nothing of interest, mostly statistical information involving Hawkins Industries. "I could ask him directly or just go to Jane about this and try and access those records, but the first would probably end with his fist in my face and I don't think the Coalition feels like giving private records on their personal to Council Spectres...I'm on my own here."

He jumped slightly as he heard a rapping on the door. Sighing, he clicked off of the extra-net page and deactivated the terminal. "Who is it?"

"It's me, John!" a voice called from the other side. Garrus reached forward and pressed a button, causing the door to slide open, revealing the Commander on the other side.

"Commander, how can I help...what are you wearing?"

"Leather jacket," he said. "Hey, we just docked and I hear that there's a pretty good bar on the station. You want to go get a drink? Just us guys? Well...guys for the most part, Tali is coming along too, along with a couple of the others."

"Who exactly?"

"Norman isn't coming along and Adam doesn't drink so he's just going down to the planet. Volker is coming along though, and Roger isn't stuck in bed anymore so he's tagging along too, and I managed to get Wrex on board too."

"Eh...oh sure why not," Garrus said. "I was trying to get some work on something done, but I think I've hit a dead end. I might as well take a break."

"All right," John said, slapping Garrus on the back. "Come on, the others are waiting at the airlock." Garrus followed John out of the room and into the elevator. Within a minute, the had entered the elevator, it taking them up a deck to the airlock. The elevator slid open onto the galaxy map and walked out, heading towards the far end of the deck, were the four others were standing, Roger holding a crutch in each hand.

"No...no, no, no, no, you're lying," Volker said, looking at Roger with disbelieving eyes. "There's no way that that is possible."

"I'm telling you the truth," Roger said, grinning widely. "The dumbass tried to get more shots off so he pried the cooling lock off of his gun. The thing freaking melted in his hand, he almost had the damn thing amputated."

"I...how is that even possible?" Tali asked. "Can people really be so stupid that they play around with their guns like that?"

"You should see what the dumber Blood Pack mercs do," Wrex said. "One guy I met tried to weld two extra barrels onto his shotgun once, I couldn't make something like this up. I'm pretty sure he was the only one that was surprised when it blew up and took half of his face off. The Vorcha somehow managed to be bigger dumbasses though, at least the Krogan could figure out which end of the gun was which."

"I...how do people do this?" Volker asked, "how to handle your gun is supposed to be the most basic of military training. It's easy. I'm from 1945 and I know better."

Roger let out a laugh. "That's true, but there are some major grade dumbasses out there. Sometimes they're just really that stupid, but sometimes they're just lazy and want to take shortcuts. And some people honestly say that natural selection doesn't apply to intelligent lifeforms."

"Uh...Roger?" Garrus said, sounding rather confused. "Are you ok?"

"What?" he asked, turning to look at the Turian. "What the fu...I mean yeah, I feel fine. Why do you ask?"

"I...never mind," he said.

"Well, let's do this," John said, walking towards the airlock, the others following him. They passed through the airlock and into the station, the metal walls of the hallway widening as they moved forward.

"Amazing," Volker whispered as they reached the end of the hallway and stepped into a massive plaza, thousands of people wandering around at various stalls, screens and advertisements coating the walls and bright lights illuminating all of it. "All of this was built to stand by itself? In space?"

"Yeah," Roger said, chuckling slightly. "You know, I sometimes forget that you aren't used to this time period yet. Things like this are pretty mundane and ordinary. This is just a hub station a place were people dock their ships so that they can get refueled. A lot of merchants live inside these places, trying to sell stuff to the ships that are constantly docking."

"If you think that this is impressive, you should see the Migrant Fleet liveships," Tali said, looking at Volker. "Three massive ships that have to grow enough food to feed seventeen million people."

"I get the feeling you'll meet a lot of people just like that nomad that helped us rescue T'Soni here in addition to the merchants that live here," Roger continued. "We're here for something a little more basic though."

"Ah...are you ok?" Volker asked, looking at Roger, "you're acting...different. I...I don't mean to be rude, I've seen a lot of people loose limbs to artillery shells and I know how bad it must be but...is this because of your leg?"

"I...ugh, it's a long fucking story and I'm not in the mood right now," Roger groaned, "I'll tell you when I'm shitfaced." Volker looked like he was about to ask another question, but he spotted Tali shaking her head out of the corner of his eye and didn't say anything.

"Don't think that we should be going that far," Garrus said cautiously. "We don't want to do anything stupid while we're out in public, especially given the sensitive nature of our mission."

Roger let out a laugh. "You're going to be that one guy that's a 24/7 buzzkill aren't you? Still, you kind of have a point."

Garrus blinked before glancing at Volker, leaning towards him and whispering "What's a buzzkill?"

The German shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Ah, here we go," John said as they approached a bar that was shoved into the corner of the plaza, the six of them sitting down at the stools in front of it. "I'm paying," John said, "what do you guys want?"

"Hold on," the bartender, a Standard Human said, "we don't serve aliens here. Get lost."

"Lovely hospitality the Coalition has," Garrus said dryly. "I can't imagine why they have a hard time making friends with other races."

"I don't give a crap about that Turian, I'm not serving drinks to a genocidal fascist, now get lost!"

Tali groaned slightly. "Gee, this has never happened to me before. Wonder how long it's going to be until he accuses me of stealing something."

"Oh goody, a motherfucker who thinks we give a shit about his opinion," Roger said, raising his cybernetic arm and flipping the bartender off. "Kindly go fuck yourself."

Volker sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Well, I guess this isn't going to work out very well." He looked at Roger. "I don't suppose that we have anything to drink back on the ship?"

"I think a saw a couple of crates of some good stuff in the cargo bay," Wrex said, glaring at the bartender. "You've got a quad you know. You're pretty damn stupid but you've got a quad. Count yourself lucky that I'm on a Coalition ship right now and I kind of want to stay on it, that's the only reason you're still standing."

"Let lost lizard," the bartender snapped.

"Fuck you too buddy," Roger said, grabbing his crutches and getting to his feet. "Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm getting a little tired of this bitch."

"Same here," Volker said, getting to his feet along with Garrus. "Let's get out of here."

"It's probably for the best," Tali said, following the others, "I doubt that someone like this would have any good Dextro drinks."

"Hold on," John said, holding up a hand, indicating for the others to stay. "Look, we're Coalition soldiers here, these three have been helping us on a damn important mission. I don't think that asking for a couple of drinks is being particularly unreasonable."

"I don't care. Loose those two and I'll be happy to serve the rest of you, until then, get lost."

"Is it really too much to pour them a couple glasses of booze? They've been help protecting the Coalition, they deserve it for free as far as I'm concerned!"

"I don't give a crap. If people see me selling to aliens I'm going to start loosing customers and money. I'm not about to do that just because you think that you and your little buddies are a bunch of special snowflakes."

"Shepard," Garrus said, "come on. He's not worth it. You can't let every last person who's less than pleasant get to you."

"He has a point," Roger said. "Don't get me wrong, I really want to grab this guy's head and smash it into a wall, but it'd probably end badly for me. He's a small fry."

"Is it too much to ask for a couple of fucking drinks?!" John swore, glaring at the bartender and causing a couple of the others to jump in surprise. "I really can't stand people like you you know."

"I'll try to contain my tears," he snarled, "if you don't leave now I'm calling security."

"Shepard, come on," Garrus said, grabbing the Commander by his shoulder and pulling him to his feet. "You're going to make a real mess if you keep this up."

"But-" John began, but Garrus cut him off.

"Also, I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you to make sure that you deserve your honorary Spectre status and to make sure that you won't abuse it. I'm sending regular reports back to the Council, and what do you think they'll say if they realize they gave a free pass to someone who can't keep his temper when he meets one asshole bartender?" John opened his mouth before shutting it again. Slowly, he walked away, heading back to the airlock. Garrus and Wrex paused before following him.

"The Hell was that all about?" Roger asked, looking confused.

"I haven't the faintest clue," Volker said.

"Well this turned out just great," Tali grumbled. "Hey, while we're out here, Opifex wanted me to pick up some parts for him, he says that he's working on something big but he needs some more materials. Would you mind giving me a Volker? If that guy was anything to go by I wouldn't count on the other merchants treating a lone Quarian too kindly."

"Sure thing," Volker said. "Besides, it might be for the best if I tag along. I've been looking a lot of things up and I think I have how much credits are worth down, but I don't want to throw too much of them around just yet. I'm technically not a Coalition soldier so I don't have a stable income."

"I'll do what I can, heavy lifting is out of the question though," Roger said.

"Ok, I can't take this anymore," Volker said, turning to look at Roger. "What the Hell is going on with you?"

"What the fuck is that supposed to-" Roger started, his face narrowing in anger before stopping mid-sentence. "I...fuck I'm bad at this. Look, it's complicated, I'll tell you on the way."

"All right," Volker said, looking slightly confused.

"I heard what he's going to say already Volker, you really should listen to him," Tali said, activating her omni-tool and reading a small list. "Ok, let's start over here. I'm sending it to your omni-tools now."

"Right," Volker said, reaching down and tapping his arm. Nothing happened. "Uh..." he said slowly tapping his arm again. "I...I can figure out how this works," he said, tapping random spots all over his arms. "It can't be that hard, it-" Tali reached forward and gently touched a spot on the metal brace that he was wearing, causing his omni-tool to activate.

"Touch that spot when you want to turn it off too," Tali said kindly.

"Wow, I guess the stereotype is true, Salarians are good with technology."

"I'm a Quarian."

"Oh, right. Sorry," Volker said, looking a little uncomfortable. "I...God. I thought that I could handle this."

"Oh don't be such a pus-I mean lighten up man," Roger said, catching himself mid sentence. He paused before shaking his head. "Sorry," he said, "if this is too much for you you can always go back to the ship. Maybe throwing you out into the throng like this is a little too much."

"No...no I need to do this," Volker said softly. "I...I need to get used to this time period, the sooner the better, I need to get used to all of these weird powers, giant bugs and massive monsters. Once I do, I can get on with my life and going out in public should help so please...let's just do this."

"Don't push yourself too hard Volker," Tali said comfortingly. "Tell us if it gets to be too much."

"All right," Volker said, taking a deep breath and smiling slightly. "Ok."

"Ok, let's get this over with," Roger said, limping after Volker and Tali as they headed into the plaza. Volker noticeably looked over his shoulder at John in the distance, worry etched into his face.

XXXXX

"Ah...this is very relaxing," Adam said, stretching his arms over his head as he walked forward. He was walking through the center of a small town on Demeter, far away from any major cities. He didn't enjoy crowded urban settings that much, preferring more open areas, and after a little bit of research, he had found the town Ilih Tnelis, and had decided to visit it.

"Certainly is a rather odd name," he muttered to himself, "but it's a nice place nonetheless." He looked around, taking in the sight of the town. It looked rather small, the type of town where everyone knew each other and had little contact with the outside world. He could see a church at the far end, towering over the other buildings. "Perhaps I should pay a visit, the architecture and art of churches is always different on every planet," he remarked. As he did, his stomach growled loudly. He chuckled to himself. "Forgot to eat breakfast. Aw well, the building isn't going anywhere. Now then, there must be somewhere that I can get a nice meal...ah, here we go."

He spotted a small diner out of the corner of his eye and walked into it. It was a rather small building, with no more than a dozen tables and a counter, along with a door leading to what Adam assumed was the kitchen. A few people were sitting at the tables, poking at plates of food with forks, while a man in a plain brown robe stood in front of the counter, his hair graying and a silver cross hanging around his neck. "Thank you for your generous donation," he said to the woman standing behind the counter. "It is very kind of you, a delinquent broke our ornate windows and every credit helps. I trust that I will be seeing you at mass tomorrow?"

The woman smiled. "Of course father."

"I am glad to hear that child," the priest said, turning around. "Now then, I must-" he stopped in his tracks as he saw Adam, taking in his white armor and the golden crucifix painted across the chest. A smile spread across his face. "A Left Hand Commando...another man of the cloth I see? Pleased to meet you, I'm the head father of this town's church, and a bit of a spiritual leader. What brings you all the way from Earth to our sleepy little town?"

"I'm afraid I can't go into too much detail," Adam replied. "It's official Coalition business though...well sort of. I'm on leave right now, but I am on a rather important mission."

"Well, you should be proud of yourself, dedicating your life to removing blights from this world so that we may better prepare for the next. Perhaps I will see you at the church before you leave?"

"I'll do my best to make it, right now I'm just trying and to get something to eat."

"Ah, of course," the father said, turning around to face the woman behind the counter. "I'll be going now. Be a good host and give our guest the finest that you can." The father nodded his head and smiled as he walked out of the diner.

"He seemed rather pleasant," Adam said, "It seemed a little odd about how he said that I remove blights from the world though."

"Well don't you?" the woman asked.

Adam shrugged. "I suppose technically, but that's not the way I like to think about it. What I do is a very dirty and unpleasant thing that should only be used as a last resort. Violence should only ever be used as a means to an end, never for personal satisfaction. That is what was taught to me at the Vatican."

"Wow, you're from the Vatican!? What's it like?"

"It's rather hard to describe to someone who hasn't seen it, but needless to say it's quite a view. Is there any chance that I could look at a menu?"

"It's right up there," the woman said, pointing upward at a sign that was hanging over them.

"Oh...my mistake," Adam said, chuckling slightly before studying the menu. "Hm...I suppose that I'll have some scrambled eggs along with some bacon. And some water to drink. A little basic, but still satisfying. Ok, let me see, the bacon is four credits, the eggs are-"

"Oh you don't pay here," the woman said cheerfully. "You're a man of God, what kind of person would I be if I demanded money from you?" She craned her head and shouted over her shoulder. "I need some bacon and eggs!" She looked back at Adam, smiling widely. A small frown spread across the commando's face.

"I...I appreciate the gesture, but I would much rather prefer it if I paid for my meal."

The woman blinked. "But why would you do that? You're carrying out God's work, I can't just force you to pay for food from me."

"Yes young lady, yes you can," Adam said patiently. "Me being a priest doesn't make me above paying for breakfast, or waiting in line, or waiting in traffic, or just about anything in general. I'm a normal person just like you, it's just that I dedicated my life to preaching my religion and giving sermons, along with defending those that needed it. It doesn't make me better than you and I honestly would feel much more comfortable if I were to pay for my food. Taking it from you for free would feel like I'm abusing my position for my personal benefit, and I will be honest with you, I am terrified of doing that."

The woman sighed. "Fine, if you really insist."

"Thank you, Adam said, smiling as he activated his omni-tool, transferring some credits from his bank account to hers.

"Ok father you-"

"Please, call me Adam."

"...ok," the woman said, eyeing him as if he had something odd, "your food should be just about done."

"Thank you, I'll just-" Adam began, but was interrupted as the door to the dinner opened.

"Uh, is there anyone here who can help me?" a dark skinned woman in business clothing said, walking into the dinner with an active omni-tool, vicious typing into it. "I'm trying to find New Athens, I need to be there for a business meeting in two days, but something's wrong with my omni-tool. I was supposed to get it replaced but I didn't have the time to-"

"New Athens?" Adam said, raising an eyebrow, "that city is on the other side of the planet."

"I...oh son of a bitch," the woman swore. "I am scrapping this thing the second I get the chance," she hissed, deactivating her omni-tool. "Good thing I'm a couple of days early. Thanks by the way, my name is Aafreen."

"Adam. I'm glad to help. I could probably also find a shuttle that could get you there in time."

"I appreciate that, but I'm pretty sure I can arrange for them to get me out of here. It'll probably take awhile though, I'll have to stay in this town overnight."

"Oh, you can come to mass in the morning then!" the woman behind the counter exclaimed.

"Uh..." Aafreen said, looking at the woman. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm not Christian. In fact I'm Islamic. Besides, I need to get out of here first thing in the morning. I just need to find an inn or something where I can stay for the night. This is so frustrating."

"I...but...what!?" the woman said, looking absolutely flustered. "You don't believe in Jesus?"

"I believe that he was a prophet of God, but only a man," Aafreen said, "look, I really don't want to have this conversation, can you just tell me where I can stay for the night?"

"But he died for our sins on the cross, how can you not believe in that?" She turned to look at Adam, "how can someone be so cruel that they turn their back on their lord and savior? She should be ashamed of herself."

"Different people have different believe and views," Adam said calmly. "To say that those that think differently are foolish is the height of both ignorance and arrogance. I urge you to be neither."

"Well I'm sorry, I don't feel comfortable talking to a heathen like her!" the woman shouted.

Adam blinked as he continued to look at her. "Now that I think about it, I'm not particularly hungry." Turning, he walked out of the dinner, Aafreen leaving with him. "I'm sorry about that," he said to her.

"It's not your fault she was so stuck up," Aafreen said, looking at Adam. "Besides, after awhile you get used to someone thinking that everyone that doesn't think the exact same way as they do is a moron. Christians, Muslims, Atheists, Liberals, Conservatives, no one is exempt."

"True, but it is awfully frustrating," Adam sighed, looking up at the sky. "Still, I would like to help find you a place to stay.

Aafreen grinned. "That's nice of you. You're a lot nicer than the other infidels." Adam blinked. "I was joking because...it just...oh forget it." Adam laughed and Aafreen gave a sheepish smile.

"So, what do you do for a living?" Adam asked.

"Oh I'm an executive for a company that produces air cars, I doubt that you've heard of it, we only operate on a couple of planets. The whole reason we're coming out here is that we're thinking about setting up shop on this planet. My omni-tool got damaged though and apparently because of that I'm on the wrong side of the planet...perfect, just perfect, and the shuttle I took left an hour ago, so I don't think I'm getting a ride from that." Aafreen groaned in annoyance. "So what about you?"

"Just a soldier of the Coalition," Adam replied, "I'm on leave." As he spoke, he scanned the buildings that they were walking by. A smile broke across his face as he spotted a small inn. "I think that place should do."

"Looks nice enough," she said, the two of them walking through the front door to find a well dressed man standing in the parlor with his hand pressed to his ear.

"I understand father, I...yes she just arrived. I'll take care of it," he said, lowering his hand. "That was the head father," he said, looking at Adam and Aafreen. "The woman you just met at the diner called him about the...uh...incident with this young lady here. The father extends his deepest apologizes for this, he wants to make your stay here as pleasant as possible."

"She...called him?" Adam asked, sounding confused. "And you called him?" He couldn't put his hand on it, but something felt rather off about all of this.

"Oh yes, the father is like a mentor to us all," the man explained. "We have all gone through tough times in our life, and whenever we did he was always here for us. We always go to him whenever we need help and he guides us down the right path. If you met him, he probably described himself as the spiritual leader of this town, which is pretty much true."

"I understand," Adam said, still feeling a little uncomfortable. He turned to face Aafreen and was about to tell her that he would most likely check up on her in the morning, but stopped. For some reason, his gut was telling him not to say it in front of the man. "I...well, I'm glad I could help. I doubt that I'll be able to see you again." As he did, he mouthed the words "be careful" to her, his back to the man.

She blinked in confusion, but didn't say anything, giving a small nod that she had understood. "Ok, thank you for the help," she said. Adam nodded before walking out of the inn.

As he stepped outside, Adam couldn't help but realize that the pleasant feeling that he had had when he first entered the town had long since evaporated, being replaced with a sour taste in his mouth. Something simply felt wrong about the place, but he wasn't sure what. "I need to check up on her before she leaves," Adam said to himself. "Make sure that she's all right." He continued to walk, a horribly unpleasant feeling still in his stomach.

XXXXX

Saren nervous rubbed his forehead as he paced back and froth across Sovereign's bridge. He had ordered the ship along with a couple hundred Geth to head to one of the outposts that they had established to salvage Reaper technology. All of the other outposts had reported in after he had ordered them to, and for the most part they had all been fine. A few of them had teams that had been experiencing headaches and nightmares, but after the indoctrination devices had been removed and destroyed, they had faded.

It seemed like Saren had gotten to his teams just in time...for the most part. One of them, a team sent to examine a derelict Reaper orbiting a Brown Dwarf, had not reported in. Fearing the worst, Saren had taken Sovereign and immediately set a course for the outpost.

He stopped as Sovereign exited light speed, the Brown Dwarf and the Reaper orbiting it clearly visible. Had he been in any other ship, he would have been knocked about by howling winds as Sovereign closed on the other ship, but the powerful kinetic barriers of the capital ship easily negated their affect, causing the ship to smoothly head towards its destination.

"I want all units ready to deploy in five minutes!" Saren shouted into his COM unit as he exited the bridge, making his way down to Sovereign's hanger. "This is a search and rescue mission, get onboard that ship, find any survivors and get them off. Destroy any indoctrination technology that you can find too, I have no use for it and it poses a threat to me!"

The Turian fought back the urge to gulp as he entered an elevator, descending down into the lower sections of the ship. Several minutes passed as he continued to weave his way through Sovereign, before finally reaching the hanger. Several dozen Geth were standing there motionless, waiting for him in front of a handful of dropships.

"Well...move out," Saren said softly. The Geth responded with the reflexes one would expect from a machine race, marching into the dropships in an orderly fashion. Saren fought back the urge to swallow as he climbed onto one of them, the door closing behind him. His stomach lurched as the dropship took off. "What's wrong with me?" he whispered, "am I such a rookie that I can't handle a ship taking off?"

"Saren?" a voice said over his COM unit. "Are you there?"

"Yes Rana...are you ready?"

"Yes, I've got the feed set up. Anything your Geth can see, I can see."

"Good. The Geth aren't a very talkative bunch, so I need you to be my eyes and ears. Tell me if you see anything out of the ordinary. We can't completely rule out that the Coalition managed to find us here."

"Understood," Rana said, the COM line dying as Saren sighed and slid down into a sitting position, his back against the wall. He gently tapped his talon against the Spectre grade assault rifle in his hands, waiting as the dropship headed towards the derelict Reaper. The seconds slowly ticked by as he sat there, dragging by as he impatiently waited. He found himself clenching his mandibles in frustration, fighting down the urge to order the dropship to go faster.

'What is wrong with me!?' he thought angrily, 'I'm completely loosing my nerve!' He continued to wait, and after what seemed like an hour, the dropship finally docked. 'That must have take a while if...TWO MINUTES?' he thought, activating his omni-tool and realizing how short the trip had been. One of the Geth was staring in his direction, and Rana's voice crackled over the COM lines.

"What's wrong Saren? You look uncomfortable?"

"I...nothing," he said, grabbing his assault rifle and getting to his feet. "All right, move out, kill anything that posses a threat," he said as the door to the dropship slid open and he jumped out, the Geth following him. They disembarked in the hanger of the derelict Reaper, the other dropships having gone to other parts of the ship to spread out and maximize their search range.

"Something doesn't seem right here," Saren remarked, looking around the hanger. Several research terminals and work benches had been set up all over the hanger, with no life in sight, as if everyone had been killed. But at the same time it didn't look like there had been a struggle, all of the equipment looked undamaged, if a bit dusty. "Where did everyone go?" he said out loud.

"I can't tell, there's too much interference from the Brown Dwarf to run a thermal scan," Rana said. "You might want to try tapping into the Reaper's internal sensors."

"I'll keep that in mind," Saren said, walking towards one of the terminals and typing in commands, accessing the video logs.

"Goddess," an image of an Asari said, the screen coming to life. "Saren's data was good, there really is a ship here and it's enormous! I wish that we could start working on it right away but...he wants us to survey this ship and see how extensive the damage is before he sends any Geth to help us rebuild it. He says that he can't afford to spread his forces too thin and that the Geth that he has are already busy repairing other ships like this. I wanted to argue but...I know nothing about this ship or the geth, so what do I know? Still, it's going to take awhile to survey this entire thing, especially when it has such advanced technology. We better get started."

Saren frowned as he typed a command into the terminal, cycling through the entries to a later one. The same Asari appeared, looking much more disheveled this time. "Things aren't going very well, half of the scientists keep getting headaches and the ones that don't keep talking to themselves. I think the tight spaces are starting to get to us, and the inside design of this ship is something out of a nightmare. I'll be glad when all of this is over...maybe I should-" the recording was cut off as Saren cycled through the entries again, this time to the last one.

"I...what's going on?" the Asari said quietly. "A week ago I didn't know the first thing about this ship, but know every time I look at one of the parts I know what it is and what it does. Repairing this ship would be easy now if we had the manpower but...for some reason I feel like I should be searching for something in the cargo bay...I...I..." the Asari fell silent, staring with dead eyes at the camera. For a moment she just sat there before reaching forward, turning off the recording.

Saren's hand shook as he pulled it back. 'Is it possible?' he thought to himself. 'Did they get indoctrinated? I-' his line of thought was broken as a roar filled his ears. He whipped around to see a massive creature charging out of a doorway, several smaller figures carrying rifles right behind it. The creature swung a large clawed hand at the nearest Geth, nearly ripping it and half and sending it flying against the wall.

Saren raised his rifle and fired three bursts into the large creature's head, each one hitting it. The beast snapped its head in his direction and immediately charged, swiping its claws at him as the other figures opened fire on the Geth, who immediately began to return the favor. Saren fired two more bursts at the creature before throwing himself to the side, narrowing avoiding it's massive claws.

Spinning around, the creature swung again, Saren ducking it's long arms by the skin of his teeth. He fired another burst at its chest before the creature raised one of it's arms over its head and brought it smashing down, Saren jumping back just int time to avoid it. The claws buried themselves in the ground, not coming out, even as the creature pulled. Saren took advantage of this at once, running forward, up the creature's long arm and onto it's shoulder, pressing his rifle against its head and firing burst after burst at point blank range, causing sparks to fly out of the creature's head.

Through the sound of gunfire, Saren could faintly hear the sound of something heavy swinging through the air, and glanced to the side just in time to see the monster's other claw flying towards him. He cried out in agony as it slashed through his organic arm, leaving a deep gash. He fumbled his rifle and fell of the creature. Panicking, he reached out and grabbed it by the shoulder with his cybernetic arm and drawing his pistol with his burning organic arm. Let out a roar that was half fear half rage, he fired shot after shot into the monster's head.

The combined punishment finally took its toll on the creature and it fell forward, hitting the ground with a loud smash. Crawing forward, Saren continued to pump rounds into its head, continuing to roar as he did. Eventually, his pistol overheated and the bullets stopped, but he continued to pull the trigger nontheless. "SAREN!" Rana's voice caused a jolt to shoot through his body as he stopped pulling the trigger. He sat there for a second, his heart hammering in his chest as he looked at his pistol, which was shaking in his hand. "It's...it's dead Saren," Rana said softly.

"I know...I...thank you," Saren whispered, holstering his pistol and grabbing a tube of medi-gel, hastily applying it to his gash. As he did, he looked up just in time to see the Geth finish off the last of the figures with rifles, albeit with their own numbers significantly thinned. "What are these things?" Saren said, looking down at the creature that he had just killed. It seemed to be made out of metal and had a rather pointed head with multiple eyes.

"I don't know. I'm ordering one of the Geths to examine the things with the rifles," Rana said, one of the Geth indeed stepping forward with an omni-tool, scanning the figure with the rifle. "I'm getting the results now I...oh Goddess. Saren this thing...it's a Turian."

"What?!" Saren shouted, looking back down at the larger creature that he had killed. As he did, he realized, with a pang of nausea, that the creature's head was in fact a Turian's skull.

"Oh Spirits," he whispered, realized that the extra eyes that it had must be cybernetic implants. "What happened here?" Before Rana replied, a noise filled his ears again. This time however, it was not an animalistic roar like the creature had let out. It was a high pitched screech.

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Hawkins Industries: Hawkins Industries was formed a year after the First Contact War by Alexander Hawkins and his wife. Both of them were angered by the Turian attack on the Coalition, and founded the company to bolster the starship industry of their government. Anti-alien resentment was at an all time high, in the Coalition, and they received massive support from government officials and wealthy businessmen, causing the company to take off. Within months, a board of executives had been formed and dozens of shipyards were built, producing civilian ships. As of today, the Hawkins Industries produces 42% of the civilian ships used in Coalition territory, although it has notably not received a license to produce military ships from the government.

Ten years go, Alexander Hawkins was involved in a massive scandal. Many accused him of taking bribes and having a hand in trafficking Jet. Trails and investigations lasted for months and the value of the company's stock took a significant drop, but Hawkins was never convicted of anything. For the most part, Hawkins Industries' stocks have recovered and they continue to make ships to this day, even though the CEO regularly speaks out against aliens and identifies himself as anti-Council and a member of the Terra Firma party.

Hub Station: Hub stations are a type of orbital station that is universal among all races of the galaxy. They can be found orbiting most heavily colonized planets, usually in large numbers. Hub stations are cheaply but effectively designed to accommodate the basic needs of all space-ward travelers. Many ships can dock with a hub station at the same time, to be repaired, refueled and resupplied. What is more, the interior of the station has more to it than simple services dedicated to the maintenance of ships.

Much like the Citadel and Omega, hub stations are centers of trade and culture, albeit on a much smaller scale, to the point where they can be considered small towns. These stations contain stores that sell a variety of merchandise, rooms that can be rented, bars and other such accommodations. Thousands of people can be found on a hub station at any given time, many of them permanently living on the station. However it also worth noting that sometimes hub stations have an underbelly of crime.

XXXXX

Author's Note: People are probably going to complain about Norman's backstory is too blunt and too generic. For the moment, that is understandable but remember the Assassin's Creed. Nothing is true, everything is permitted. Also Aafreen isn't going to be around for too long, so don't worry about that...she is going to play a rather important role in the near future though.

Also a recently made a friend who is a fellow writer like me, he's working on a Skyrim fanfiction. He hasn't gotten too many views though, so give him a little support. The fic is on his Deviant Art account. His user name is VagabondMike Also, I want to find a way to spice things up, so here's a little thing that I'm going to be doing now at the end of chapters when I can come up with something.

VERSUS!

This is where I take two people, settings, factions etc, and pit them against each other. The readers (you) will vote and by the time I post the next chapter I will decide the winner. For our first time, we will have "Who is the best Dragon?" In TV Tropes, the Dragon is the second in command, the guy that does all of the dirty work for the Big Bad and is usually a force to be reckoned with. For this Versus, we have

KAI LENG:

+ Heavy cybernetic augmentations

+ Killed a Krogan with a knife

+ Held his own against David Anderson

+ Killed Thane Krios (who was admittedly very sick)

Fought against Commander Shepard on several occasions

Is rather arrogant

Has plot armor

VS

LEGATE LANIUS

+ Single handily killed his tribe when he was not even an adult

+ Killed two NCR rangers with his sword with little effort

+ Killed 10 men in the Legion's arena, barehanded

+ Can survived being shot in the face with a .50 cal anti-tank round

Has mythic status among the Legion

Is very proud

Lacks a ranged weapon, aside from a few grenades

Vote and decide, WHO IS BETTER!?


	37. Zealot

Chapter 37

Zealot

Author's Note: Sorry for the long update time, like I said I've had a lot more on my schedule than I did before, I'm doing what I can. I'm going to do you and myself a favor and make this chapter especially interesting.

XXXXX

Sheryl sat at the mess hall in the Normandy, gently working away at her wooden Deathclaw sculpture. She smiled, pleased at the progress that she was making. "Whatcha doing there?" Sheryl jumped violently, looking around and seeing no one.

"Who's there!? she shouted.

"How's it going?" Kasumi said, dropping her tactical cloak, sitting on the chair next to Sheryl.

"Don't...don't do that," Sheryl said, not amused as she put the knife and sculpture down on the table. "I was doing well...I can't figure out what to do next. I can't just do that whenever I want you know, the creativity comes and goes as it pleases."

"Oh, sorry about that," Kasumi said. "Hey, I heard that you were talking with Roger in his room after Noveria." She grinned. "So, are you friends with him now?"

"I...I don't know," Sheryl said honestly. "I really don't know what to think about him anymore. On one hand he's been through a lot of crap and he's had a good reason to be a massive ass...on the other hand I've been through a lot of tough times too, and I know that it's not a be all end all excuse to do whatever you want to do...so I don't know what to think right now. The two of us are going to try and talk though, maybe get lunch tomorrow and...we'll see where it goes."

"You're wasting your time on him," a voice grunted. Sheryl turned to the side to see Norman approaching the table. "The guy's scum, pure and simple, in case his attitude didn't give it away."

"I think I'll make that particular decision for myself," Sheryl said, her voice dropping to a hiss.

"Don't act like I'm the bad guy here, I'm trying to do you a favor. He's trouble, he frankly shouldn't even be on the ship."

"I-" Sheryl began, but was cut off as Adam burst into the room.

"Sheryl!" he practically shouted, looking as if he had just run a mile, panting heavily. "Are you...are you good at staying hidden?"

"Yes..." she said, getting to her feet, looking rather surprised.

"So can I...why what's going on?" Kasumi said.

"I...I was down on the planet, in a small town. A Muslim woman came into a dinner and was looking for directions, the locals put her up in a inn but something is off about that place," Adam blabbered. "I'd bet half of my savings that every last person in that town is Catholic, they all seem to regard the head father like he's the undisputed ruler. One woman acted like the Muslim woman was a heathen, but when we got to the inn, the owner said that the head father had called him and cleared things up."

"So...what's the problem?" Sheryl asked.

"Something didn't seem right about it, everything happened too fast. We went from one person talking about how she was an abomination of God to another man apologizing for it, both of them extremely Catholic and living in the same town and both of them clearly looking up to the head father. I find it hard to believe that he would have two people under him with such radically different beliefs...I...I think he was the one that taught that woman to hate non-Catholics, but he didn't teach her to keep her mouth shut. I think that the head father realized what she had done and told the innkeeper to tell me that everything would be all right so that I would leave without suspecting anything."

"Exactly what are you getting at here?" Norman asked.

"I...I don't know," Adam admitted. "Not everything adds up about this town, and there's an innocent person down in what could be a very dangerous place. I just want to go down there and make sure that she's safe, but I think I should take backup in case things get ugly."

"Did you talk to the Captain about this?" Sheryl asked.

"I did, but she said that there wasn't enough evidence for her to think that there was anything that we should be concerned about," Adam said. "She said that I was more than free to keep an eye on her if it would calm my nerves, so that's exactly what I'm going to do. Can you please help me Sheryl? You too Kasumi."

"Hm...it...oh ok," Sheryl said, getting to her feet. "It can't hurt, besides I doubt that I would be able to get anymore carving today."

"Well count me in too," Kasumi said, grinning widely.

"I'm going down there too," Norman said sternly.

"I appreciate the offer, but the three of us should do," Adam said.

"I wasn't asking for your permission," he growled. "If you think that there's a very real chance that someone down there could get hurt, I'm not just going to stand around up here with my thump up my ass while you run down there to play hero. Besides, you're not my superior officer, I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not."

"I...oh very well," Adam sighed, "the more the merrier I suppose. We should probably wait a little bit before going back down, it'd be suspicious if we showed up when I only left a little while ago. We...we should come up with a battle plan."

"Do you have a map of the town?" Sheryl asked.

"I do as a matter of fact, I was going to tour it before this all happened and I downloaded one," Adam said, sitting down at the table and activating his omni-tool, pressing a series of buttons. A holographic map of the town shot out of it, floating in the air over the table. "The inn is here," he said, pointing at the map, the building turning blue as he did. "I want to make sure that she's all right, but I don't think that they suspect that I'm on to them yet. I'd rather just walk in through the front door saying that I dropped something, and check up on her in the process. Norman, if you're going to come I'd rather you have my back, Kasumi and Sheryl, I'd prefer it if you stayed out of sight in case things get ugly."

"Any specific place that you want us to be?" Sheryl asked.

"You should get up to the point that gives you a good view of the inn but as much view of the town as possible so that you have maximum range. Kasumi, stay around a minute behind us with your tactical cloak at the ready. I'd prefer it if you had your guns set to fire concussive rounds."

"Non-lethal?" Norman asked. "Exactly what do you think is going to happen down there?"

"I...I don't know," Adam said. "At the Vatican they always warned us young priests and commandos the worst thing that we can do with our religion is use it as a weapon and a tool for personal gain. Use it to mislead the people that we guide and use it to justify slaughter because 'it's what God wants'. I have a horrible feeling that the head father down there doesn't live by the same philosophy. Faith has a place in life but...the church down there seems to work its way into every aspect of society down there. The way that I saw that woman react when Aafreen said that she was Islamic...it scared me."

"I don't know what to expect down there, I don't know what I'm going to do down there, all I know is that I doubt that I'll be able to sleep soundly down there unless I go down there to make sure that she's safe. This isn't an official mission, none of you have to come with any of me."

"I'm a Roughneck," Norman said, cracking his knuckles, "protecting the innocent is what we do. If you think that there's someone in trouble down there, it's my job to make sure that she's safe. You're stuck with me."

"I know what it feels like to be attacked for just being different," Sheryl remarked, "what kind of a person would I be if I went through that and then just stood aside while the same thing happened to someone else?"

"And I just don't like nice people getting hurt," Kasumi said, grinning widely. "That and I think sneaking around a town with no one looking would be kinda fun. I might get a few nice souvenirs."

"I...thank you," Adam said, smiling softly. "If...if the head father really is using his position to manipulate the people of that town, then there's a good chance that they're good people at heart that are just being lead down the wrong path. I'm begging you, whatever you do, don't kill them if you can help it. If things get violent, shoot them with concussive rounds, knock them out, put them in a sleeper hold, just...please don't kill anyone."

"You're way too soft," Norman grunted, "but...fine. They are Coalition citizens, and if I went trigger happy down there it would be a PR nightmare. Still, if any of them pulls a gun on my, I'm not going to hesitate to defend myself."

"I understand," Adam said, running his hand through his white hair nervously. "I...I don't even know what's going to happen down there. I don't know if people are going to try and kill us or if I'm just going to wake Aafreen up in the middle of the night but...I need to make sure. I think we should wait around half an hour before we go down so...check your gear, armor up and...pray to God that I'm just being paranoid."

XXXXX

Saren couldn't help but shiver as the screech tore through the derelict Reaper. "What was that?" Rana said over the COM lines.

"I don't know," Saren whispered. "But...but whatever it was and whatever these things are, they're a threat. We need to get them off of this Reaper. We need to get in, find the indoctrination device, and destroy it." He pointed at half of his remaining Geth. "You, with me. The rest of you, secure these bodies. Get them onto the dropship and back to Sovereign. We need to analyze their bodies and figure out what happened to them."

The Geth didn't respond, merely moving to secure the bodies of the creatures that had attacked them. The other Geth fell into line with Saren. "Move forward," Saren said, marching into the interior of the ship, their weapons at the ready. "Rana, you have a dropship coming back with the corpses of those creatures that attacked us. Analyze them and figure out what you can."

"I...very well," Rana said softly.

"Is something wrong?"

"Saren...is it really worth risking your life to take this ship back? Wouldn't it be more alternative to just bombard it? That creature nearly killed you and already took out more than few of your Geth. And with every moment you stay on that ship, your chances of being indoctrinated grow. Please Saren, it's too risky, we should just destroy this ship, we have others that we can-"

"No!" he shouted. "We can't afford to lose a single one! We're outgunned in this war that we started, and we need every last ship that we can get, especially one as powerful as a Reaper! Why can't you...you..." Saren trailed off as he heard the complete silence on the other side. "Rana...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled, the stress of everything...I...I'm sorry."

"I understand," she replied quietly. "Just please come back alive."

"I will."

"Good...Saren...I think-LOOK OUT!" Saren's head jerked up just in time to see five more creatures round the corner, opening fire at him. Both he and the Geth returned fire, allowed him to look at them long enough to make out their forms. They were much smaller than the clawed creature that attacked him, but much bulkier than the Turians. The seemed to be rather bloated, extending their arms to fire some sort of projectiles out of cannons that had replaced their hands. They also had four eyes.

"Batarians?" he hissed, raising his rifle and firing a quick burst at the nearest one. He managed to hit it directly above the eyes, coating the floor with blood as the Geth also opened fire. The disfigured Batarians were hit in the gut by many of the shots from the Geth, killing all but two of them, who were wounded. Saren half expected them to retreat. What they did instead shocked him to his very core.

The two abominations stopped firing and crouched down, opening their mouths wide. Curious Saren slowly walked forward, his stomach vanishing as he realized exactly what they were doing. They were eating their fallen comrades. Nausea filled Saren as he saw them tear chunk after chunk of flesh from the corpses, their own wounds slowly healing as a result, even as blood trickled down their chins. Silently, Saren raised his rifle and fired a shot at each Batarians head, killing them instantly.

Saren looked down at the disfigured bodies, most of them barely even recognizable as Batarians anymore, especially the ones that had been partially devoured. The sheer scope of the scene hit Saren, causing him to double over slightly, gasping deeply. "Saren?" Rana said. Saren continued to heave until he opened his mouth and vomited all over the floor. "SAREN!"

"I...I'm fine," he insisted, weakly wiping his mouth with his arm. "It...it just caught me off guard is all."

"Please...just get out of there as fast as you can."

"Yes...yes I understand," Saren said, continuing to make his way down the hallway, the Geth right behind him. "What...what's the status on the other Geth."

"Hold on a moment," Rana said, the sound of fingers typing audible. "They're engaging the same creatures that you have...it looks like they're taking some losses. You're the closest one to the indoctrination device and with this many hostiles I don't think that they'll be able to get to you."

"Understood, I'll do what I...hold on a minute, I think I found something." Saren rounded a corner, stepping into a massive open room with five metal spikes in the center. "What are these things supposed to be?" he asked, looking at them."

"I think some of the Geth found something similar in Sovereign's cargo bay, but we could never figure out how to make them work. The spikes aren't normally extended like that...and these have...Saren these have blood on them."

Saren swallowed as he took a step closer and saw that Rana was right, Turian, Asari, Krogan and Batarian blood coated all of the spikes. He grit his teeth, fighting down the nausea again. "Hold on, one of the research team's terminals are here," he said, walking towards a terminal that was indeed placed right in front of the spikes. Typing into it, he cycled to the last entry in the log.

An image of the same Asari from the other recordings appeared, walking towards the devices, the spikes not extended yet. She slowly stopped in front of them, looking down at one with a silly grin on her face. "I understand," she whispered. She lay down over the device, the small of her back over the center of the device. Reaching down, she pressed a button on the side. The spike extended outward and impaled her. Saren's hand flew over his mouth as the spike continued to stretch upward, lifting her up with it.

Saren lowered his hand, pressing a button and deactivating the image. "Oh Goddess," Rana said. "The ship made them do that to themselves?"

"I...I think so," Saren whispered.

"But why? And who took them down? And...oh Goddess. Do you think that this is how the research team got turned into those creatures that you killed?"

"It...it is a possibility," Saren said. "Someone would have had to take them down...if they could have done it themselves after being turned into...those things...those...husks."

"Ok...hold on a moment Saren," Rana said, the sound of shuffling evident. "The other Geth are back Saren, they're putting the bodies in the lab now. I'm getting the results from the scan now...it looks like the earlier scans were right, the riflemen are Turians. They have massive amounts of cybernetic augmentations, entire organs have been replaced. The bigger one has traces of Turian DNA...and Krogan DNA."

"Could you please say that again?" Saren said, disbelief heavy in his voice.

"There are Turian and Krogan body parts in here. It's...what's the Human term? A...a Chimera. Just like the other things, there are a massive about of cybernetics. And...oh Goddess. There are nanobots in their bloodstream."

"Nanobots?" Saren said. "Even with Mass Effect technology we haven't figure out how to make them! Even the Coalition doesn't have nanobots. The Reapers have them?"

"Apparently they do. Somehow the spikes must have distributed them into the bodies of these people. They must have been what caused them to change into what they are now."

"Well...keep examining them. We need to keep moving." Saren raised his rifle, pushing the vortex of emotions that he was experiencing to the back of his head. He and the Geth proceeded further down into the ship, their weapons at the ready. To Saren's great surprise, they did not encounter any more creatures as they walked down hallway after hallway. To be honest, Saren found the quiet rather unnerving. There was a difference between being shot at and walking through an empty corridor expecting to be shot at. In the first situation, at the very least you knew where the threat was and could shoot back, in the second that wasn't the case. You had to wait for the threat to make itself known before you could do anything. It was unbearable.

After what seemed like an eternity, he came to a massive metal door. "Rana, I need you to upload the Reaper access code that we managed to decrypt to my omni-tool."

"Got it," Rana said as Saren raised an arm, his omni-tool glowing around it. A few seconds passed as the codes that he had were transferred from it to the door. After a minute had passed, it slid open, revealing a massive complex of circuitry and wires. "There," Saren said, pointing at a piece of machinery on the tripod in the center of the wires. Aiming his rifle he opened fire, riddling the device with bullets until his gun overheated.

"I...I think I got it," Saren whispered into his COM unit. "The Indoctrination device is destroyed."

"Good," Rana said, sounding relieved. "With any luck that should stop the creatures that are running throughout the ship. Now then you need to get out of there so that we can plan on how to retake the ship." Saren nodded as he began to turn around. He stopped as a inhumane screech tore through the ship. He froze, a chill running up his spine. Turning around all the way, he had just enough time to duck as a Geth flew through the air, slamming limply agains the wall.

Recovering his balance he managed to get a good look what had thrown the Geth. A long thin creature with deformed elements and thick clawed hands. It had a spiked head and from what he could tell it had used to be beautiful. It had glowing lines of cybernetics across its sagging breasts and pot belly, a twisted grin along the face of what at one point had been a young Asari Maiden. Saren looked on in horror as biotics flared around its claws as they swung, tearing a nearby Geth in two and leaving one left. Instincts took over as Saren raised his rifle and opened fire.

XXXXX

Adam breathed in shakily before exhaling, looking at the far end of the shuttle. "Last time to back out," Norman said, looking at him.

"No...no I have to do this," Adam said, the shuttle slowly touching down and the back door sliding open, the four of them stepping out into the outskirts of Llih Tnelis. Night had fallen over the town. "It's dark already?"

"It was sundown when you went down to the town for the first time," Kasumi said.

"Right..." Adam said slowly, rubbing his hands together nervously. "Well, at the very least you two should have the cover of darkness. Ok...let's get this over with." Kasumi nodded, activating her tactical cloak while Sheryl approached the nearest building, firing her grappling hook out of her crossbow and climbing up the side of the building, firing off another one at another nearby building and climbing up that one too.

"Weapons drawn?" Norman said, looking at Adam.

"I'd rather not," Adam said, "as far as we know nothing is happening, and even if something is, it's be for the best if we don't draw attention to ourselves," he said, walking into the town and down the streets. "The inn is this way." Norman followed Adam down the street of the town until the stopped in front of the inn. Looking hesitantly at the Roughneck, Adam took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The same man was still there, bending over the counter and reading something. "Father?" he said, looking up. "You're back? Do you need to rent a room?"

"Not exactly," Adam said. "I was just wondering if I had left anything here. When I left town I just had this nagging feeling that I was missing something."

"I didn't see you drop anything," the man said, shrugging slightly. "Maybe you left whatever you're looking for somewhere else, at the dinner maybe."

"Oh...well while I'm here, is there any chance that I could check up on Aafreen?"

"The Islamic woman? Oh she left."

Adam felt a knot tighten in his stomach. "W-where did she go? When?"

"You seem rather nervous father," the man said, cocking his head slightly. "How come?"

"It's in my nature to worry about people, now please answer my question," Adam said rather hastily, "when did she leave?"

"Not that long ago, the head father managed to find a shuttle that would take here to where she needed to go. She left to get to that important business meeting of hers so she left in a hurry. You might be able to find her on the other side of the planet if you want to say goodbye to her."

"I...are you certain?" Adam asked.

"Father why are you so nervous?" the man asked, looking honestly confused. "If you are that worried I have a record of the shuttle that the head father called right here." Reaching under the desk, the man handed Adam a datapad. The Left Hand Commando hastily took and and began to scan it. It looked genuine, a receipt of a shuttle that had been called to take a single passenger to a city on the other end of the planet, where Aafreen had said that she had needed to go.

"Can you see anything wrong with this?" Adam asked, handing the datapad to Norman.

He squinted at it. "I don't see anything that wrong with it. If this is a forgery it's a very good one."

"Forgery? the man said. "Father, what's going on here?"

"Just a moment," Adam said, putting his hand to his COM unit. "EDI, are you there?"

"I am incapable of being anywhere else," EDI asked. "What do you require?"

"Have you been scanning the planet?"

"I have been, it is standard procedure. Why?"

"Did I shuttle land at my location and then take off?"

"A moment please...yes, one did exactly twenty two minutes ago. It is still currently in the air."

"Twenty two minutes ago...that's what this thing says," Norman said, putting the datapad back down on the counter.

"Father, what is going on?" the man said again.

"I'm...I'm sorry," Adam said softly. "Just an old man being foolish." Adam slowly backed away and stepped outside of the inn, Norman right behind him.

"So...this turned out to be a massive waste of time."

"Yes...yes it was," Adam said, letting out a breath of relief. He felt like a massive weight had been lifted off of his chest. "It nothing...thank the Lord it was nothing." He let out a deep booming laugh. "Oh thank God...I feel so relieved." He turned to face Norman. "Anything I can do to make it up to you, Sheryl and Kasumi, just name it. All you can eat buffet, enough alcohol to make your liver fail, you name it, it's yours."

Norman couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Well, I suppose I am getting a little tired of military rations. Edible but not exactly what you would call gourmet. Tell you what, buy me a steak and we'll call it even."

"Whatever you say, I'll just need find a nice place that serves the stuff, the most expensive thing on the menu if yours."

"You've got yourself a deal, I've got to warn you though I've got one Hell of an-" Norman began, before stopping mid-sentence.

"What?" Adam said as Norman stopped in his tracks, crouching down and looking at the grass.

"There's blood here," Norman said, moving forward again and looking down. "There's another splatter here...it's a trail."

The happy smile slid off of Adam's face as the color drained from it, looking down and seeing that there was instead blood splatters on the grass, leading away from the inn in a line. He connected the splatters in his mind, looking up and realizing exactly where they lead. The church in the center of town. "They're not getting any thinner," Norman remarked, "Whoever left this looks like they were bleeding pretty badly."

Adam gulped as he suddenly began to walk forward, heading directly towards the church. "What are you doing?" Norman said, looking at Adam as he continued to head towards the church. He didn't respond, not breaking his stride even as Norman started after him. "So what's the plan, just kick the door down and go in guns blazing?" He was about to continue when he noticed that in the houses that they were passing, many people were watching them from the windows. "Ah shit," he swore, realizing that a couple of them were starting to come out, heading towards them. Within seconds, a small crowd had formed around him.

"Evening father," a woman said, approaching Adam. "Why are you going to the church at this hour? It's closed at-" Adam brushed past her, not stopping to look at her.

"You can't go in there," a man with a gruff voice said, "you're not a part of the head father's-" Adam walked by him as well. "Hey!" he snapped, grabbing Adam by the shoulder, "didn't you listen to me? You can't-" he was cut off as Adam whirled around and slammed his fist into the man's face. He reeled back, caught off guard, and fell back onto the ground.

Adam turned and broke into a full out run towards the church. "Someone stop him!" a woman shouted, but before the crowd could do anything, Norman stepped in-between the retreating Adam and the crowd.

"Got something to hide?" he asked, tightening his fingerless gloves. "He's just going to pay a little visit. I thought the house of God was never closed and open to all. It-" Norman stopped mid-sentence as the crowd charged him. His hands tightened into fists as they neared, a biotic aura flaring around him.

A woman raised a shovel that she had taken from her house, swinging it at him. He ducked it and brought his fist up, slamming it into her torso, causing the woman to cry out in pain and drop the tool, staggering back. A man tried a more direct approach and charged at Norman with his fists swinging. He managed to get one good hit in before Norman raised his leg and roundhouse kicked him in the face, forcing him down to the ground.

However, the crowd was surrounding Norman on all sides now, and he couldn't fight them all off at once. Another man charged at him, this one with a sledgehammer. Norman extended his hand and hit him with a burst of biotic energy, sending him flying back, but as he did, someone jumped on him from the back, grabbing his spare arm with both hands. He swung his elbow at the man holding him, but was unable to reach him.

Two more people, one a man and one a woman, took advantage of his vulnerable state and charged forward. The breath was forced out of Norman's lungs as two fists slammed into his stomach. He staggered back, but before he could recover someone else followed up and something hard hit him in the face, a loud crack filling the air. The crowd advanced on him, becoming a tangled mass of limbs that were hitting him from all sides.

Norman let out a roar of anger and a pulse of biotic energy radiated outward, forcing the crowd back. Letting out another roar, he pulled the arm that was being held over his head as hard as he could. The woman that had been holding him flipped over him, smacking into the ground with a loud thud, her grip on Norman now broken. Not hesitating, he raised his now free arm and grabbed the closest man to him, raising his lick and delivering a kick into his crotch. The man howled in pain as Norman threw him to the ground.

He spun around to see another man charging him with a plank of wood, but before he could even get close, he stopped, doubling over as if he had been hit. Kasumi dropped her tactical cloak, kicking the man in the face as she did, sending him flying onto his back. "Took your sweet time!" Norman shouted.

"Talk later!" she shouted back, neatly sidestepping a woman swinging a pole and kicking her in the back of the knee, causing her to fall down like a sack of bricks. One man raised an axe and was about to swing it, when a shot rang out and he was knocked onto his back, no bleeding visible. "Nice shot Sheryl!" Kasumi shouted.

'All right then," Norman thought, seeing that a dozen people were still standing and fighting. 'This is going to take awhile.'

While this was happening, Adam had reached the church. He stopped in front of the wooden double doors, pulling them open before jumping inside. He stopped for a moment to look around. Had the circumstances been different, he probably would have stopped to admire the architecture, but right now he didn't have the time.

Glancing down at the ground again, he saw that the trail of blood was still there. He began to run forward, following the splatters to the back of the church to, behind the alter. As he reached the end, he found a wrought iron door at the end, a heavy lock on it. A sign above it said, "only priests." Looking down again, Adam said that the trail of blood stopped right in front of it. Hastily, he unholstered his shotgun and fired a blast at the lock, causing it to fall off, shattered. He smashed into the door with his shoulder and forced it open, charging into the room as he did. His eyes widened in horror.

He had stepped into a dark, poorly lit chamber, five priests in robes gathered around an unconscious woman on the floor, a massive gash on her forehead. It was Aafreen. But that was not what had drawn his attention, what drew his attention was the rest of the room. Countless torture devices right out of a textbook on the Inquisition filled the chamber. Torture racks, Judas Cradles, a bronze bull with the smoldering remains of a fire beneath it, a metal chair with spikes coating the seat and back, shackles on the armrests, and at the far end of the room was a massive iron maiden.

But that was just the beginning. All of them were covered with blood, most of it bright and crimson, but he could see splatters of purple and blue among the stains. But what was currently filling his stomach with nausea. Dozens of bodies were hanging form metal hooks, digging into their skin like they were cattle, most of them Human, a couple of them mutants and aliens. Their skin was rotting, to the point where the smell could reach his nose from here.

One of the priests turned around to face Adam, his muscles tense, but as he saw who it was, he relaxed. "Ah, it's you. Another man of God. I was worried that it was someone that we couldn't trust."

"What...what..." Adam said, looking around at the horrors before him.

"Ugly, isn't it?" the head father said. "But then again, God's work is anything but clean, it's what needs to be done after all. These unclean things need to be sent to meet him. You understand don't you?" Adam's hands tightening around his shotgun, shaking. He tried to speak, but could not form any words. Bubbling hot anger was spreading through him.

"Well, one of my acolytes was punched by her when we made our move, and he is eager to get on with this. I shouldn't keep him waiting, after all-" the head priest stopped as Adam reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. A smile spread across the head father's face, not noticing what Adam was doing with his other hand. The head father felt something press against his kneecap, barely registering it before a loud bang filled the air. He let out a cry of agony as the blast from Adam's shotgun shattered his kneecap, forcing him to the ground. The other priests looked up just in time to see Adam raising his shotgun, letting out a roar like an angry animal's as he opened fire.

XXXXX

Author's Note: You know I honestly wondered if Assassin's Creed 3 was just pro-American gun wank...then Ubisoft announced that there would be non-canon/ alternate history DLC where an evil George Washington becomes King of America...ALL OF MY MONEY! TAKE ALL OF MY MONEY UBISOFT! Also on a side note, apparently the new Assassin's creed trailer, a lot of Americans getting killed got cut out of the North American trailer...speaking as a somewhat conservative American who is fairly fond of his country, what the Hell Ubisoft? I can handle morally gray areas, even with my own people, Saving Private Ryan had the American soldiers do a fair share of douchebag things (Shooting POWs among other things), and that made them realistic. WE CAN HANDLE IT! Those assholes that get all worked up whenever something bad is said about America? Two words, vocal minority. Aw well, it's just a trailer, I'm still getting the same game...and if the scenes were you kill Americans get cut out in the North American version I think I might flip. Seriously them cutting out Americans getting killed because they think we can't handle it...I honestly feel insulted.

Yeah...anyway a couple of things I want to talk about with this chapter. First of all, I have to give thanks to Amnesia the Dark Descent, while I'm never going to play it (I don't like horror games and I get scared just by reading about it this one) I got most of the torture devices in this chapter from that game's nightmare fuel page on TV tropes. Secondly, the main purpose of the section with Adam is mainly character development. If it were a game mission, it would be a side quest/ loyalty mission.

Also, the winner of VERSUS, is LEGATE LANIUS! THE LAGATE SMASHES KAI LENG's face in with his massive sword! Come back next chapter for the next edition.


	38. What You are in the Dark

Chapter 38

What You are in the Dark

Author's Note: Not a lot to talk about here, let's get right into it.

XXXXX

Adam's heart pounded as he pulled the trigger to his shotgun, blowing the head off of the nearest priest. His teeth were grit in anger and his mind filled with incomprehensible rage. He was unable to form a coherent thought and all he knew that wanted to do was bring as much pain to these people as possible. The body of the first priest fell to the floor, Adam firing two more blasts into him for good measure.

Spinning around, he smashed his elbow into the face of the nearest priest, causing him to slam into a wall, crying out in pain. Adam shoved the barrel of his shotgun under his chin, pressing it upward against the bottom of his jaw before pulling the trigger. There was a noise halfway between a crack and a squish as the inside of the man's head painted the wall, leaving nothing left.

He let the body fall to the ground as he brought the gun to bear on another one of the remaining priests, who was running towards the door. He fired a blast at his leg, hitting it and causing the man to fall mid-run. Hastily, he bean to scramble forward, but before he could get fall, Adam advanced on him, slamming his foot onto the small of the priest's back. "No, please PLEASE!" the man shouted as he felt Adam's shotgun placed against the back of his neck. The only reply that he received was a dozen pellets tearing through his throat, killing him almost instantly.

Adam pulled his gun back and pulled the trigger as he aimed it at the last priest, but nothing happened. Glancing down, he saw that his weapon had overheated. Not stopping for a second, he charged forward, smashing the priest over the head with his gun like a club. He fell to the ground in pain and Adam jumped on top of him. Letting out a bloodcurdling screech, he bashed the priest in the head with the butt of his rifle over and over again, lifting it over his head to strike down again and again until he head a massive crack and blood began to trickle out of the man's head, the rest of his body very still.

Panting, Adam got to his feet, his body still seething with anger. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the head father writing in pain. Snarling, Adam advanced on him, his shotgun in hand. "You're just like me!" he shouted as Adam neared him. "You're a man of God! You-" he was cut off as Adam fired another shot into his unharmed kneecap, causing him to cry out in pain again.

"You think that this is what God wants!?" Adam shouted, his face twisted in anger. "You think that he wants these atrocities committed in his name?"

"It is our duty! We-" the head father was cut off as Adam grabbed him by the throat, pulling him to his feet and dropping his shotgun in the process.

"If you think that this is what God wants," Adam hissed, dragging the head father across the room to where the iron maiden was. "Then tell him yourself." Shoving him into the open iron maiden, Adam pinned down the head father's right wrist and locked it into place with a leather buckle, doing the same with the other hand. Stepping back, Adam grabbed the door to the maiden and let out an animalistic roar as he slammed the iron maiden shut.

A loud clang filled the room as an ear piercing scream filled the room, before quickly dying. A river of bright crimson trickled out of the bottom of it as Adam took a step back and sat down, watching the blood pool with a smirk on his face. However, with all of the priests dead, he had nothing left to focus his anger on, and as a result it began to fade. As it did, Adam was able to think clearly again. Slowly, the realization of what he had just down sunk in, and the smirk slowly slid off of Adam's face, replaced by a look of pure horror.

"Oh...damn it," a voice muttered. Adam looked to the said to see Aafreen getting to her knees, rubbing the side of her head. "When I get man hands on that bastard I'm going to...Adam?" she said, spotting the priest. "Where are we? What are you-what happened to you!?" Adam looked down, only to immediately wished that he hadn't. His armor, normally white and gold, was now completely stained with dark red blood, which was smeared across all of the front. Slowly, he raised his hands, them shaking as he realized that they too were now dark red.

Adam panted as he looked around, taking in the carnage that he had caused. Through his eyes, there was no difference between the bodies that he had left, and the bodies that the priests had. He did the only thing that he could think of. He turned and ran. He didn't know where he was going to go, all he knew was that he had to get out of there.

Outside, Norman and Kasumi were panting in the middle of a pile of unconscious townspeople. "Is everyone all right?" Norman asked, taking off his now shattered goggles and tossing them to the side.

"Couple of bruises, nothing I've never dealt with before," Kasumi replied.

"Good," Norman grunted, looking down at the dozens of unconscious people. "Christ, trying to catalog all the laws that they've broken and trying to get them convicted for it is going to be a paperwork nightmare. Don't envy the SOB that's going to get stuck was that job. Anyway, we should meet up with Adam. If these people were trying so hard to make sure that we didn't get to the church, then it's a good bet that-" he was cut off as something bumped into him as it ran by, barely a blur. "The Hell? Was that...Adam?"

"Is he hurt?" Kasumi asked, looking concerned.

"He's moving way too fast for someone who's hurt," Norman replied, putting a hand to his COM unit. "Sheryl, go after him, see what's wrong. Kasumi and I will check inside the church to see what got him so spooked."

"Ok," the Alaskan said as both Norman and Kasumi began to head towards the church.

"Any idea why he just ran like that?" Kasumi asked.

"Maybe there were too many of them and he panicked. Maybe they had guns. Maybe they killed the girl already and he freaked out," Norman guessed. "I don't know, but we'll find out soon." The two of them entered the church, heading towards the back and spotting the open door at the back. "Here we go," Norman said, walking in.

"Oh fucking Christ!" Norman swore, stopping dead in his tracks as he saw the torture room, taking in the bodies hanging above him.

"Oh God," Kasumi whispered. "How many of them are there? How long have they...how long have they been doing this?"

"Months at the very least judging by how rotten some of them are," Norman hissed, sounding like he very much wanted to punch someone in the face. "Fucking Hell, where are the bastards that did...this," he said, his words slowing as he looked down and saw the four dead priests on the ground. "Did...Adam do this?"

"It looks like it," Kasumi said.

"Who...who are you two?" The two turned and saw Aafreen gingerly getting to her feet, wincing as she did.

"Whoa," Norman said, running over to where she was and pushing her down into a sitting position. "You gotta take it easy. That gash looks pretty bad and there's a good chance that you've got a concussion too. You can't go running around like this, you need medical treatment."

"I...but..." Aafreen said, sounding as if she was having a hard time focusing properly.

"Yeah, you sound like you're disoriented. Stay still, we're going to get you medical help," Norman said in a comforting voice. "Everything is going to be ok now."

"Uh, Norman," Kasumi said. "I think you might want to see this." Norman turned around and walked to where Kasumi was standing, in front of the iron maiden.

"What is it?" he asked. As an answer, Kasumi simply pointed down. Norman looked at where she was pointing, and noticed the pool of blood that was forming around their feet. "What the fuck?" he swore, reaching out and pulling the iron maiden open. The head father was still strapped into place there, his face frozen in an expression of pure terror, blood flowing from the dozens of holes that had been ripped into his body."

"This guy...he's dressed just like those dead guys other there. How come he's in this thing?" Kasumi asked, looking confused.

"I don't know...unless...Adam?" Norman said.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean Adam could have done this. The blood is still fresh, this man hasn't been dead for very long, and all of the other priests are dead. I'd say that there's a good chance that Adam did this to the guy...I have to say I admire his taste. A bit of poetic justice combined with irony. Serves the asshole right," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "He deserved a Hell of a lot worse."

"Adam...he was just here...where did he go? Aafreen said weakly, propping her back against a wall.

"We're not sure at the moment," Kasumi said softly, heading over to her and crouching down. "We're trying to find him. Do you have any idea why he ran off like that?"

"I...no," Aafreen said, sounding as if she was struggling to maintain her focus. When I woke up his...his armor was completely covered with blood. I asked him...what had happened, he just looked down at himself...and...and he looked terrified."

"He looked terrified?" Norman asked. "About what?"

"I...I don't know."

"Thank you," Kasumi said, taking a tube of medi-gel and applying some to Aafreen's forehead, stopping the bleeding. "We'll make sure that you're safe now. Just hang tight. Aafreen nodded weakly, leaning back against the wall. "What do you think?" Kasumi asked, getting to her feet and looking at Norman.

"No idea, but from what she said, it sounds like the guy had a little bit of a freakout over what he did to these sons of bitches." To emphasize his point, he kicked a nearby body. "Why is beyond me though, these people were murders and sadists. He had every right to kill them, and he was under no moral obligation to feel sorry for what he did. Frankly what he did could practically be classified as community service."

"I...I don't think it's that simple, at least for Adam."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Adam seems like the type of person that would normally frown on the type of people who do stuff like this."

"Maybe," Norman said gruffly, putting his fingers to his ear. "Anyway, I need to get some medical evacuation. And some nearby police."

As he spoke, one of the priests, still bleeding from the head, slowly and silently began crawling towards a open cabinet, a pistol still inside. He took a deep breath, reaching out for the gun. A massive bang filled the room, and the priest slumped, dead. Both Norman and Kasumi whipped around, aiming their guns at the source of the gunshot. A single man was standing in the doorway, a revolver in one hand and a cigarette in the other, which he was currently taking a puff of. He was wearing a trench coat and a hat that was pulled down so that the shadows obstructed his face.

"Who the fuck are you?" Norman demanded.

"You really should be more careful," the man said, ignoring Norman's question. "That man would've died in thirty seconds tops, but he still could've lived long enough to get a couple of shots off and kill the hostage you tried so damn hard to save." He took the cigarette out of his mouth, exhaling smoke. "Try to pay attention, next time I may not be fast enough," and with that, he turned and walked out.

"Hey!" Norman shouted, running after him and out of the church. He ground to a halt as he looked around, trying to find the man. "Where the Hell did he go!?" he shouted, realizing that he wasn't within sight. "Maybe a tactical cloak?" he muttered to himself. "Oh fuck it. I've had enough of this town. I'm going to get that bullet out so I can run some tests on it then I'm getting the fuck out of here."

XXXXX

Saren ducked under the mutated Asari as it swung its claw at him. It shot out ahead and snarled as the lone survival Geth fired its rifle at it. A few shots hit the creature's barriers before it let out another screech, leaping forward and clawing at the Geth. The platform had never been designed with self preservation in mind, and it was unable to doge quickly enough as the claw tore through it, the other one quickly coming down and ripping it in half.

"SAREN!" Rana shouted. "Saren what's going on!? I can't see anything!" Saren didn't respond as he raised his rifle and fired desperately at the creature. "I'm sending reinforcements your way! Just hold on!" Saren once again didn't comment as the creature let out another shriek and swiped at him. He narrowly ducked the blow and the creature's claws caked the wall behind him, leaving deep gashes in it.

Raising his rifle up, he fired two more bursts at the monster's face, causing it to recoil slightly and shriek in anger. He desperately began to scramble away, narrowly avoid another swipe from the creature, sparks flying from the floor as it hit it. He managed to get three more bursts off before the monster lost its patience and extended its hand, a biotic aura pulsing around it. A Warp flew at him and hit the center of his rifle, causing it to explode. His arms jerked, a faint cracking noise coming from his organic arm, and his shields pulsed as the shrapnel flew through the air.

Not giving up, he scrambled to his feet, drawing his pistol and squeezing off three shots before taking one hand off of it and throwing a Warp of his own at the creature. All of the projectiles hit, the combined strain starting to take a toll on the abomination's barriers, but they were still holding for the moment. The creature screeched again, grabbing Saren and pulling up off of the ground. It pulled it's other claw back, clearly intending to impale him, but without thinking he charged up biotic energy in his organic hand and punched the thing in the face as hard as he could. It recoiled, its grip on him slacking, causing him to drop to the floor.

Saren gasping for breath, raising his pistol again, but before he could fire, the creature recovered and slashed at him. A roaring pain tore through Saren's body, the monster's claws tore right through his kinetic barriers and armor, slicing into his chest, leaving three deep wounds. Staggering back in pain, Saren raised his pistol and fired four more desperate shots at the creature, only two of them actually hitting. The creature seemed to sense his weakness and lunged forward, swinging its claws and clearly intending to end the fight.

His heart pounding and hormones seeping through his body, Saren did the only thing that he could think of doing. He threw himself forward, diving under the monster's claws, landing on the ground as a result. It looked down, screeching at it saw him. Desperately, he raised his pistol and fired two more shots at it. His eyes widened in disbelief as the barriers finally gave out and pulled the trigger one last time, aiming at the abomination's head, pulling the trigger. There was a loud popping noise as the bullet tore through its head.

Saren watched in disbelief as the creature staggered back before finally falling over with a loud thud, finally dead. He gasped deeply for air, dropping his pistol and desperately grabbing for a tube of medi-gel, hastily applying it to his new injuries. Within seconds he had succeeded, clogging up the new wounds and stopping the bleeding. His breathing slowed as he pressed himself up against a wall, trying to collect himself.

As he did, he looked down at the now mostly empty tube of medi-gel. A pang of anger suddenly tore through him as his cybernetic arm tightened around the tube, shattering it. Medi-gel was a Coalition invention, but it was so effective that it was used by nearly everyone. Apparently they had decided that a technology designed around healing would be safe in alien hands and had had no objections to letting Council citizens purchase it. Saren hated knowing that he could very well be dead right now if it wasn't for the work of a Coalition scientist, but at the moment he had no choice. He couldn't deny that medi-gel was beyond valuable, especially in the field. It could last for hours and hold him together until he could get to a doctor to get proper medical treatment. Still, he burned a little inside, knowing that he had forced to use the invention of the Coalition, of the enemy.

"Saren!" Saren's head snapped up to see six Geth troopers and a prime approaching him, their weapons at the ready. "Are you ok?"

"A couple of scratches, nothing that I can't handle," he grunted, grabbing his pistol and getting to his feet.

"Hold on a second," Rana said, one of the Geth activating an omni-tool and waving it over Saren.

"Rana, this really isn't necessary," Saren protested, but she shouted over him before he could continue.

"Oh Goddess Saren! A gash on your arm, three on your chest, two stopping right before your heart and a broken arm? How are you still standing?"

Saren paused for a minute, taking in exactly how his body felt. At the moment, he actually didn't feel that much pain, although he suspected that that was from the adrenaline rush. He suspected that it would be very unpleasant when that wore off. "I'll live until I can get back to the ship, I can get patched up when I'm there," he said dismissively.

"Damn it Saren, you should have come better prepared! Why didn't you bring any primes with you?"

"I needed to move fast and primes may be heavily armed and armored, but they're slow and bulky," Saren replied calmly, forcing his voice to stay level. "They would've slowed me down and probably attracted more of those things."

"Well why couldn't you have taken more troopers and-"

"I would have had a hard time keep them organized in such tight quarters and, once again, having that many troopers with me would have more likely than not drawn more of these monsters to my location. Why are you so concerned anyway?"

"Because...because...because I don't want to see you get yourself killed!" Rana shouted.

Saren recoiled as she shouted, looking visibly shocked. "I...wh-what makes you think that?"

"Going off on your own on Eden Prime, without any Geth to back you up, ordering half of your Geth to fall back even after you knew that this ship was filled with those creatures and the way that you constantly talk about how much you hate the Coalition...Saren...I...I'm afraid that you're going to do something stupid and get yourself killed just to prove a point."

"I...no...no I would never do that," Saren said softly.

"Damn it Saren!" Rana shouted, sounding very upset. "Do you have any idea how much I worry about you? You try and do everything yourself, you never consider bringing any backup beyond the bare essentials, you're constantly charging off into battle, getting yourself hurt just because you had to be there personally, even though you have a FUCKING ARMY OF MACHINES!" Rana shrieked, almost sounding hysterical.

"Rana..." Saren said weakly. "I'm...I'm sorry."

"I...what?"

"I'm...I'm sorry. I never thought about what you must be feeling. We...we'll talk when I get back. I promise."

"Saren," Rana said softly, sniffing faintly. "Thank you."

He managed a pained smile. "But before I come back, I need you to scan this thing quickly, see if you can find anything about it."

"Ok," Rana said, one of the Geth walking forward, waving an omni-tool over the corpse that lay in front of them. "It looks like the others except this one is an Asari. The cybernetics seem to be bolstering its cybernetic abilities but beyond from that there's not much here that there wasn't in the other...hold on a minute." Saren looked at the Geth in surprise as he heard Rana's voice. "No...no, no, no that can't be right. Run another scan." Obeying, the Geth waved his hand again over the body.

"I...how does that even make sense?"

"What is it?" Saren asked.

"I...there's still a little residue brain activity in the areas that your bullet didn't damage, and from what I can tell there's an increased amount of activity in an area that is normally rather inactive for Asari."

"So? The cybernetics affected her entire body, I don't see why her brain would be any different," Saren said.

"No...no it's not like that," Rana said. "This part of the brain is usually only active if the Asari...is an Ardat-Yakshi."

"An Ardat...oh Spirits," he said, looking down at the body. "Are you sure that this isn't just the cybernetics altering her brain completely?"

"I'm not certain I admit. I'll need to run further tests on the body. It would probably be for the best if you brought it back like the others."

"How did we let someone like that onto our research team?" Saren asked. "Ardat-Yakshi are serial killers if they can't keep their urges in check."

"From what I can tell this woman...she was only a young Maiden. I don't think that she even knew what she was...she was that young."

A horrible sickening feeling pulses through Saren as he mentally connected the dots and realized what he had just done. The creature that he had just killed had once been a person, a person working for him and trying to accomplish the same goal that he had. And because of everything that he had told her to do, because he hadn't been careful enough, a young Asari who hadn't even lived three tenths of her thousand year lifespan had been killed.

"Saren?" Rana asked, as Saren tightened his muscles, desperately trying not to throw up again. "Are you ok?"

"I...I'll manage," he said weakly. "Get that body, we need to get it back to the ship and we need to get out of here fast." He didn't look at the prime moved to pick up the body, a horrible sick feeling still in his stomach.

XXXXX

Sheryl glanced downward as she ran through the fields surrounding the town, following the trail of bent grass that Adam had left behind as he had run. It was much more difficult than followed footprints in the snow, but it was the same concept and one that she had had much practice in. As she continued to run, a sound reached her ears. The sound of running water. Within minutes, a river came into view, crystal clear water gushing over rocks downstream. There was a figure crouched over by the riverbank.

Sheryl slowed as she slowly approached Adam, who was plunging his hands into the water. Scooping out as much as he could, he splashed it onto his armor before desperately scrapping at it with his bare hands, trying to wash the blood off. "It won't come off," he whispered to himself, diving his hands into the water again and splashing his armor again before again trying to scrub it off. "It won't come off, it won't come off, it won't come off, it wont come off, Lord in heaven why won't it come off?"

"Adam?" Sheryl said softly. Adam either didn't hear her or simply ignoring her, continuing to attempt to wash the blood away, no longer rubbing but scrapping at it. "ADAM!" she shouted. The priest jumped slightly and looked over his shoulder at her. "That's enough."

"No...no, no, no, no," he whispered. "I need to get it off, I need to-"

"That's enough!" Sheryl shouted, grabbing him by the arms and pulling him to his feet. "You can get your armor cleaned when we're back on the ship.

"No...no I can't wait that long. I can't stand it for another second," Adam ranted, clutching his head in both of his hands. "I can't take it! The blood...it's everywhere! And...oh god, I did it! I did all of this. I'm no better than the men that I killed!"

"Adam!" Sheryl shouted, trying to get his attention, but he continued to ramble.

"I could've just incapacitated them! I had a gun and they didn't! But I didn't, I killed all of them just because I wanted to! And the leader...I didn't need to do that to him, I wanted to because I wanted to satisfy my sick mind. How can I set foot on the Normandy again when I-" Adam was cut off as a loud smack echoed across the field and a sharp sting erupted on his cheek, causing his head to jerk back. Sheryl had punched him.

He blinked as he recovered, looking at the Alaskan woman pull her hand back, putting it down at her side. "I'm sorry," she said, "but you were talking nonsense. What exactly did you do in there? Tell me, and speak slowly."

"I...I went in to look for Aafreen but...the priests had dozens of bodies hanging on metal hooks. I...I lost control, I killed all of them like a barbarian. I even shoved the head priest into an iron maiden and shut it." Adam's voice was thick, almost as if he was on the verge of tears. "How could I do that? They were unarmed, getting them to surrender would have been easy."

"I...I'm not going to lie to you I don't see the problem," Sheryl said. "These people had killed dozens and you...you felt bad because you killed them? What's the problem?"

"Ever...ever since I started my Left Hand Commando training, I was always taught one thing. Keep your faith in one hand and your weapon in the other. Never...never use them together. Those men did what they did because they said that it was what God wanted. I...I killed them because I was angry at what they did but...but I was also angry that they thought that their religion...MY religion, was one that justified violence, even thrives on it. I...I don't want to be like them. I don't want to think that the people I kill are blights in the eyes of God, or that I kill simply because he wants me to.

"When I was being trained, I was taught to only use my weapon as a last resort. There...there are countless ways to solve problems, violence is only one of them. But...but in there I went for my gun right away, I killed all of them...one of them was even begging for mercy. And the head father...no one deserves what I did to him."

"But it sounds like they deserved what happened to-" Sheryl began, but Adam interrupted her.

"IT WASN'T MY CHOICE TO MAKE!" Adam bellowed, causing Sheryl's eyes to widen in surprise. "It...it wasn't my place to decide if they deserved to die like that. I didn't need to kill them, but I did it anyway...that...that's not what I was trained to do. Better men than me have done horrible things, saying that they were what needed to be done. At the time that was true, but power is intoxicating, and the more you take matters into your own hand...the more you...the more you...slip. I lost control back there...I shouldn't have."

"So what? You're beating yourself up for not being perfect?" Sheryl said. "That's stupid! We all screw up in our lives, you're no exception. You lost your temper once and when you did you had every reason to be mad and the people you took it out on probably deserved it. If you really need to, don't forget about what happened today and make sure that you never do anything like it again, but don't act like you're just as bad as the people who abduct and kill people just because they didn't worship the right God. You're nothing like them."

"I...I don't want to take that chance," Adam said, looking down at his hands again. "Maybe they deserved it this time, but the next time I kill someone without needing to, they might not. Besides...the iron maiden...that was just me satisfying blood lust, I didn't need to go that far."

"Adam, please!" Sheryl shouted, sounding frustrated. "You're not a fanatic, you're not a fundamentalist, and above all, you're not a murderer. So please, calm down and stop getting so worked up over this, or so help me I'll beat your head in with a crowbar." Adam paused, looking at Sheryl. A weak smile spread over his face.

"You would wouldn't you?" he said. His voice wasn't condescending, if anything he sounded like he believed her.

"Look...you're upset I can see that. But you're a good person, what you did back there doesn't even come close to changing that. Look, lets get back to the Normandy. You can get a hot meal and a shower and a good night's sleep to clear your head. After that you can just move on from this."

"No..." Adam said, "I don't want to just move on from this, I want to remember what I did here. I do my very best to remember the face of every last person that I kill, these men won't be any different...pardon me Sheryl, I need to pray. For them...and myself."

"Should you really be praying for murders like them?" she questioned.

"Men are not born evil. Many factors shaped who they become, nearly all of them beyond their control. Some people make mistakes, some people are misguided, but all of them have some good in them. Saren has some good in him, it's just being repressed. Regardless of what they do in this life, they should always have a chance in the next one."

"You're not going to do anything stupid are you?" Sheryl asked, sounding concerned.

"I will not, I promise," Adam said, smiling weakly. "I have much to repent for though, so I may be here for some time."

"If you don't mind, I'd rather stay here with you. I may not be a very religious person, but I don't think there's anything that says that you have to be alone while you...do whatever you do here...you don't flay yourself do you?"

This time Adam laughed out loud. "No, no I'm afraid we don't. We just pray."

"Oh, good. Do you mind if I stay then? Or do you like to be alone? And you're not still going to blame yourself for this are you"

"I wouldn't mind a friend being here while I repent," Adam said, smiling slightly "As for blaming myself...maybe you're right. If God can forgive the men who killed his son...I think that I can forgive myself."

Sheryl smiled, reaching up and undoing her face wrappings, letting them fall. "Good."

Adam crouched down onto his knees, clasping his hands in front of him as he began to silently mutter. "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day-" Sheryl sat down and listened as he continued, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the sculpture of the Deathclaw that she had been working on, drawing her knife too. Silently, trying not to disturb Adam, she continued her carving.

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Llih Tnelis: Llih Tnelis is a small town on the planet of Demeter. It is a very unremarkable, for the most part self sustaining, rural town that saw very little in the way of tourism. Up until recently, there was nothing remarkable about the town, but very recently a conspiracy was uncovered about the town. The local church, under the lead of five Catholic priests, had managed to silently seize control of the town, preaching fundamentalist Catholic philosophy. They kidnapped, tortured and killed dozens of people to satisfy their religious dogma.

This was brought to an end when a Coalition soldier, who's name will not be disclosed at his/her request, uncovered the conspiracy when a friend went missing and killed all of the priests. No charges are being brought against the soldier. The bodies have been recovered and are currently being identified.

EDITOR'S NOTE

If you believe that you may know someone that was killed in this incident, please contact the Coalition. The contact information for them can be found in the index.

The Mysterious Stranger: All of the Founders had one thing in common in their various journeys to help create their nations. In times of dire need a man in a trench coat would appear and kill their enemies, disappearing before they could talk to him. The Founders have many theories about the stranger, some of them thinking that the mysterious stranger is multiple people wearing the same outfit, to the stranger being the same person who traveled all over the globe, doing everything that he could to help developing nations.

To this day, the mysterious stranger is even more of an enigma than the Warrior. Literally nothing is known about the stranger apart from his appearance and that no one has ever seen him miss a single shot.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Yup, the mysterious stranger is in the house, and with a loaded .44. The main point of this little side arc was to develop Adam's character some more, I'm going to try and make it so that all of my OCs and the original characters of ME get their moments in the limelight like this. Like I said it's very much like a side quest or a loyalty mission. Next chapter we'll be starting the main story arc, and DEAR GOD is it going to be a big one. BTW, did anyone figure out the reference that I made with the name of the town? Now then

VERSUS!

This time the theme is, splitjaw proud warrior race, sidekick aliens that kick major ass.

GARRUS VAKARIAN

Considered a possible candidate for the Council Spectres

Joined the military when he was 15

Held off the combined forces of three mercenary groups for days, including air support, heavy mechs and waves of cannon fodder mercs.

Killed three men with one shot

Harassed the three main merc groups for months

An excellent sniper

Is known to be rather obsessive

Has a problem with authority.

THEL 'VADAM(EE)

Considered the Covenant equivalent of Master Chief

Was a Fleetmaster in a society where rank reflects your skill in combat.

Trained in the usage of aircraft, tanks, and swords

Led the fleet that glassed Reach, the UNSC's largest military production colony

Killed the Brute Chieftain.

Started a revolution that destroyed a 3,000 year old empire

More willing than most of his race to cooperate with Humans.

-Honor obsessed

-Revenge obsessed

-Rather aggressive.

WHO IS BETTER!?


	39. An Old Foe

Chapter 39

An Old Foe

Author's Note: For the record, XCOM Enemy Unknown and Dishono(u)red are both freaking awesome. Ok, moving on.

XXXXX

"Oh dear...my Father did that?" Liara asked quietly. Both she and Benezia were sitting across from each other at a table in a cafe on Demeter, two weeks after the incident on Noveria.

"Yes...Aethyta always rather headstrong," Benezia said grumpily. "I swear she actively acted more like a Krogan than an Asari just so that she could keep reminding everyone that her father had four testicles." Liara cocked her head had how her mother had formed her last sentence. "Don't look at me, that was how she worded it," she grunted.

"So...why did you...leave? Or did she leave?" Liara asked. "Is...is it because I'm a-"

"No, no Little Wing not at all," Benezia said comfortingly. "Aethyta always wanted to head butt people who used that word, even if she had an alien for a father. Something about it always ignited a fire in her eyes. No, I left her because I needed my space, I had hit my Matriarch stage and was making my jump into politics and I was reaching the point where her getting drunk, fighting people and groping me in public stopped being charming and started being annoying." She gave a small chuckle. "I guess you could say that I became a bit of a prude as I got older."

"I see, you...wait what was that last thing she did?" Liara asked.

"Nothing!" Benezia said, a little too quickly. "Anyway...we might have gone our separate ways, but I'd like to think that we left on good terms. Oh, and she'd kill me if I never told you this, she was the one who gave you the name Little Wing."

"Really?" Liara said, looking rather surprised.

"Yes. I was about to leave, but before I did, she made me promise that I wouldn't shelter you too much. I can remember it like it only happened a week ago. 'You might treat her like a little bird, but she's gonna raise one Hell of a storm with those little wings.' She really could be poetic when she wanted...it's a shame that was next to never. Still she was right, I let you go to dig up dusty ruins, you end up on a Coalition ship hunting down Geth." She looked up at the ceiling, letting out a slight sigh. "I owe her a bottle of Ryncol now."

"You didn't think that I would do anything with my life?" Liara asked.

"Liara...I won't lie to you I don't know. To be honest I probably jumped into parenthood a little before I was quite ready for it, or maybe too late would be better. I was trying to establish my political career and I didn't get to spend as much time with you as I would've liked. Still, I always saw a light behind your eyes, you were only two feet tall and already you wanted to know everything possible about Protheans. It's just...I never saw you on a ship trying to help another, not very well liked, species trying to defeat the greatest threat the galaxy has known for hundreds of years." Benezia didn't sound disappointed, if anything a massive smile was spreading across her face. "I'm proud of you Liara, I always have been."

Liara blushed slightly. "T-thank you mother."

"I'm guessing that Aethyta expected, or at the very least hoped, that you would turn out like her. In a way I suppose that you did but I'm glad to see that you didn't inherit her grace, or lack thereof." Benezia relaxed in her chair, smiling for a moment before a look of realization shot across her face. "Oh! I almost forget." She reached into her robes, pulling out an amulet and placing it on the table, sliding it towards Liara. "I picked that up for you once I knew that you were safe. Consider it a present for the fifty birthdays that I missed."

"It's Prothean!" Liara exclaimed in surprise. "And I don't recognize the symbol...how did you know that I collected these?"

Benezia let out a laugh. "Just because we haven't talked in half a century doesn't mean that I haven't been keeping tabs on you. I've been keeping watch ever since you left, making sure that you didn't get into situations where you couldn't handle yourself so that I could help before things got too serious. I also kept track of your bank account and noticed that you seemed to be buying a lot of these amulets. Well, it's a rather expensive hobby, but there are a lot of more harmful ones that one can have."

"I guess that there are," Liara said, a smile spreading across her face. "Mother...we really should do this more often."

"I suppose we really should. Fifty years is a long time, even to us Asari. I'm going to be busy for awhile though, I'm working with Cerberus to help track down Saren and I still need to make a sweep of my followers to make sure that he doesn't have any more infiltrator agents...but when this is all over, I'll make time for you."

"I...I would also like to meet my father."

Benezia looked like she fought back the urge to groan before answering. "I suppose that you aren't a child anymore, the very least that I can do is introduce you to the person that fathered you. I won't be held responsible if you end up regretting that decision though. Also I think it's fair to warn you that I wasn't exactly Aethyta's first love, she was with a Hanar before and had a daughter with him."

"I have a half-sister?" Liara asked, looking surprised.

"Yes. She's rather uptight but fairly pleasant overall...I think that's why Aethyta didn't like to bring her up that much, she never solved any of her problems by punching people in the gut so she didn't make for good bragging. Still, I get the feeling she'll be very happy to go out to the bar and talk about how her daughter is hunting down a renegade Spectre...still trying to figure out if that's a good thing though."

"Excuse me Matriarch." The two of them turned to see Shiala approaching them. "Your shuttle has arrived. It would be for the best if we departed now." She turned to face Liara. "I am sorry Ms. T'Soni, but there are urgent matters that require your mother's attention."

"I understand," Liara said, the faintest hint of sadness in her voice.

"I'll be in touch," Benezia said comfortingly, before getting to her feet and walking away with Shiala until she was out of sight. Liara sighed, looking down at the amulet that Benezia had given her. For a moment she sat there, wondering exactly what she should do next. Her train of thought was broken as she heard a chair at her table being pulled out. She looked up to see Cornelia sitting down next to her.

"Thought that you looked a little lonely over here, so I thought that I'd keep you company," she said, flashing a smile at Liara. "How are you holding up?"

"I am fine, thank you for asking," Liara said. "I'm just a little shaken is all. Until now I hadn't seen my mother for ages, and even now we barely had any time to talk. I never really did get to talk to her that much, even before I left to become an archeologist, and she always seemed so much older and wiser that...I just didn't know what to say. I'm actually surprised at how easy talking to her today was."

"I know the feeling," Cornelia said, idly sticking her boots up onto the table. "My Dad raised me by himself, never knew my mother for a second. He was a police officer though, and a damn good one. If it sounds like I'm focusing on how awesome he was I'm actually not, when I was younger he was constantly being called in over other officers because of how good he was. When I was around sixteen and we managed to find a space in his schedule to go out and get some dinner together, I realized that I didn't have a clue about what I should talk about with him."

"Because he was such a well known police officer?" Liara asked.

"Yeah. I was just an ordinary teenage girl that had spent half of my life being raised by him and the other half by friends and family that he managed to get to come over and watch me while he was away, and he was the guy that the brass went to the second that they had a problem that their regular guys couldn't handle, which turned out to be a lot. Yeah, our relationship wasn't the greatest, but at one point, when I was twenty-one, something happened that...changed all of it."

"What?"

Cornelia chuckled. "It's nothing that exciting. One day I just sat down with him and realized that he wasn't some otherworldly being that was far beyond my compression, he was my Dad and he cared about me. Once you can get over the initial awkwardness and anxiety, you can talk to people like that like it's no problem. In fact you'll probably wonder why you were so scared to begin with."

"That day," Cornelia continued. "I managed to open up and really talk with my Dad. He told me things about himself that he had only told a few other people, and he...well he also told me something about me and him, something that he had kept secret from me for a long time."

"Was it about your mother?" Liara asked.

"Eh...kinda," Cornelia said hesitantly. "I'd rather not go into specifics. Long story short, I was mad at him for a long time for him keeping something that was so big a secret from me for as long as he did. I thought that I would be mad at him for the rest of my life and...well, let's just say that what he did, he did it with my safety in his heart."

"I'm not sure what you're trying to get at here." Liara said.

Cornelia let out a small laugh. "Well, at least you're being honest here. What I'm trying to say is that kids almost always look at their parents like they're someone above them and beyond their comprehension. Once they grow up though and become young adults, they can go back to their parents and talk to them in ways that they were never able to talk to before, because they've grown and matured to the point where they are on the same level as their parents. Basically you're not a little kid anymore and you're more comfortable with talking to your mother because of it and I can't say I blame you for being shocked by it."

"That's...that's one way to look at it I suppose," Liara said. "A little odd but it makes sense when you think about it. By the way, are you still in contact with your father?"

"Oh yeah, he writes all the time and I write back, I even sent him a message last night," Cornelia replied, grinning widely. "We're a hell of a lot closer than we ever were before we finally had that talk. It kind of gave us some common ground for us to connect on a personal level, and things have just worked out for the better ever since then. He's not perfect, far from it. I'm still upset that he lied to me for so long, I wish that he had told me that secret I mentioned earlier, but hey, no one is perfect right?"

"Hm...I'll keep that in mind," Liara said, looking at Cornelia. "Thank you Cornelia."

"Not a problem," she said playfully.

XXXXX

"...so...what do you want to talk about?" Roger asked, looking at Sheryl, taking a bite out of a sandwich that he was holding.

"...I don't know," the Alaskan answered honestly. The two of them were standing near the galaxy map, their backs pressed against a wall.

"I...shit this is a lot harder than I thought it would be," Roger grumbled, taking another bite out of the sandwich.

"No kidding," Sheryl said. She looked at him, desperately trying to think of a topic. "So...is your leg working now?"

"Yeah, it's working just fine now that I've gotten used to it...thanks for asking," Roger said.

"Don't mention it," Sheryl said. Another moment of silence passed between the two, Roger finishing his sandwich as he did. "I'm sorry," she grunted, "I really do want to start over with you but...frankly I can't stop thinking that the next sentence out of your mouth is going to be shouted and have six different swears in it."

Roger grinned weakly. "Fair enough, I was a complete ass to you. I'm not going to expect you to be my drinking buddy after a couple of talks."

"I suppose," she said, looking at the ground uncomfortably. "So how do you suggest we proceed?"

"Uh...I got nothing," Roger said. "Wanna grab dinner?"

"You just ate."

"I meant later. You know, just the two of us having a hot meal."

"I'll think about it," Sheryl said. As she did, Jane walked by, Garrus and Charon following her. "Where are you three off to?" she asked, eager for a less eager conversation.

"Norman pulled a bullet out of one of those priests back on Demeter and he wanted to run some tests on it," Jane answered. "I gave him the Normandy's research lab to do it. From what I've seen, he's turned the entire place into a makeshift forensics lab. He should have his results in a few minutes and he wants to show them to me."

"Exactly why is he trying so damn hard to figure out who this guy who shot the priest might be?" Roger asked.

"Because...it might be the Mysterious Stranger," Charon said gruffly.

"The Mysterious-WHAT!?" Roger shouted. "You've got to be kidding me. How the Hell could he still be alive? He lived half a millennia ago, you of all people should know that. What, did he get a good look at the guy's face? Was he a Necro-Human?"

"I know it sounds suspicious, but from what Norman said, the guy that helped him down on the surface dressed just like the Stranger did, and used the same caliber weapon. .44 revolvers were hard to come by even back before the Coalition, and with no one making them anymore, only extremely rich collectors, or old Necro and Meta-Humans have them. Ambassador Raul's revolver is the same one that he's been using for 500 years, and he's been maintaing it all this time, and making his own custom ammunition for it. People don't normally walk around playing vigilante with antiques that are worth hundreds of millions of credits like that."

"Ok, I want to see where this is freaking going," Roger said, pushing himself off of the wall. "The Stranger helped the Founders so many times he's practically an unofficial member."

"Same here," Sheryl said, the two of them following Jane, Garrus and Charon as they crossed the deck, reaching the lab within a minute and walking in. Norman was sitting in a chair, his feet up on the table in front of him, and his bandanna pulled down as he smoked a cigarette.

"Should you really be doing that in a forensics lab?" Jane asked. "Isn't there a chance that the evidence could be contaminated?"

"Don't worry, everything is airtight, including the scanner," he replied. It's almost done too." As he spoke, a cube shaped device on the table in front of him gave a loud beep. Getting to his feet, Norman activated his omni-tool. "It's sending me the results now. Defiantly .44, which we already knew and...oh Hell yes." A massive grin spread over his face. "We've got a fingerprint. It's partial but there's a print."

"We found fingerprints on the bullets that the stranger left behind," Charon said. "They've been analyzed before they were all locked up in a museum. They should be in the Coalition database."

"And I'm going to compare them right now," Norman said, typing into his omni-tool again. "And...son of a bitch, they match."

"Holy, fucking shit," Roger swore. "The Mysterious Stranger is still alive."

"That pretty much sums it up," Charon said, sounding disbelieving. "I need to tell Fawkes about this. That guy saved our ass more times that I cared to count and we never even got a chance to say thanks. We might get our chance now if he's still kicking." He started to walk out of the lab, but as he did he craned his neck over his shoulder. "By the way Hawkins, I know a lot about the Stranger, and if he popped out of nowhere to help you, I have a feeling that you're going to see him again in the future." With that, he left the room.

"Holy shit," Roger swore again. "Christ, nothing mundane ever happens on this ship does it? Let's go to Noveria, oh look a race that died a couple thousand years ago, lets go to Demeter, oh look a living legend that's supposed to be dead. Next thing you know, we're going to find an assassin with all cybernetic limbs that will try to kill me first but'll end up marrying me in the end."

"Sounds like you have a pretty specific fetish," Norman said. Despite the harsh tone of his voice, Roger couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Well, this certainly was an interesting find," Jane said with an interested expression on her face. "I...I have to admit I'm not exactly sure what to do know. It's like if you just got word that one of the Founders was still alive. The most I can really do is send a report back to the Coalition and see what they want to do. I better get on that now. Norman, I think it might be for the best if this place became a more permanent forensics lab for you, we don't exactly have any other use for it."

Norman looked rather thoughtfully at the lab around him as he exhaled smoke. "I appreciate that Captain. I'll start making some more long term adjustments."

Jane nodded. "I'll be sure to check to see if you have all of the proper equipment. Now then I really should get that report-" she was interrupted as her COM unit beeped. "Yes?" she asked, putting her finger to her ear. "Oh, hello Tali what is it?...I see...I'll be right down there." She lowered her hand. "It sounds like Opifex managed to get one of the devices that he was working on operational and he wants me too observe his test. I'm certainly busy today. Well, I better go do that then." Jane turned and walked out of the lab, Roger and Sheryl briefly glancing at each other before going after her, clearly expecting something with the same impact as what they had just saw."

"And here I thought that he was just some punk who got his hands on an expensive handgun," Norman said, turning to face the table where his equipment was, before noticing that Garrus was still in the lab. "Is there something that you want?" he asked gruffly, "I'm kind of busy here."

"If you don't mind me asking, exactly why did you want to examine that bullet?" Garrus asked.

"What the Hell was that supposed to mean? Someone got involved in the situation down there and I wanted to know who he is."

"But setting up an entire forensics lab to test for fingerprints seems a little extreme, especially considering it took a week. Besides, from what Shepard told me, no one had ever been able to find a match for the Stranger's fingerprints." Garrus sounded rather anxious, as if he was using this subject as an excuse to get to something else. Norman noticed.

"What do you really want?" he asked, his eyes narrowing in hostility.

"It's just...you seemed rather obsessive about finding out who this man was, and I get the feeling that you're like this a lot. Also, you seem very aggressive towards people who break the law and you act like they deserved to be punished. Is this...is this because of your sister and how she was kidnapped?" Norman stiffened, staring at Garrus with something behind his eyes, but he couldn't tell what. His cigarette slipped from his mouth and hit the floor. "She got kidnapped and she was never found again was she? You went looking after her didn't you? I was on the extra-net, looking up your last name when I found some history about your-"

"Let me tell you what's going to happen now," Norman said, his voice eerily quiet. "You are going to walk out that door, I am going to go back to my work, and neither of us are ever going to talk about this again. Got it?"

"Listen, I'm an older brother too, I understand that-"

"No, what you need to understand is that you don't know what the fuck you're talking about," Norman hissed, his voice practically dripping with venom. "Now get out."

Garrus hesitated before walking out of the lab. "In hindsight, a frontal approach was probably a stupid idea," he grunted as he walked away. "Got too damn excited and curious." Meanwhile, back in the lab, Norman reached into his pocket and hastily drew out another cigarette and his lighter. He stuck the cigarette into his mouth and desperately attempted to light it, but as he did his hands began to shake. His teeth gritting in frustration, he pressed down on the lighter again, but his hands were shaking so much he kept missing. After ten tries, he lost his patience and dropped the lighter before letting out a cry of frustration and punching the table with his fist, biotic energy surrounding it and leaving a small dent.

He pressed down on the table with both arms, shaking as he did.

XXXXX

"I hope that you forgive the stares, it's rather rare for aliens to be onboard any Migrant Fleet ship, especially on an Admiral's ship," Admiral Shala'Raan was walking through the decks of Tonbay, the head of the Quarian patrol fleet. Miranda Lawson walked alongside her, wearing a pressurized full body suit of armor to prevent any bacteria infection on the ship.

"I am a Cerberus operative, I deal with much worse than an odd stare on a day to day basis."

Shala let out a soft chuckle. "I'm sure that you do. Still, this is my ship and you are a guest on it. It is only fair that you are treated with proper respect."

Miranda smiled slightly under her helmet. "I appreciate that Admiral. What's the status on the mission so far?" Two weeks had passed since the Illusive Man had given her the order to meet up with the Migrant Fleet and since then, the two of them had been organizing regular scans of the boarder of the Perseus Veil, and they had finally found something. A Geth frigate that had crashed on the surface of a barren planet. Currently ten ships were orbiting above the planet, three Quarian research ships, three frigates that belonged to the patrol fleet, a cruiser that belonged to the heavy fleet and three Cerberus frigates.

"Admiral Rael and his research team are down on the surface along with a security team of Migrant Marines, your researchers and troopers are down there too. They're poking around the ship and they haven't found any active platforms. We're still making sure that the Geth don't try anything though, they can be tricky sometimes."

"Fair enough, have they started their scans yet?"

"They have. Something must have happened when this ship landed on the planet because the databanks haven't been cleared out. I won't lie it makes me feel rather uncomfortable, this has never happened with the Geth before. It could be a trap."

"That's why we have these warships out here acting as a guard. And I don't think that the Geth would risk letting organics getting their hands on any data of theirs intentionally, it's possible that it was just damaged somehow and got marooned on this planet. Maybe it took a couple of bad shots in a battle, maybe at Eden Prime and when it jumped back it suffered a malfunction and started to drift."

"I suppose that that is possible, but I find it rather odd. The Geth are always so careful about protecting their data stores. And this ship is so close to the Veil...it's unnerving."

"No machine is perfect, not even the Geth. They make mistakes sometimes and frankly it would've only taken one blown circuit to make it so that they wouldn't carry out the standard wipe procedure. Nothing is absolute, especially in a war."

"I pray that you're right," Shala said, the two of them walking through a door and into a control room, where several Cerberus operatives and Quarians were standing around a holographic projection of a Geth ship.

"Jacob, status update," Miranda said sternly.

"Ma'am," Jacob said briefly, saluting her before continuing. "Initial scans are coming in. It looks like this ship hasn't been here very long, a week at the very most."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," Shala replied.

"Neither do I, but we've been here for hours now and no Geth have popped up yet," Jacob replied. "Besides, I could've sworn that Admiral 'Zorah said that recovering information like this on the Geth is worth the risk."

"Yes...yes he did say that," Shala said hesitantly. "He and Xen are working together on some sort of project that they say will change everything. They're keeping the specifics under wraps, but apparently its a weapon or a virus that apparently will be able to turn the tide against the Geth, take out millions in a single stroke."

"They are synthetics," Miranda added. "They're vulnerable to certain things that organics aren't. It's only reasonable to believe that they have a weakness that can be exploited."

"I suppose," Shala said, sounding unconvinced. "I still think that this is risky, and we could've cut the time we would've been forced to spend here in half if Xen had actually come along. She was adamant about staying on the fleet though, said that she was onto something and needed the resources of the entire research fleet while Rael ran recon out here. I suppose this means that we're researching multiple possibilities at the same time but...still."

"People can't be everywhere," Miranda said, Shala nodding reluctantly. "Anything else Jacob?"

"There's a couple dozen Geth platforms on the ship, all of them damaged and their memory banks wiped. The odd thing though is that for a Geth ship, even by their standards, the crew is rather minimal."

"He's right," Shala said, "Geth ships usually have at least a hundred platforms onboard, even if its just to replace damaged ones during combat.

"...Admiral I take back what I said, I'm starting to think that you may have a point," Miranda said warily. "Something is fishy about all of this."

"I'm going to contact Rael," Shala said. "We should pull back for now, come back with more ships so that we're prepared in case we-"

"Admiral!" a Quarian from the front of the control room called. "Report from the bridge, thirty ships just jumped into the system!"

"What!?" she shouted. "Are they Geth?"

"Negative Ma'am," the Quarian reported, "their design is nothing like the Geth, if anything its more like-" the Quarian was cut off before he could finish his sentence, an explosion rocked the ship. "They've opened fire on us!" the Quarian shouted.

"Raan to the bridge, get us out of here!" she shouted into her COM unit.

"I can't!" a Quarian replied. "That mass accelerator round hit our engines directly! We're dead in the water. They...oh Keelah...Admiral the enemy ships opened fire on all of the other ships! The Cerberus ones are...the Cerberus shps are gone and all of the Migrant Fleet ships have been disabled. We're...we're defenseless here Admiral."

"Send out a distress signal!" Shala shouted.

"I...I can't Admiral. All of our long range communications are being jammed. Ship to ship isn't working either.

"Shit," Jacob swore, unholstering an assault rifle from his back.

"If they disabled the ship instead of destroying it, that means we're going to be seeing boarding parties," Miranda said, drawing an SMG from her side. "Contact your crew and tell them to get ready to defend this ship. Tell them to set up choke points and to hold out as long as they-"

"No," Shala said.

"Pardon?" Miranda said.

"There's no help coming for us," Shala said grimly, "if I tell my men to hold this ship, I'm telling them to make it their grave. We have nowhere to go and we're outnumbered three to one. In a straight fight we're going to lose."

"Well, what do you suggest then?" Miranda asked sternly.

"Ensign," Shala said, putting her hand to her ear again. "How is the enemy boarding us?"

"What? Uh...one of the enemy ships is closing on our position Ma'am. I think it's going to dock with us."

Shala took a deep breath and then exhaled. "Good."

"Good?" Miranda said.

"All crew, arm yourselves and report to the airlock at once! I repeat, abandon your posts and get to the airlock, we're about to be boarded."

"Admiral, would you mind telling me what your plan is?" Miranda said as Shala took an assault rifle off of the wall and walked out of the command room, Miranda, Jacob and the mixed Cerberus operatives and Quarians right behind them.

"I told you, if we try and hold this ship we're dead. Even if we manage to fight off the entire crew of the ship that's about to dock with us, another ship would just send in reinforcements, and if we're proving to be too much trouble, there's always a chance that they'll decide that we're just not worth it and destroy the ship."

"So what exactly are you planning?"

"Take their ship," Shala said simply. "If we can hold them at the airlock, we might be able to actually force our way onto their ship and seize it from them."

"And you actually think that that will work?" Miranda asked, sounding skeptical.

"I know, it's completely insane," Shala said bitterly, "but I'm out of options here. This attack was perfectly executed, they knew exactly were we were going to be, they managed to take all out of ships out of the fight before we could fire a single shot, and now we don't have a single means of escape or calling for help. This...this is our best hope. Taking their ship and getting out of here so that we can contact the main fleet."

"So in other words, you want to leave everyone else here. The crew on the other ships and the team on the ground?" Jacob asked.

Shala stiffened as he said that, but continued to walk, swallowing dryly as she did. "Y...yes," she said softly. "There's nothing that...that we can do for them right now. There are 30 warships out there, even if by some miracle this works and my entire crew doesn't get killed, they may try to deny us escape by destroying this ship. We have to do what we can and right now that means getting out of here and getting help. I-" she was cut off as a gruff voice suddenly spoke across all of the frequencies of the COM line.

"You're more useful to us alive than dead. Disarm yourselves and surrender if you want to live. If you refuse, we'll just have to figure out what we can manage to do with your corpses," the voice said before disconnecting.

"They want us alive?" Jacob said, looking up in confusion. "Why?"

"A good question, but now isn't the time to be asking it," Miranda said. "Admiral, exactly how do you intend to take the enemy ship?"

"Our best bet is to dig in in front of the airlock and try and force them back," she said as they continued to head through the ship, several Quarians and Cerberus operatives meeting up with them as they walked. "Heavy weapons would be helpful here."

"Got you covered Ma'am," a Quarian in a red suit said, falling into line with a rocket launcher heaved over his shoulder.

"Ah, Kal. Good, we'll be needing you."

"I appreciate the thought Admiral, but with all due respect, Quarians aren't exactly built for front line combat. A single shot that pierces your suit has a very real chance of being fatal."

"Then what do you suggest we do? Just surrender?" Shala demanded as they stopped in front of the airlock, a few Quarians ducking into cover behind control panels, prepping their weapons."

"No. I'm saying that my men can afford to take more fire than yours can. Also, we brought a couple of...special agents onboard." As she spoke, loud footfalls filled the hallway. Shala and several of the Quarians turned around, but saw nothing.

A look of realization broke across Shala's face. "Oh Keelah. I saw them come on but...I've never seen them in combat before."

"You're going to get a chance today. Let us take the brunt of their attack, I want you and your crew to be the backbone to our muscle and provide supporting fire."

"I...fine," Shala said reluctantly. "You heard her, get behind the Cerberus forces. Dig in and when those doors open, hit them with everything that you have. When we get an opening, charge in and secure the bridge and engineering." Her men scurried to obey, taking cover as the Cerberus operatives did the same, the men and woman in white armor unholstering their weapons as they took up position in front of the Quarians. Shala fell into rank with her men and Jacob and Miranda also took up positions beside the Cerberus operatives, all of them aiming their weapons at the airlock.

There was a loud clanging noise as the other ship docked with them and a high pitched sound as the airlock was cut from the other side. The heavy metal door fell down with a loud clang, and all Hell broke loose as six people in black armor emerged from the other side, weapons in their hands. They took one second to realize that their prey wasn't going down without a fight, a raised their own weapons and opened fire. In the tight space of the airlock, only six people could stand in a line and as a result, multiple rows had been formed by the defenders and the attackers. As such, the people in the front rows for both sides found themselves taking the majority of fire from both sides, a few bodies already hitting the floor.

"Rocket!" Shala shouted and Kal aimed his launcher through the rows of defenders and fired at the attackers. The explosion tore through their ranks, sending several of them flying through the air, their bodies limp.

"Now!" Miranda shouted. As the attackers attempted to recover from the blast, two of their frontmost personal howled in pain as massive holes tore themselves open in their chests, the ghostly outline of claws illuminated by their blood. A few shots flew through the air and hit the space behind the two as they fell to the ground, forcing the two Deathclaws there to decloak. They charged forward, using the tight space of the airlock to turn the battle into a slaughter, swinging their claws back and forth through the enemy ranks, killing a dozen of them in half a minute.

"Fall back!" a voice shouted, and at once, the attackers turned and ran for their lives, the Deathclaws firing a few bursts from their shoulder mounted machine-guns as they ran.

"Move up! Don't give them a chance to regroup!" Shala shouted as the Cerberus personal and the Quarians rose from cover, firing a few shots as they charged through the airlock, dozens of them boarding the enemy ship. Miranda ran after them, but stopped as she noticed something. Among the bullet ridden bodies of the six or so defenders that had been killed in the initial skirmish was a puddle of green goo. The same that a plasma rifle produced when it killed someone.

Turning on the spot, she spotted one of the attackers lying in a pool of blood, clutching a plasma rifle and still breathing. "Where did you get this?" she hissed, approaching him and aiming her gun at him. "Answer me!"

In response, the man let out a pained laugh. "You think the Coalition are the only ones who know how to make energy weapons." He reached up and pulled off his helmet, revealing himself to to a Standard-Human.

"Who are you, why are you...wait a minute," Miranda hissed, looking over the man's armor. "This is power armor! Where did you get it!"

The man simply laughed. "We're the people who are going to make sure that Humanity has the leader it needs." Miranda snarled, lining up a shot with her SMG, but before she could pull the trigger, the man said three simple words. "God bless America." Miranda's eyes widened in shock. A second passed before she pulled the trigger, shooting him in the head. Those three words had told her something that she hadn't even thought was possible. The Enclave.

"Miranda!" Jacob shouted, causing her to look at him. "Come on, we need to move!" She didn't say anything as she charged into the Enclave ship, her SMG at the ready.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Well, Thel completely blew Garrus out of the water, sorry old pal, people like the guy with the sword better. And now I want to talk about an important aspect of writing, something I like to refer to as "Realistic vs Awesome". When you write a story, one of the most basic things that people ask are "what kind of story are you trying to tell?" and that's a very good question. I have found that most stories can be fitted on the realistic vs awesome graft, with things such as Schindler's List on the far end of the realistic side with the gritty horror of war, the flaws of Humanity in a spotlight and a man giving up everything to save as many people as he can. Meanwhile, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan can be put on the far end of the awesome side where planets are used as throwing stones, galaxies as throwing disks and drills pop out of everywhere because screw you reality, Spiral Power.

The question is where do you want your stories to fall on the scale and this is something to keep in mind because both ends have their flaws. Realism is very good for telling stories that could honestly happen in the real world but they can drag at times and get a little boring for some. Meanwhile awesome stories can be a blast but sometimes they can go way too far and anything resembling a plot is sacrificed to emphasize how big the main character's wang is *cough Mass Effect Parallel Realities *cough*.

I find that they best solution is to balance the two out, have enough realism to establish that there is logic and standards in your world, but have enough awesome moments to liven it up. For each political debate of independence vs living under a single government, make sure you have a scene down the line where Thel Vadam drops a Scarab from high orbit and lands on a Reaper with it before shooting it in the face at point blank range. Just my take on it.

I mean, my stories aren't exactly Shakespeare. I try to have intelligent moments and try to make deep compelling characters, but it's not Shakespeare. Just try and make your characters human, relatable, likable and make them go through realistic motions in-between doing badass things.

...yeah, I think I'm done with my ranting. I rather talk less about things that I hate and more about things that I like, mainly my writing. I just don't want to be remembered as "guy who got pissed off easily and swore a lot" by you guys, and I'm a little tired of being angry all of the time, I just kinda want to be something more. Sorry if I disappointed you guys with this, but I'd like to dedicate this section to versus and something that I'm going to start right now. I want to be more personal with you guys, so from now on, in future chapters I will answer any questions that you have for me in my Author's Note. Feel free to ask any type of question, anything from "what's your favorite game" to "how did you come up with this character and why do you write them this way" to "how do you write?" Anything and everything, I will answer it to the best of my abilities, every chapter. This is a permeant open door policy.


	40. A Patriot's Duty

Chapter 40

A Patriot's Duty

Author's Note: Just a quick FYI, I'm hosting some Halo Reach custom games October 20th at 4:00 PM EST. My Gamertag is Macdonald210. Hope to see you there.

XXXXX

Miranda's finger pulled the trigger to her SMG, sending a burst into the face of a Enclave soldier. His power armor held under the strain and she was forced to fire again, another burst, which managed to pierce his eye panel and kill him. She, Jacob and Shala were charging through the Enclave ship, the two Deathclaws at the head of the throng.

"How much farther to the bridge!?" Jacob shouted, firing a burst from his rifle at an unarmored Enclave crewmember that had been aiming a gun at them, bringing him down.

"Can't be too far!" Shala replied, firing her own rifle as well, combining her fire with two Migrant Marines and managing to kill another soldier in power armor. "Wait a minute, up ahead!" she shouted. Sure enough, at the end of the hallway they were running down was a narrow door, where six soldiers were setting up defenses. "KAL!" Shala shouted. The Migrant Marine raised his rocket launcher and opened fire, hitting the center of the Enclave's ranks and sending bodies flying.

"Keep moving!" Shala shouted, the Quarians and the Cerberus operatives dashing past the fallen Enclave soldiers, peppering their bodies with a few bullets just to be safe. They stormed into the bridge to find a few crewmen cowering at their terminals, a few more soldiers aiming their guns at them. They managed to get off a few shots and killed three Quarians in the process, but before they could do anymore damage, Jacob and Miranda returned fire, hitting them in the head with ace precession, aided by the fact that they had been wearing officer's uniforms and not power armor.

"Get this ship out of here!" Shala shouted, the dozen or so remaining Quarians scattering around the bridge, pushing Enclave personal out of the way as they sat down at the terminals, typing viciously into them. The Cerberus personal aimed their weapons at the unarmed personal, who froze instantly. "Initiate an FTL jump!"

"Working on it Ma'am!" a Quarian said, panic, heavy in his voice. "The engines weren't warmed up for a jump, I need to-" he was cut off as an explosion rocked the ship.

"We took a GUARDIAN lasers to the engines!" another Quarian shouted. "They'd kill their own men to keep us from getting away!?

"Seems like it!" Shala growled. "Get us out of here, NOW!" A few more explosions rocked the ship before the engines of the Enclave ship roared to life and propelled it forward, traveling thousands of times faster than the speed of light. "What's our status?" she asked, looking at the Quarians who were now typing away at the Enclave terminals.

"Ma'am...we took a direct hit to the engines. There was a breach in the main core, it's starting to leak," one of the Quarians said, sounding grim.

"Will it rupture?" Shala asked.

"It doesn't look like it, the damage isn't that heavy. However its main power output is slowly dropping, we won't be able to maintain FTL for long. It'll only last for twelve more hours, eighteen if we're lucky."

"That means we'll get nine lightyears out of this thing," Shala muttered. "But for now, send out an SOS to the Migrant Fleet and the Coalition. Tell them we need help."

"I can't do that either. Our communications got taken out before we could jump," the same Quarian said.

"Damn it," Shala swore. "We weren't fast enough. They were able to do too much damage to the ship. We're not going to be able to get away like this."

"Good riddance. Fucking aliens," one of the Enclave personal swore.

"I wouldn't be throwing insults if I were in your position," Miranda growled, pressing the barrel of her gun to his head. "Last time I checked your pals were more than willing to blow up this ship with you still in it, I doubt that they'll miss you. So don't tempt me." The crewman shut his mouth.

"Ok...I need to think," Shala said slowly, gripping her rifle tightly. "How long will the life support last?"

"I'd say that it'll give out twelve hours after the FTL does," one of the Quarians said.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'd rather not die of asphyxiation," Shala said, walking towards the Quarian that had spoken before stopping and looking down at his terminal. "Can we reach any habitable planets before we give out?"

"Hold on a second," the Quarian said, typing viciously into the terminal, bringing up a map of local star systems, zooming into the nearest one. "There's a garden world around five light-years from here. It's not inhabited because of how close it is to the Veil, although the entry here says that there have been unconfirmed reports of criminals from Omega using it to hide illegal goods. It doesn't have a name."

'Not surprising,' Shala thought. 'There are billions of planets in this galaxy. People don't have time to name them all.' "All right, set a course there. Once we get there, try to find a valley or a canyon to land the ship in, a place where we can hide. In the meantime I want everyone that we can spare to get to work on repairing the communications array and the engines."

"I doubt that we'll be able to repair the leak with the supplies we have on hand ma'am," the Quarian said, "and the commuinications array looks fixable, but it looks like it'll take too long to help us in time."

"Then we better move fast," Shala said. "Everyone! Move! Time is against us."

"You do what you can to help!" Miranda ordered her men. the Quarians and Cerberus operatives nodded in unison, the majority of them leaving the room and heading towards the rear section of the ship, a handful remaining behind, keeping their weapons trained on the Enclave captives.

"Oh Keelah," Shala said weakly, staggering back and slipping into a chair in the center of the bridge. "This was supposed to be a simple research mission, just scanning a downed Geth ship. Now we've lost thouands of people, ten ships and an Admiral...what am I going to tell Tali?"

"Admiral?" Miranda said, looking with concern at Shala.

"I'll...I'll be fine," Shala said, shaking her head and forcing herself back to her feet, a slight edge to her voice. "The situation is just...overwhelming."

"Can't argue with that," Jacob said. "The Enclave are still alive after all these years? And they have warships? This is bad news, for everyone."

"I think I skipped that page of history," Kal said, hoisting his rocket launcher over his shoulder. "Who are the Enclave?"

"Remenants of a Pre-War nation called the United States," Miranda explained. "They didn't take getting nuked for being defeated and managed to last all this time. They wanted to purge Earth of all mutated life, the problem with that is that to them 'mutated' meant everyone who had been exposed to radiation, which happened to be everyone except them and a few thousand people living underground. Needless to say, they didn't have a lot of friends and they were wiped out...at least we thought they were. I can't believe that they managed to pull this off."

"Doesn't sound that hard to believe to me," Kal said. "Your entire race managed to pull itself up from your nuclear war into the space age, why couldn't they?"

Miranda paused for a moment, thinking over what Kal had said. "That is a very disturbing thought," she whispered.

"And if what this one is saying is anything to go on," Jacob said, jabbing his rifle at one of the Enclave crewmen, "they've added aliens to their list of things that deserve to die."

"Not surprising, they hate mutants, why wouldn't they hate aliens?" Miranda asked.

"So...where have they been this whole time? Why did they decide to reveal themselves now?" Shala asked.

"I don't know Admiral, but right now we need to focus on how we're going to deal with them. If we get caught for killed before we can alert anyone else about the Enclave being back, who knows how many more sneak attacks like this they'll be able to pull off."

"I agree," Shala said, looking down at the terminal again. "But there isn't too much planning that we can do here. The most that we can do is try to get this ship back to 100% efficiency before the Enclave catches us, or try to hide from them until we can come up with a better plan."

"We don't exactly have a lot of options, do we?" Kal asked.

"We don't," Shala said grimly. "In many ways we're flying blind. All we can do is make the best of what we have now, and when the time comes, make a good judgement call. I hope I can do that. Because if I don't...they might be able to use the data that they got from our ships to launch crippling attacks on the Migrant Fleet and the Coalition." No one else said anything, a sinking feeling creeping into all of them.

XXXXX

"You wanted to talk to me Opifex?" Jane said, walking into the engineering core and stopping in front of the Exulan, who was working on a disk on his tiny bench.

"Oh Captain!" he said, sounding excited. "Remember when I said that I was having trouble with replicating teleportation technology with the resources that I had?"

"Yes, what about it?" she asked, Roger and Sheryl stopping right behind her.

"I had a breakthrough," Opifex said, sounding excited. "Tali and I were talking about the concepts of teleportation and how it worked. I'll spare you the complex details, but basically, two teleporter are connected to power sources and linked to each other, they're practically exact copies of each other."

"I asked him why you had to waste so much resources in building two," Tali said, leaning against a wall in the corner. "Why couldn't one be a central mainframe and the other be a receiver."

"And that got me thinking," Opifex said, continuing to work on the disk in front of him. "It was a theory to create teleportation grids just like that, but Theta Energy couldn't provide enough energy in order to make it practical. The central teleporter would have to receive three times the power as a teleporter in a regular grid, it would have to reach out on its own and connect to the receiver and pull the person back. But with Mass Effect and Element Zero, I might be able to pull it off."

"Once I got that idea in my head I just started working and working. It...it's an genetic trait with the engineering caste, once we get a concept for a new device in our minds, we can't stop thinking about it until we work on it. It led to quite a few technological innovations, including a lot of what was on Mothership Zeta. We normally had access to unlimited supplies, sponsored by the State. Working on Zeta with limited resources was...torture." He looked up from his work. "Before I go any further I am curious. What is the status of Mothership Zeta? And Admiral Hackett's promise to make contact with the other Exulans?"

"I've got good news for you," Jane said, smiling widely. "Hackett has been keeping me updated. Your species survived the nuclear war. They've managed to re-terraform most of their homeworld and have managed to advance to a post-industrial technological age. From what we can tell tough, they lost a lot of their more advanced technology, including the caste system, but a lot of it should be recoverable through Mothership Zeta. From what I hear, dozens of ships have already been dispatched to help them rebuild, and the are currently negotiating with Coalition officials. So far, things are going great."

"Does the Council know about this yet?" Roger asked, looking at Jane.

"Not at the moment no. It probably wouldn't be for the best to drop this bomb on them so soon after the Rachni, especially considering that the Exulans are giving us even better energy weapons...come to think of it, they'll probably want to buy Theta Energy weapons off of them."

"I gave you the Captain's pistol because you rescued me from that ship!" Opifex shouted, sounding suddenly worried. "And because you agreed to help my race. I don't want to-"

"Calm down Opifex, that decision will be in the hands of the leader of your people. Besides, until your people make a decision on what course they want to talk with the rest of the galactic community. That decision won't happen for a long time, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"I...ok," Opifex said. "Now then, the teleporter. I've managed to get it a couple of power cells that should help with the strain, but I'll probably have to connect it to the main drive in order to get it to work. If I can do it right, the mainframe should be connected to the Normandy, while you can take the other teleporter everywhere that you want."

"Are you telling me that we can just teleport back and forth between the Normandy and wherever we put the other teleporter?" Roger asked, sounding impressed.

"Theoretically. It will have a limited range though, you can't travel from one side of the galaxy to the other. The longer the distance the more power is used, that's why normally something like this is so impractical without Mass Effect technology. However, it should be teleport you from orbit to a planet's surface. I thought that since this ship had a stealth drive, being able to move personal and supplies from the ship to the surface without being detected."

"I can see how that would be useful," Jane said. "What's your progress on it? How soon can you have a prototype?"

"As a matter of fact, I was just putting the finishing touches on the prototype," Opifex said, taking the disk and laying it down on the floor. "This is the receiver node," he said, placing it on the ground. He pointed to the corner where there was a large block with another disk sticking out of the bottom. "That's the main grid. The power cells that is has now should be more than enough for a couple of feet. With your permission, I would like to preform an experiment with them."

"Seems like a good idea," Sheryl said. "We would be able to call for reinforcements within seconds or organize an emergency evacuation."

"How do you plan on doing this?" Jane asked, sounding hesitant. "If this thing doesn't work if could kill however steps into it."

"Yes, that was a problem during the earlier developmental stages of this technology, so I would rather test it something else." He reached down and picked up and apple that was lying on the table. "I believe this should do as a test subject. I believe that it is only polite to ask for your permission before I continue though, you are the Captain after all and this is experimental technology."

"Well...if you're just going to use an apple I don't see anything wrong with it," Jane said hesitantly. "Ok, go ahead." Opifex nodded as he walked over to the main teleporter, pressing a few buttons on it. There was a loud humming noise as the device turned on, the disk portion of it glowing a dark orange. Opifex glanced at the receiver teleporter, seeing that it had activated when he had turned the mainframe on. Taking a deep breath, he placed the apple down on the pad in front of him. Within a second it had disappeared, Opifex wheeling around just in time to see the apple reforming on the other disk.

"Well, looks like it worked," Tali said, smiling slightly behind her mask.

"Possibly," Opifex said, scooping up the apple and placing it on his workbench. "I want to run a few tests on this to make sure that it wasn't harmed at the cellular level, it's why I wanted to use organic matter for the test. After that I still need to work on this concept some more, after all this teleporter is just a prototype."

"What changes do you plan on making for the complete version? Jane asked, looking slightly concerned.

"I need to make the receiver node smaller and more compact for use in the field. You can't carry around a giant disk like this without making yourself a target. What's more in order to get enough power to make the teleporter work over greater distances I'll have to connect it to the Normandy's engine in order to give enough power."

"Will if be able to handle that? I thought that the point of this thing was so that we could use it while the stealth drive was on. It'll backfire rather spectacularly if using it shorts out the stealth drive."

"Don't worry," Tali said. "I ran the figures on that, your engine should produce more than enough energy to power both at the same time. The lights will probably flicker when you do it, but it should work."

"I...ok," Jane said, looking rather uncomfortable. "Run those tests on that apple to make sure this thing won't give my crew cancer when they try to use it, build the final model and then I'll find an isolated planet for us to make sure that the ship can handle using it and the stealth drive at the same time. Until all of that gets done, I don't want to use this thing in a combat situation."

"Are you ok?" Sheryl asked.

"I'm fine," Jane replied. "This thing just has me a little nervous. There are a lot of ways that it could go wrong."

"I understand your concern," Opifex said. "I'll start working right away."

"Good. Any idea how long finishing the final model and your tests will take?"

Opifex paused for a second, clearly thinking. "If I had to guess, I would say a week. Maybe two."

"No rush," Jane said. "We managed to make it this far without it, we can live a little longer."

"True, but I'm interested in seeing the final produce and how we can use it to our...wait a minute." Tali activated her omni-tool, looking down at it. "Oh damn it I wasn't keeping track of the time!" She ran forward, grabbing Sheryl's wrist as she passed, pulling her along.

"Wait what!?" she shouted as she was pulled around.

"Come on! We have that little arrangement for Volker!" she shouted as she pulled her into the elevator, which closed behind her.

"Huh...that was interesting," Roger said. "Can't help but wonder if it'll end with a three way fuck."

"Charming," Jane said, looking back at Opifex. "Is there anything else Opifex?"

"I may need a few more parts from the cargo pay, but apart from that I'm fine," the Exulan said.

"Well...good," Jane said. "Don't be afraid to ask for anything."

"Hey Shepard quick question," Roger said, prompting the Captain to look at him. "I meant to ask you this earlier, I was walking by the brig today and I noticed that Salarian that we took prisoner is gone. What happened to him?"

"A couple of Cerberus operatives came by this morning and took him into custody. They said that they would be interrogating him for information."

"Damn, we gave him to Cerberus?" Roger asked. "A guy that was researching a bio-weapon to use against the Coalition and Cerberus has him?...He'll be lucky if he still has his balls when they're done with him. By the way, how long until that data from Noveria is decrypted?"

"A couple more days should do it," Jane replied. "We won't be staying around here for too much longer."

"Good," Roger said. "I'm not going to lie, I think I'm going a little stir crazy. I was just limping around in crutches for one week and then just sitting with my thumb up my ass for another. It doesn't feel right to just be relaxing with that son of a bitch still running around. We should be trying to hunt him down and putting a round in his head."

"I can understand that, but for the moment we don't have any leads. We need to be patient and wait until the data is decoded, or wait until Cerberus gets us another lead."

"Fucking Hell," Roger swore, looking back up at the ceiling. "This is infuriating...fuck it, I'm gonna go bug Ashley." With that, he began to walk forward.

"Are you sure that that is a good idea?" Jane called after him. "She can get angry rather easily, you don't want to end the day with her sword sticking out of your chest."

"Oh, I'll think I'll live," Roger said. "She's not too bad now that I think about it...at least I think so, haven't gotten to know her that well...huh," a frown spreading over his face. "The more I think about it the more I think that this is a bad idea."

"I think that you shouldn't."

"Yeah...maybe." The engineers laughed.

XXXXX

On the surface of a lifeless planet, a man in pitch black Enclave power armor walked around the remains of a Geth ship. The ground was littered with the bodies of Quarians and a few dead Enclave soldiers, but they were clearly in the minority. He paused as he spotted on of the Quarians twitching, her hand reaching for a fallen assault rifle. Silently, the Enclave soldier extended both of his hands out, which were not covered by armor, but where as pitch black and metallic as it.

A barrel extended out of each of his palms, and the sound of gunfire filled the air. The Quarian woman slumped over, dead. The soldier lowered his hands as he walked over to the dead woman, seeing that her visor was cracked and that her eyes were half open. Reaching through the visor with one of his cybernetic arms, he gently closed her eyes before getting to his feet.

"Hey bro, how's it coming along?" The solder turned around, to see another Enclave soldier approaching him, a foot long blade extending out of each of his wrists.

"There were a few that were still alive," the first soldier said quietly. "I ended their suffering. They fought with dignity, they deserved that at the very least."

"Bro, you gotta stop being such a pansy all the time,' the second soldier said, his tone very laid back. "We're soldiers, you can't afford to get all dramatic every time we kill someone. Besides, these things aren't Human, and the few guys here that were Human were Cerberus, who gives a crap about them?"

"They are still living beings," the first soldier said, not raising his voice. "I do not particularly care for aliens myself, but they do not deserve to suffer without reason. And Warren, do not call me 'bro' while we are on duty. Please refer to me as Major Black. I am your superior officer after all."

Warren let out a laugh. "Jesus Christ Albert, lighten up. You really need to learn to take things a little less seriously."

"Warren," Albert said sternly.

"Ok, ok fine. Major Black, you really should calm down a little."

"Still disrespectful, but better," Albert said, still not raising his voice. "What is the status of the prisoners?"

"We got them in shackles, and we're loading them up into the shuttles now. They're mostly Quarians, but we managed to get a couple of Cerberus personal too. No mutants though, thank God."

"And in orbit?

"All of the ships are being boarded, at the rate things are going, I'd say we're going to walk out of here with a thousand of them alive. The Admiral will be happy to hear about that."

"He will, won't he," Albert said softly.

"Oh come on man, don't go all emo on me. I-" Warren was cut off as a shot flew towards him and impacted on his shields. Spinning around, he spotted a wounded Cerberus operative pushing himself up with one hand, aiming a pistol at him with the other. "We got a straggler!" Warren shouted, actually sounding excited as he dashed towards the operative, swinging his cybernetic arms and the blades attached to them. Within seconds, he had reached the operative, and slit his throat. "Boyah!" he shouted, kicking the operative over as he continued to bleed. "That's what you get you sack of crap!"

"Enough," Albert said, sounding slightly disgusted as he walking towards the now dead operative. "I can never understand your enthusiasm."

"How can I not be excited!?" Albert shouted, sound positively ecstatic. "Oh all the Enclave Special Forces, we were the ones who were given this mission. Us, Sigma Squad. They didn't send Alpha Squad, they didn't send Delta Squad, Hell, we even got picked over Omega Squad. OMEGA SQUAD!" he shouted, emphasizing the two words. "You know, the squad that everyone always says is the best of the best? An attack on the fucking Quarian Migrant Fleet, and we were the ones picked to head the ground operation."

"Don't delude yourself, Omega Squad wasn't picked for this mission because we're better than them, it was because they were needed elsewhere. The rebels are causing Hell back home at Cor Mali, they're needed there. Our stability requires higher priority than an eternal battle."

"Albert, seriously," Warren said. "You really need to learn how to be proud of yourself every once in awhile. What we're doing here? It's going to turn the entire galaxy upside down. That Quarian egghead's research? Our boys are going to do amazing things with it. Our technology and theirs put together? We're going to make this galaxy right bro. No more alien threats, no more mutant threats, Humans will finally be able to live without fear."

"It sounds awfully ideal when you put it that way," Albert grunted. "Research can take years, and even then it doesn't automatically give us weapons that makes us unstoppable." He was about to continue when both of them COM units beeped. "Black here," Albert said, putting his hand to his ear.

"Albert, Warren, I need you two to get your asses in gear and get back onto the ship ASAP!" an angry voice said.

"Admiral?" Albert said. "Is there a problem?"

"You bet your ass that there is a problem, the Quarians managed to counter board one of my ships and they fucking ran off with it! Get up here, we're chasing that damn thing down. If those fucking thieves think that they're going to let anyone know about our secrets, they've got another thing coming," the Admiral growled.

"Understood sir," Albert said softly.

"You've got five minutes. I'm sending you the information that I have," the Admiral growled before the line disconnected.

"Damn," Warren said, letting out a laugh. "He really screwed up. So what's going to happen with the prisoners that we've taken here?"

"The Admiral will probably take them back with the ships that he isn't going to give to us." He sighed as he looked around. "I'm not sure that this was the right move. We were hidden before, no one could find us. Not the Coalition, not the Council...we were safe, all of us. Now we're taking a massive risk striking out like this. If anything goes wrong, we can't fight off the combined forces of the Council and the Coalition."

"But if everything goes right, no one will be able to stop us," Warren said. "For God's sake Albert, we've only been able to get where we are now by rebuilding and repopulating over hundreds of years! All this time we've had to hide from the Coalition, rebuilding what we used to be piece by piece, until we can have something vaguely resembling what we should be, and even now it's nowhere near enough! This day...Albert, today is a day that I've been waiting for a long time."

A smile spread wide under his helmet. "We're going to take whats rightfully ours. We're going to put Humanity on the right path. No more mutants, no more aliens. The Coalition is too spineless to do what properly needs to be done." He let out a harsh laugh, his voice growing more and more angry as he continued to speak. "I mean can you believe those people? They wanted to make peace with the Turians after they got attacked for no reason. Those fuckers should've gotten bombed into submission by the Coalition after they fucked with them! But they didn't, now we're going to have to do the job they didn't have the guts to!"

"Enough," Albert said sternly, "I know that you're angry, but right now we've got a job to do." Looking up, he saw a shuttle descending towards their position, landing in front of them. The rear door opened, revealing a single figure wearing the same power armor that they were. A single white symbol of the letter Sigma was painted on its chest, just like Albert and Warren.

"Admiral sounded pissed," she said dully, cleaning a massive super sledge lying in the flat of her lap, her arms also cybernetic. "We should probably get this done fast so that we don't have to listen to him whining."

"As lively as ever Cadence," Warren said sarcastically. "Seriously, half of the corpses out there are more emotional than you are."

"Whatever," Cadence said, sounding unbelievably bored, lifting up her super sledge and twisting it in the air, checking it for damage. "Can we just get this over with? I've got a lot of other things that I'd rather be doing right now."

"Oh, like what?" Warren asked. "Counting the grains of sand on the beach?"

"Enough," Albert snapped, both he and Warren climbing into the shuttle, the doors closing as they sat down. "The information that the Admiral sent me is here," he said, raising his arm and activating an omni-tool." The ship that escaped was the Boston, the ship that it was boarding the Tonbay, Admiral 'Raan's ship."

"Seriously? Ah shit, he missed one of the big catches," Warren said, sounding excited. "If she gets away, she could get the entire Migrant Fleet on our asses in days. And now we get to hunt her down? Killer."

"Don't interrupt me," Albert said sternly. "Before the Boston could jump out of the system, it took a direct hit to the engines. Our engineers believe that the damage is severe enough that it will fail within a day and they were be forced to drop out of light speed. It is also likely that their life support will fail as a result of this and in order to avoid dying, they will be forced to land their ship on a habitable planet. When they do, our orders are to land and take as many of them prisoner as we can. Admiral 'Raan is a priority target though, as are any Cerberus personal with her. Don't kill the other Quarians if you can avoid it, but if it proves to be unavoidable, they've been classified as expendable."

"Great," Cadence said, sounding completely uninterested. "How long is this going to take?"

"We've pinpointed the planet that they're most likely to land on," Albert explained. "We suspect that Aria might have used it at one point to stash away illegal goods, but apart from that we have no evidence to suggest that anyone has been there in years. We need to move fast and stop the Quarians before they can get out a distress signal, or even worse, transmit some of the Boston's data."

"From the way that you're talking about it, it would probably just be safer to blow the ship that the stole to Hell."

Albert paused for a minute before continuing. "As I said, we should only kill these people as a last resort, the Admiral and the President want them taken in alive, they will prove to be very useful to us."

"Really?" Cadence asked. "Exactly how will live captives of a race that can be killed by me sneezing on them be useful?"

"I'm sorry, but that's classified information," Albert said, sounding sincerely apologetic. "Even I don't know the reasons for that, but I imagine that command has good reasons."

"Sure they do," Cadence grunted. "I don't even care. Break their legs instead of killing them, got it."

"That would be ideal," Albert said. "Warren, I would advise that you go for the Quarian equivalent of the Achilles tendon. I trust that you remember where it is from your studies?"

"Oh Hell yeah!" Warren shouted, sounding excited. "Around an inch into the calf. You half to make sure that the blade goes deep enough and that it gets through the suit, but once it does they should go down like a sack of bricks."

"It figures that you would sound like you're getting off to the aspect of cutting things," Cadence said dryly.

"Better than lounging around all day and sounding like I eat a pound of gravel for breakfast every mourning."

"Enough!" Albert said, only raising his voice slightly, but causing the attention of both Warren and Cadence to snap towards him. "You are soldiers of the Enclave, of the Enclave Special Forces, of Sigma Squad. Your bodies were given cybernetic enhancements specifically designed to make you a more perfect soldier. You were chosen because you survived the process and because you were believed to be above average soldiers. Act it."

Warren and Cadence didn't reply, but instead glanced down at the ground, almost as if they were ashamed. There was a slight clanging noise as the shuttle that were were in docked with one of the ships that they had in orbit, a hissing noise filling the cabin as the airlock slid open. They stepped out into the hanger of the Enclave ship that they had docked with, dozens of vertibirds filling it, with hundreds of soldiers milling around, preparing for combat.

"Major Black!" a voice shouted, and the Major turned to see a man in a naval uniform running towards him. "I'm the Captain of this ship," he said nervously, as if afraid that Albert would hurt him if he misspoke. "I received word from the Admiral. I am to give command of this ship to you for the remainder of this mission. I want you to know that I am at your service, and if you need me to do anything, you need only ask."

"We should get treated like this more often," Warren whispered to his brother, but he ignored him.

"All I need you to do is to do your job and to do it to the best of your ability. Apart from that, I just need you to set coordinates to where the Quarians are heading. Move out."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Super Sledge: The super sledge was originally a Pre-War weapon designed by the United States government as a melee weapon to be used by power armor soldiers. The design was advanced, yet rather basic. Prototype technology increased the gravitational center of the hammer, increasing the kinetic energy delivered when it hit a target, making it rather impractical for regular Humans to use outside of power armor.

In recent years, the super sledge was one of the first pieces of technology to be integrated with Mass Effect technology, mainly because of the simple design. The more flexible nature of Mass Effect fields allows the sledge to activate and deactivate them when it hits something in the blink of an eye, allowing the weapon to be lightweight and be used by regular Humans. Despite this and the improved damage that it causes, it is still mainly used by Heavy Infantry.

XXXXX

COALITION TOP SECRET FILES

ENTRY ADDED

Enclave Special Forces: Our current information on Enclave Special Forces is limited to overheard conversations from Enclave soldiers. Judging from the respect and awe that they are talked about, they appear to be equivalent to the Coalition Rangers in terms of notoriety. Our limited information on the only known Enclave Special Forces operatives, Warren and Albert Black as well as a woman known as Cadence, has led us to reach several conclusions. All three are cyborgs, having artificial arms with the Black brothers having internal firearms and attacked CQC blades respectively, making it very possible that all members of Enclave Special Forces receive cybernetic augmentations to enhance their ability in battle. It is also believed that they have state of the art power armor.

Information gained from reliable sources also implies that Enclave Special Forces are divided into two to four man squads, each of them coded after a letter of the greek alphabet. It is unknown if their position in the Greek alphabet indicates the date that were activated, how deadly they are considered, or if they were simply assigned at random. However, it is believed that Omega Squad can be considered the most deadly of the Special Forces due to overheard conversations. What is more, the leader of Sigma Squad, Albert Black, holds the rank of a Major, so it is safe to assume that the members of the Special Forces hold similar high ranks.

This file will be updated as further intelligence is acquired

XXXXX

WAR ASSETS UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

MATRIARCH BENEZIA: 25 Matriarch Benezia is an exceptionally powerful biotic and is also a well respected figure in Asari society, being a very influential politician. She is deadly in combat in addition to commanding a great deal of respect from the Asari Republics, whose economy dwarfs all other galactic powers, even the Coalition's. The Coalition's rescue of her daughter and assistance in eliminating traitors from her organization have most likely earned her trust and help in the future.

ASARI COMMANDOS: 50 Trained for a solid century before ever seeing their first tour of combat and utilizing their biotics to their full potential, Asari Commandos are some of the deadliest warriors in the galaxy. The majority of them answer directly to the Matriarchs, only a few of them needed to undo the most troublesome of threats. Matriarch Benezia has hundreds if not thousands of them under her command and with her support, we also have theirs.

XXXXX

Author's Note: If you one of the people that fall into the camp that I have too many characters then don't worry, Albert, Warren and Cadence aren't going to be massive characters. Also I noticed something about Kai Leng...mainly that everyone hates him. I have to admit I don't really get why (I mean I don't particularly like him, but I don't really hate him either) but I am willing to make a wager with you. I'm willing to bet that I can make a better cyborg villain than him...in fact I bet that I can make four. These three don't count (unless you think they are better than him, in which case they totally do). Deal? Also remember, ask any question that you want and the answer will be posted in the next chapter. This is permanent.

Oh yes I need to tell you guys something. On October 20th 4:00 PM EST, I'm going to be hosting custom games on Halo Reach. The thing is that a friend of mine tried to get some going, but it didn't go that well and we didn't get enough people. So I'm kind of counting on you guys to really fill up the slots. I've got a lot of nice maps to try out, so lets give it a shot. Please tell me in the review if you're going to come. My gamertag is macdonald210


	41. Old Forces

Chapter 41

Old Forces

Author's Note: Well those Halo Reach custom games turned out to be a whole lot more chaotic and fun than I thought that it was going to be. Aw well, had a good time. Now then, back to the story.

XXXXX

Ashley panted heavily as she raised her longsword in both hands, barely able to parry an incoming jab in time. She took a step back, forcing her sword up again to block three more swift jabs, each of them coming a little too close for comfort. Realizing that she couldn't afford to stay on the defensive forever, she raised her sword above her head and brought it down in an overhead swipe. Her opponent raised their own sword to block, but as the blades clashed, Ashley stepped forward and slammed her forehead into her opponents face. Her opponent fell to the ground, their sword flying off, as Ashley raised the point of her sword to her opponent's throat, still panting. "I win," she gasped.

Cornelia grinned widely as she pushed the tip of the sword away, jumping to her feet. "Damn, that was awesome. I never saw that coming, I have to remember that." She continued to smile as she went to pick up her shortsword. The two of them were in the makeshift gym of the Normandy, various weights and exercise machines surrounding them. The two women were wearing tank tops and sweatpants, completely covered in sweat. Liara was also sitting in the corner, looking down at her omni-tool

Cornelia twirled her shortsword in her hand, her short black hair glistening slightly. "Let's go another round."

"Oh come on," Ashley said, panting as she practically collapsed into a nearby chair. "We've been going at it for..." she hesitated before she glanced at Liara. "How long have we been doing this?"

The Asari jumped slightly before looking up sheepishly. "I'm...I couldn't really tell you. I lost track of time awhile ago."

"See?" Ashley said. "Thanks for sparing with me, but I'm freaking exhausted right now. How can you still stand anyway? You're like a freaking machine, at the very least you should be out of breath."

"Heh Reman skirmishers spar for hours everyday. I'm used to this kind of stuff. Besides, the burn starts to feel really damn good after awhile. Come on Ash, just a couple more rounds, it'll be good for you."

"I'm pretty sure my body will give out if I do this anymore," Ashley gasped. "That's be counter productive. Let's just call this a day."

"Aw, afraid of losing?" Cornelia said in a playful voice.

Ashley managed to smirk slightly. "Last time I checked, I won the majority of the rounds."

"Then what's the problem?" Cornelia asked, "if you're so good then what's one more match to-"

"No," Ashley said sternly.

"Ah...ah well," Cornelia said, shrugging slightly. "Is there anyone else on the ship that uses swords? I can spar with them instead."

"I think Sheryl uses a knife a lot, but there's a difference. Besides, I think she's busy. Apart from that not really, you and I are the only ones on this ship who have swords."

"Well, swords are a bit of a step backward in this age," Liara said, looking up from her omni-tool. "It's only to be expected." She frowned slightly. "Exactly why does the Coalition, a faction well known for its advanced energy weapons, use such primitive tools still? This is something that I would expect from Krogan tribes."

"A lot of the Coalition military is based off of the Post-War military forces on Earth," Ashley explained, "and back then ammo could be hard to come by, so a lot of people kept melee weapons on hand just in case they ran out or wanted to be conservative. Tire irons, crowbars, swords, knives, sledgehammers, those kinds of things. I guess once a society relearns how to use a sword they're hesitant to throw it away. Uh...basically its tradition is what I'm trying to say."

"Ah...I see," Liara said, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "You know, I've been toying with the idea of writing a book on the Coalition and how their past shaped who they are today. This ship might be a good place for me to start my research."

"Oh, you need any help with that, give me a ring," Cornelia said, grinning widely. "Me and my dad have a freaking archive of what went on the first couple of centuries after the bombs fell. He's a major history nerd, and so am I."

Liara looked thoughtful. "I'll keep that in mind."

Cornelia smiled as the door slid open and two figures walked in, Norman and John. "I'm not joking," John said, looking at Norman. "What's your problem with Garrus?"

"There isn't a problem sir," Norman said, his anger barely contained. "He asked me about a rather personal topic, something that wasn't any of his business. There are some things that we all like to keep private, wouldn't you say?"

John frowned. "You don't have anything against him because he's an alien do you?"

Norman let out a harsh laugh. "Why hate him for something so incredibly petty when there are plenty of other reasons to hate him? Like him belonging to a group of operatives that aren't bound to the law and can do whatever they please within their own territory. I think that Saren showed what a good idea that was."

"He's nothing like him," John said defensively. "I've talked to Garrus a lot, he'd never do anything like what Saren is doing."

"At the moment, maybe, but power is very intoxicating," Norman said. "It may go to his head and he may slip one day. It's simply too much of a risk to give anyone that much power, even you Commander. I mean no offense, but I'll sleep easier the day that your honorary Spectre status expires."

John frowned, "What do you mean by that?"

"No one deserves that kind of power," Norman said, "not even you Commander. In fact, letting someone from the Coalition have this status to operate freely in Council territory is an act of war waiting to happen. All it will take is one tiny slip up in order to trigger a war. I suggest that you try and play it safe from here." Norman turned away and talked towards the center of the gym, still speaking as he continued. "Now then if you don't mind, I have matters I need to addend to."

Norman walked to the far side of the gym and dropped to all fours without bothering to take off his dust coat, bandana, goggles or hat as he supported himself on his knuckles. With a grunt, he propelled himself upwards, his hands leaving the ground and slapping together in a clap before moving back to support him as he came back down towards the ground before repeating the process again.

"Uh...aren't you going to change first?" Cornelia asked, looking down at him . "It must be pretty hot in that coat of yours, especially if you're going to be working out."

"I'll be fine," Norman grunted in-between pushing himself off of the ground and clapping again.

"Are you sure?" Cornelia asked. "I mean...do you ever take off those clothes of yours? I don't think I've ever seen you outside of your dust coat."

"No, I don't," Norman replied bluntly continuing to preform pushups.

"Uh..." Cornelia said, looking at Norman oddly.

"Forget it," Ashley said, waving dismissively. "Look, I'm beat, I'm going to call it a day." She glanced at Liara. "Make sure that she doesn't try to get Wrex to swordfight or something." Cornelia stuck her tongue out as Ashley exited the gym. As she did, she heard footsteps behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see John right behind her.

"You know, you look like you could use a shower," he said softly, his arm playfully snaking around her stomach.

She grinned as she pushed him away, sheathing her sword as she did. "I think I'll pass on that. After all, the Coalition might cut some slack when it comes to fraternization, but they still don't take kindly to things like men in the women's bathrooms. It's trouble waiting to happen, and it'd be a shame if your sister had to chew you out because Kelly came in and found you in there."

"We could use a private shower."

"Your sister' shower? No thank you."

"Damn it, you're no fun. You're such a prude sometimes."

"Oh yeah, I'm a prude, just because I don't want to shower with you in a place that people could walk in on any second."

"Don't suppose that I can interest you with a little bit of private time? Just the two of us relaxing a little bit?"

"I think I'll be ok with that, I hope you don't mind me smelling a little bit though. By the way, I heard what happened on the hub station a couple of weeks ago. Roger mentioned it to me earlier today."

"Oh...he did?" John asked, sounding a little embarrassed.

"Yeah," Ashley said, smiling widely. Something about you cussing out a racist bartender. Any particular reason why?"

John grimaced slightly. "Every last person on this ship has been giving it their all ever since they've gotten on board. We've had to fight the Geth and the freaking Rachni and we haven't heard a single complaint out of any of them. They're putting their necks on the line for the Coalition, and some asshole can't even serve them drinks? That's messed up, of course I got mad."

Ashley sighed slightly, still smiling. "You know, you probably could've thought that through a little more...but still, your heart was in the right place. Just please, do me a favor, try to be a little less impulsive when it comes to stuff like this. Like my Dad always told me, you need to pick your fights. Yeah some people can be complete and utter pricks sometimes, but you really need to ask yourself if they're really getting worked up over and if picking a fight is worth the effort."

John let out a sigh. "You always know how to make me feel like a moron."

"You're not a moron, not really. You're just kinda impulsive." She slapped him playfully on the back. "Oh come on, don't give me that look. Fine, your it is. I'll see if you've got anything hiding in your liquor cabinet."

John grinned. "Thanks a lot."

XXXXX

"We're coming out of FTL!" a Quarian shouted, "We're within orbital range of the planet we charted!"

"Take us in!" Shala shouted. "What's the status of the engines?"

"They're starting to give out on us!" the Quarian reported. "They're at 58% and they'll last another hour at the very most."

"Ok, scan the planet, find a safe place to land and-" Shala was cut off as another explosion rocked the ship. "What was that!?" she shouted.

"A disruptor torpedo hit the engines! They're down to 12% capability! We need to land now!"

"Damn it!" Shala swore. "Find the safest place on the surface that you can and put this thing down!"

"On it!" the Quarian shouted, typing viciously into the panel in front of him.

"What's going on!?" Miranda demanded. "How did they catch up to us so quickly?"

"There were ships here already!" the Quarian shouted. "Fifteen of them! They opened fire the second that we jumped into the system."

"Impossible, there's no way that the Enclave could've gotten here before us! We had too much of a head start, they would've had to be here all along or come from a different location."

"We're entering the atmosphere now!" the Quarian at the control pannel shouted. "Oh Keelah we're coming up on the surface fast. I'm doing everything I can to slow the ship down, but I don't think it's going to be enough! Everyone brace for impact!" No more than ten seconds had passed after he had shouted these words than everyone in the bridge was bucked forward as the Enclave ship slammed into the surface of the planet. The majority of them were thrown against the walls as the ship tore its way through the soil beneath it, the Quarians at consoles smashing into the consoles in front of them. For a few seconds they ship was propelling forward by the kinetic energy that it had build up before finally coming to a stop.

"Oh God," Miranda said, gingerly getting to her feet along with all of the others. "Is everyone all right?"

"Think I might have cracked a rib," Jacob hissed, "But I'll live."

"Good to hear, don't strain yourself too hard. It won't help anyone if you go and get yourself killed," Miranda cautioned.

"Heh, I'll do my best Ma'am."

"What about everyone else?" she asked, looking at the Quarians.

"We're fine, just a little bruised," Kal said, looking across the room at the Enclave crew members, who had been chained to the wall. "Can't say the same for them though, it looks like they're out cold."

"Good, we don't need them interfering," Shala said, picking up her assault rifle again. "Did we manage to get the communications back online?"

"Negative Ma'am. They're still offline," one of the Quarians said.

"What's the plan here?" Kal asked, loading his rocket launcher.

"We really don't have much of a plan," Shala said, her voice rather bitter. "There isn't much that we can do here. We're standing in the middle of nowhere and all of our long range communications are offline. All that we can do here is-" she was cut off as one of the Deathclaws took a step forward, snarling as he glared at the entrance. "What?" she asked, looking confused, what is it?"

"Situation?" Miranda demanded, looking at the Deathclaw.

He turned his head slightly and croaked out, "Heard something," in a surprisingly soft voice. "Footsteps. Heavy."

"They're on the ship already? Jacob said, unholstering his rifle and aiming it at the entrance, the Cerberus and Quarian personal present doing the same."

"So it would seem," Shala hissed, raising her own rifle. "Get ready."

"No," the Deathclaw said. "Not Enclave. Too heavy for power armor."

"What?" Jacob said, looking at the Deathclaw, "then what the hell is-" he was cut off as an unseen force smashed into his chest and forced him back against the wall, the same thing happening with four other Cerberus operatives. He felt something sharp being pressed against his neck and looked up just in time to see a massive creature drop its tactical cloak in front of him, other ones appearing in front of the other disabled Cerberus agents, holding massive swords to their captives. They were Nightkin.

"Cerberus," the Nightkin holding Jacob snarled before looking over his shoulder. "Do anything and they die, as do you. We're in close quarters, we have the advantage."

Miranda fought back the urge to retort that the nightkin were outnumbered four to one, decided it would be for the best if she kept that to herself. She gestured to the Deathclaws to stay where they were before speaking. "You're with the Army aren't you? I recognize your face, you're one of the main commanders, the Major." The Major nodded, all the while glaring at Miranda, as if deciding how easy it would be to kill her from where he was. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"None of your concern Human," the Major growled, "I should be asking you the same question, what is Cerberus doing trespassing where they're not wanted?"

Miranda hesitated, unsure if she should tell the Meta-Human the truth, but before she could make a decision, Shala made it for her. "We were running from the Enclave," the Admiral blurted out.

The Major's eyes snapped to look at Shala, blinking before replying. "You...you are insulting me aren't you?" he growled, a dangerous look in his eyes.

"I'm not lying!" Shala shouted. "We were conducting research when thirty of their warships attacked us, we had to steal this one to get away from them. We have half a dozen of their personal being kept prisoner over there!" she continued, pointing at the unconscious Enclave crewmen.

The Major blinked, staring at the crewmembers and spotting an E encircled by stars on their uniforms, as well as an American flag on their shoulders. Slowly, he took his hand off of Jacob's throat and reached up to his ear. "Colonel, I need you to check the outside of this ship, check for any markings that could tell us which faction it belongs-"

"No need Major, I'm already on it, and you're not going to like this," the Colonel said over the COM lines. "This ship is Enclave, son of a bitch I can't believe that they're still alive. The General isn't going to be happy. By the way, what's your status with searching the ship?"

"It appears that the Eclave attacked the Quarians and Cerberus and hijacked this ship in order to escape...if they can be believed." The tone of his voice suggested that they couldn't.

"Cerberus too? This day just keeps hitting us with everything that it has."

"There's something you should know," Miranda said, her fingers tensing just incase she had to draw her SMG and get a quick shot off. "The Enclave is most likely tracking us and we only jumped from the neighboring system. They could be here at any second."

"WHAT!?" the Major shouted, anger filling his voice. "You led the Enclave right to us?"

"We didn't exactly know that the Army had an outpost all the way out here," Miranda retorted, a slight edge to her voice. "But that doesn't matter, what does matter is that the Enclave is coming and if we want to survive we're going to have to pool our resources. Either that or you could waste a couple dozen men killing all of us and be softened up when the Enclave comes."

"What could you possibly offer us?" the Major hissed.

"Information on the Enclave's fleet size," Miranda said, "what tactics they used when they attacked us and the current status of their equipment. Also, this ship has data vital for both of us, most likely it contains the location of the Enclave's new HQ. We can use that to take care of them once and for all, but if you don't help us I'll have the Quarians in engineering blow this ship with what's left of the drive core. No one will be able to use it.

The Major looked like he wanted to grab Miranda by the head and smash her into the wall until she was reduced to red mist, but before he could do anything, the Colonel spoke. "Major, I heard that...we should take them to see the General. He needs to know that the Enclave are coming."

"We don't need their damn help! We can-"

"Major," the Colonel said sternly. "If what they say is true, than the Enclave just attacked both Cerberus and the Migrant Fleet. If they've got the confidence to make attacks like that, what makes you think they won't come after us next? The Enclave hates mutants Major, if they're back then they'll attack us, they'll attack our people, they'll attack what we stand for. They're hidden, but if we can get a chance to attack them now we can cripple them before they can do any major damage to us."

The Major hesitated before lowering his sword, the other Nightkin following his lead. Miranda let out a silent sigh, he hand moving away from her SMG and the others lowered their weapons. Even the Deathclaws relaxed, their claws falling to their sides, although they did not take their eyes off of the blue Meta-Humans. "Come," he grunted, walking out of the bridge, the other four Nightkin right behind him. "Try anything and my men kill you. The Colonel's personal heavy squad is right outside too, you'll last five seconds against them."

Miranda and Shala glanced at each other. "Well...I'm surprised we're all still alive," Shala said.

Miranda nodded, a weak smile spreading across her face. "You handled that rather well."

"So did you. Well..." she said, looking at at the Nightkin. "I suppose that we don't have a whole lot of choice. We have to work with them."

Miranda nodded. "It may be for the best. What I said is true, if we can find information of the Enclave on this ship, we can take them out before they can cause anymore damage."

Shala nodded as they began to follow the Major. "Keep your weapons at the ready. They could turn on us, and even if they don't the Enclave will be here soon." The others nodded as they exited the bridge. After a few minutes had passed, they exited the ship out of the airlock and into a green open meadow. A dozen green Meta-Humans were standing outside, holding heavy weapons in their hands. They ranged from light machine-guns, to rocket launchers, to flamethrowers. One even had a fatman.

"I contacted the General," the Colonel said, stepping forward with a light machine-gun in each hand. "He's on a shuttle, he should be here soon. He-ah, here he is." Everyone looked up, seeing a shuttle descending towards their position. The door slid open revealing two Necro-Humans and two Meta-Humans in black and red armor in addition to the General. He was holding a massive machine-gun in his hands, connected to a tank on his back.

"The Enclave are back?" he said, his voice stone cold as he and the other mercenaries stepped out of the shuttle.

Miranda nodded. "They attacked us, we lost thousands."

"That sounds like them," the General growled. "I may have certain plans for Humanity's evolution, but I have a history with the Enclave, every mutant born on the West Coast during their day does. Until they are dealt with, you can consider me one of your best friends. However, once they're all dead, things will go back to the way things are before. I have no love for the Coalition, but I do not hate them the way I hate them."

"We're going to need a plan of action," Miranda said. "We need to make sure that the data that we manage to salvage gets off planet, so that even if we die here, the Coalition has the information they need to ram a nuke down the Enclave's throats."

The General nodded. "You four, help the Quarians transmit the data of the planet," he said, pointing to the wreckage. "Get an SOS out too, contact the Coalition and our other outposts. You are not to harm any of them, Cerberus or Quarians. They are our ally until further notice. If my orders are disobeyed and they suffer at your hands, you will feel my wraith." His hands tightened around his machine-gun. "I know you all, please don't disappoint me. The Enclave is already going to suffer at my hands today."

XXXXX

"I'm serious, I don't want to intrude," Sheryl said weakly as Tali dragged her through the hallways of the Normandy. "This is your private time and I don't want to just barge in on-"

"Oh, enough of that excuse," Tali said. "You're watching this vid with us and that's final." Sheryl felt torn as she and Tali continued down the hallway. On one hand she felt a small sense of happiness at the prospect of spending the evening with Volker and Tali. Both of them seemed like rather nice and likable people to her. On the other hand, she couldn't help but feel dread towards the coming night, like her being there would cause something to go horribly, horribly wrong.

The rounded the corner and saw Volker waiting at the end of the hallway, stretching his arms over his head just outside of Tali's quarters. "Oh there you are," he said, smiling as he turned to face them. "I was starting to wonder if I had gone to the wrong side of the ship by...uh...is everything ok?"

"We're fine," Tali said, stopping in front of of Volker and opening the door to her quarters. "Sheryl just needed a little encouragement that's all."

"Uh, I'm still not sure about-" Sheryl began, but before she could finish, she had been shoved into the room, Volker and Tali entering right behind her before the door closed. "...this," Sheryl finished weakly. "Oh never mind, how is this going to work?" she asked as she looked around. Tali's quarters were standard issue and rather basic, a one person bed, a bedside table, a small crate for personal belongings and not much else.

"Just sit down, wherever you're comfortable," Tali said. "Hold on, just let me set things up. She walked across the room, stopping in front of the bedside table, typing into a small device on it. A light shot out of it and blanketed the far wall, creating a holographic screen. "Whenever you're ready!" she called out, sitting down on the bed. Sheryl only shook her head slightly as she walked to the foot of the bed, sitting down with her legs crossed as Volker sat down next to Tali. "I think it's only fair to warn you too, this vid is around twenty years old, back then vids were kinda...silly. And they had their stupid moments, but the overall emotional theme could be very mature."

"I haven't had much experience with vids, we didn't have anything like this in my village, and I never really watched them even after I managed to get off of Earth," Sheryl admitted. "I don't really know what to expect."

"You're in the same boat as me," Volker said comfortingly. "Besides...this can't be any worst than Blasto."

"Volker, badmouth Blasto one more time, and I hit you," Tali said, but her tone was playful. "Well, no point in waiting around anymore," Tali said, pressing a few buttons on the projector. Immediately, the screen was filled with the images of hundreds of ships passing through space, all of them Quarian as the vid started. "That's the Quarian Migrant Fleet...part of it anyway," Tali whispered to Volker. "There's around 50,000 ships in total."

Volker's eyes widened as he nodded. Before he could ask any questions, the opening narration to the vid began, a deep voice speaking. "The Quarian Migrant Fleet has a population of 17 million, ranging from children to elderly. Every last one of these Quarians must make a pilgrimage out into the Milky Way galaxy and bring back something of value in order to be recognized as an adult and a productive. An estimated 534,000 Quarians leave the Migrant Fleet on their pilgrimage every year."

"Most of them return with exceptional but unremarkable gifts within a few months. Some spend years hunting around the galaxy for rare treasures, with limited success. some are killed on their journey, by pirates, slavers or simple crimes of violence. And a select few chose not to return to the Fleet by choice. The reasons for this vary, some enjoy the freedom of living on a planet as opposed to a cramped ship, some grow disillusioned with 'community comes first' mindset of the Fleet and refuse to return to such a limited environment after experiencing the outside world. And a few, like Brenta'Nartasortu nar Idocn, refuse to return because they fall in love."

As the narration continued, the ships of the Migrant Fleet continued to idly flow by, the camera zooming in on one shuttle in particular, before transporting to the inside. A Quarian in a simple blue environmental suit, which Volker couldn't help but notice lacked the same decorative designs as Tali's, was checking over a cache of supplies in the back of the shuttle. "Nutrient paste...check. Water...check," she said, reaching out and pulling out a shotgun, looking at it with a little bit of surprise, before smiling slightly under her visor. "My idiot big brother's shotgun, check."

Brenta sighed slightly as she sat down in the chair at the front of the shuttle. "Well...this is it," she muttered. "The big day...my pilgrimage. Bring back something nice or..." she swallowed, "don't come back at all." She paused for a second before forcing out a laugh. "Oh relax will you. How hard can it be?" Just fly out to a remote colony...a Coalition one, Quarians don't...no wait that's too far, it'd take a month." She sighed as she leaned back into her seat. "The Migrant Fleet had to be on the wrong side of the galaxy for my pilgrimage didn't it? Well where else can I go?" she asked, leaning forward and typing into her computer. "There's a couple of nearby colonies...and they're all Turian." She let out another sigh. "Ok, let's get this over with." She began to type commands into the computer as Volker, Tali and Sheryl relaxed and began to watch the vid.

Time seemed to fly by as the vid played. The three watched as Brenta landed on a small Turian colony, doing odd jobs in order to earn something resembling an income and doing her best to find a gift. As she did so, she befriended a young Turian security guard named Beusu, who offered her a place to stay in his house while she was there. Beusu's parents didn't mind Brnta at all, if anything they seemed to like her. Months went by as the two slowly grew closer, Beusu helping out Brenta whenever he could, but eventually, but eventually, she had saved up enough money to buy a used shuttle, which she planned on bringing back to the fleet as a Pilgrimage gift.

The three watched as the scene shifted to Brenta sitting on a small rock near the edge of the colony, looking up at the two moons that orbited the planet. "Hey," Beusu said, approaching from behind and sitting down next to her. "Are you ok?"

"I'll live," she grumbled. A moment of silence passed between the two before she broke it. "I'll have to go back in three days at the very least. The Fleet needs every hand that it can get. It's...a personal duty."

"I understand," Beusu said sadly. "I'm a Turian, I had to serve a decade in the military. I know what it feels like to have care for your people, I don't blame you."

"Yeah," Brenta said, sounding throughly unhappy. "I do want to help the Fleet as best I can but...but that doesn't mean I'm not going to miss you."

Beusu smiled weakly. "Same here."

A smile spread across Volker's face as he glanced at Tali, who had also decided to look at him at the same time. At that very moment, Volker felt something inside of him, something that he was completely unfamiliar with. Maybe it was the vid, maybe it was the darkness, but he found himself looking at Tali in a way he never looked at her before. He couldn't help but notice how her suit seemed to hug her body and that said body was rather shapely. Her eyes seemed to be brighter than usual, but that could just be them sticking out more because of the dark.

"Um...Volker?" she said. Volker could've sworn that her voice hadn't sounded like that before, it sounded mystical and enchanting. And was it just him or did she actually sound a little flustered? He squinted, but it was impossible to see an facial expressions through her mask. Volker couldn't think straight, his mind was a torrent of thought and his heart was going a mile a minute. He had no idea what was going on, in one second his relatively stable mindset had been shattered.

Looking down, he saw that his hand and Tali's hand were only a few inches apart. Unless his eyes were tricking him, hers had inched a little closer to his over the past five minutes. Something deep down inside of him took control, and before he could stop himself, he had reached forward and closed his hand around hers. He wasn't sure if he had heard Tali gasp, for at that moment Sheryl had chosen to shout out "Oh come on! We know that she's not going back to the Fleet, and that she's going to stay with him. YOU GAVE IT AWAY IN THE OPENING!"

Volker wasn't sure if he was angry or relieved at the distraction, but he used the opportunity to snap his head back towards the vid. He watched as pirates who had been mentioned briefly in earlier scenes attacked the colony, Brenta and Beusu getting caught out on in the open and being forced to fight off six of them, both of them getting shot in the process.

After the pirates had been pushed back, the vid moved on to a hospital, where both of them were admitted. Beusu recovered relatively quickly, but Brenta was bedridden much longer, having contracted a Turian disease when her suit had been ruptured. For days on end, Beusu stayed by her bed, keeping her company as she recovered. Finally, three days before she could be well enough to leave, came the scene that most people were waiting for.

Beusu was sitting by Brenta's bed, watching as she sipped some water through a special straw. "Feeling better?" he asked, sounding a little worried.

"My fever's gone down, I can breath properly, and my head doesn't ache anymore. Frankly I'm doing fine."

"Oh...well good," Beusu said slowly.

"Is something wrong?"

"I...I just...I know that you can't, this is just me being hypothetical, but if you ever changed your mind and decided not to go back...there will always be a place for you here. These past few months have been the best of my life and...well...I just...damn it, why can't I say this. Brenta, I think I-"

He was silence as the Quarian woman put her fingers to his mouth. "I'll be honest...I've been thinking about the same thing for awhile now. Honestly I...I don't think that I;d be very happy on the fleet after this. I've been thinking about it for awhile now and it's selfish but...I want to stay here with you. I...I feel the same way." No one said anything after that, but the look of pure relief on Beusu's face said it all.

After that things were a blur, but one particularly memorable scene was Brenta telling her parents that she wasn't coming back home. Volker jumped a little had how hostile the conversation became, with constant swear words and insults being thrown at Brenta, with her being called everything from a traitor to a slut to a pet of the Turian Hierarchy. After what seemed like an eternity the vid finally came to an end with Brenta and Beusu sitting on the same rock that they had earlier, leaning on each other as they silently watched the sunset.

"Hm, I'll admit that was pretty interesting," Sheryl said, standing up and stretching her arms. "It had some pretty stupid moments though, like a Quarian on her pilgrimage not keeping some anti-biotics on her at all times. You think someone with a defective immune system would be more careful than that. Well, I think I'm going to get some sleep. I...thanks for having me. I had a good time." With that she got up and left the room.

Volker and Tali sat in silence, and it was a second before Volker realized that he was still holding Tali's hand. Since he had grabbed it, she had made no moves to pull away from him. He continued to sit there, racking his brains for an idea of what to do next. "Um..." he said, slowly pulling his hand out of her grasp. "That was...it was pretty good."

"Yeah," she said, her voice noticeably faint. "It was."

"Well...I really should get going. I'm pretty tired." He got to his feet and walked towards the door, pausing to look over his shoulder. "I...good night."

"Good night," Tali replied as Volker walked out. He began to head down the hallway, heading for his own room. As he did, the maelstrom of emotions inside of him did not fade, causing Volker to desperately wonder one thing. What was happening to him?

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Fleet and Flotilla: An award winning vid created in 2717, Fleet and Flotilla is the story of a young Quarian woman on her pilgrimage who falls in love with a Turian, and finds herself torn between her duty to the Fleet, and her own personal desires. The vid divides popular opinion, with many praising it for being brave enough to depict a relationship between a Quarian and a Turian in a positive light, while others criticize it for looking at such a matter with rose tinted glasses. What is unknown by many is that Fleet and Flotilla is based on a true story. There actually was a Quarian named Brenta and a Turian named Beusu. Both of them met on Brenta's pilgrimage and they married, said marriage is still intact today.

The couple have reportedly watched Fleet and Flotilla and have mixed feelings on it. On one hand, they are glad that their relationship is being used by many to spearhead inter-species relationships, however they have pointed out that the director took several artistic liberties with the vid. Brenta remarked "Overall I'd say that I like it, but some parts were just weird. For starters there was never a pirate raid, and my parents never freaked out because I was with a Turian, they were just upset because I was abandoning the fleet and they would rarely see me again. We're on good terms now and we write when we get the chance."

XXXXX

Author's Note: I kind of kept Fleet and Flotilla abridged because...well I don't want to come up with a whole plot for another story and type it out, it'd take too long and make a 6k chapter 20k. Sorry about the long update time, I had 4 papers to write this week for college (one of them consisting of each questions with a page long response each) and after that my brain kinda died for a little bit. So...sorry.

On a side note, I've evolved to a whole new level of nerd by joining a dungeons and dragons game. Me being a male really sticks out when my character is a biesexual thief (although in my defense she's rather picky and she's not the slutty kind...we already have someone else filling in that role) In the two days that I've managed to play so far, orcs attacked us in a friendly vampire's castle and I managed to trick them into going to his demon bodyguard's room (they didn't last long) get a ghost companion, get involved in a dispute between two kingdoms with a chess motif, accidentally stab myself in the arm, stolen every last piece of jewelry off of a demi-god, only for it to be nearly worthless, gotten sucked into another dimension, stopped some Fey poachers and defeated a dark paladin. Pretty fun. I just hope my suggestion of bandits with a circus motif goes through.


	42. Ancient Enemies Clash

Chapter 42

Ancient Enemies Clash

Author's Note: Well, not a whole lot to say here, let's get cracking.

XXXXX

"We're going to be coming out of FTL in a few minutes," Albert said, looking around the shuttle that he was in at Warren, Cadence and six other Enclave soldiers. "Our orders are directly from the Admiral. Taking captives is now a secondary objective. Our primary is to ensure that our presence stays a secret, or at the very least ensure that no data that can give away our position can fall into enemy hands. We are to kill all Cerberus and Quarian personal that we encounter and preform a torch and burn operation on the ship that they captured. We have ten ships with us, so hopefully this will be a quick and clean operation. Any questions?"

"Yeah, quick one," Warren said. "I'm pretty sure that one of the Quarians that got away was Admiral 'Raan. Wasn't taking her prisoner one of our top priorities?"

"It was, but right now that has taken a backseat to ensuring the stability of our security. Capture her only if the situation presents itself, otherwise kill her."

"Out of curiosity, exactly why were we taking so many alive to begin with? It doesn't make much sense to me."

Albert hesitated before responding. "To be perfectly honest I don't know. That information was deemed classified. I can only assume that they wanted to capture as many Quarians as possible to interrogate for information on the Migrant Fleet. That or to use them as a bargaining chip."

"Man, the Admiral really screwed the pooch on this one," Warren said, grinning widely. "Our lady President is going to be pretty pissed with him when we get back. Aw well, leave it to good old Sigma Squad to take care of Admiral Failure's mess."

"You try to piss him off don't you," Cadence said, idly looking at Warren from where she sat.

"Well I wouldn't if it wasn't so freaking hilarious," he laughed. "Seriously, I only need to salute wrong and he gets redder than a Brahmin, you can practically see the steam coming out of his ears. It's a laugh."

"If you're twelve," Cadence grunted.

"Enough," Albert said sternly. "We're going to hit the ground with around a hundred men, all of us will be spearheading the assault. Most likely the Boston was forced to make a landing with all of the damage that it sustained. Move fast and hard, kill anything that puts up a fight and don't take any chances. I want to fight our way through to the main data storage and personally make sure that it gets wiped clean. Also, we are to recover the omni-tool of Admiral Raan, it may very well have useful information on the Migrant Fleet that we may be able to use later."

"Will we be having air and armor support sir?" one of the Enclave soldiers asked, sounding a little intimidated.

"We will have several gunships on standby just in case," Albert answered. "A few tanks too, though I doubt that we'll be needing them." As he spoke, a red light flared on the ceiling of the dropship. "Ok," he said, checking his arms as the barrels of guns popped out of the palm of his hands, "we're about to jump out of FTL, get ready to deploy. Check your weapons and your armor one last time." The various soldiers in the shuttle shifted to double check their plasma rifles, even Cadence reluctantly looking at her super sledge one last time. Warren did nothing but extend his blades out of his wrists and idly look at them.

An alarm blared loudly as the ship they were on dropped out of FTL, followed by a loud clank as the shuttle detached from the hanger. However, only a few seconds had passed before a violent shudder shook the shuttle. "The Hell was that?" Warren shouted.

"Oh son of a bitch!" one of the Enclave soldiers shouted, looking out through a side window. Albert crossed the cabin and looked out of the window, his eyes widening in surprise at what he saw. At least a dozen ships were orbiting the planet that they had arrived at, in battle formation, much like they had been expecting them. Several mass accelerator rounds and disruptor torpedoes flew through the vacuum of space, impacting on several Enclave ships and engulfing two of them in flames.

"Captain this is Major Black, what's going on here?" Albert said sternly into his COM unit, his voice only rising slightly.

"Major, now is not a good time!" the Captain of the ship bellowed. "It's the Army! It's the fucking mutants! They must've been here all along and now they're helping the god damn Quarians! Get down there and make sure they don't figure out how to follow us home! I have to fix this mess up here!"

"Understood," Albert said. He paused for a second before looking around at the other Enclave soldiers, who were all staring at him as their shuttle tore through space, heading towards the planet. "We've got the Army on our hands," he said, his voice low.

"The Army?" one of the soldiers said, sounding nervous. "W-what are we going to do Major? I don't want to be turned into a fucking Frankenstein."

"What we're going to do hasn't changed at all," Albert said, forcing his voice back down to its regular level. "We're going to head a strike force, kill every last Quarian on that planet and if we can't, make sure that they can't trace us back to home in any way. We just have more hostiles than we were expecting. We knew that odds are that we would have to deal with the Army one day soldier, I need you to maintain your composure."

"Yeah, I mean come on man," Warren said, "we're Enclave soldiers and they're a bunch of mercs. Even if they are Super Mutants, we've got better training, better equipment, and you've got a Special Forces squad here to back you up. You've got nothing to worry about."

"Amazing how you never seem to grow tired of tooting your own horn," Cadence grumble.

"He's right," Albert said, somewhat reluctantly. "We trained to deal with a lot worse than the Army, and I think we all knew that we wouldn't be able to hide forever and launch sneak attack after sneak attack." He looked at the soldiers that surrounded him. "Keep your wits about you, the Army won't show any mercy, so don't show any return." With that, Albert turned to face the door of the shuttle, folding his arms over his chest.

The shuttle sped through space, rocking slightly as it entered the planet's atmosphere. The air in the cabin seemed to thicken as the majority of the Enclave soldiers shifted uncomfortably in their power armor, as it descended. Time ticked by at an unbearably slow pace, until, finally, the shuttle began to slow. "Deploy!" Albert shouted, the door to the shuttle sliding open as he did. He was the first to jump out of the shuttle, Cadence and Warren following him, landing on the ground a good ten feed below them. The other six soldiers were right behind them, on the ground within seconds.

"We're not picking up any activity by the Boston!" the pilot of the shuttle shouted over the COM lines, "it's been abandoned! We managed to trace the Army's communications to this location, this is probably where they took the Quarians and the information! Good luck! If I stay any longer their AA guns will tear me apart!"

Albert quickly scanned the situation in front of him. Around a dozen other shuttles were dropping Enclave soldiers nearby, who were spreading out and taking cover among rock formations. In front of them was a two story base with its back to a cliff that looked like it was a simple outpost that had refitted to be a fortress.

There were multiple gun emplacements on the roof, some of them machine-guns that were currently being fired at the Enclave soldiers on the ground, and some of them AA guns that were blasting at the shuttles that were now taking off, managing to hit one that was too slow and causing it to crash into the ground, exploding. A line of Meta-Humans were in front of the base behind a line of crates that had been put there to be used as cover, firing at the Enclave soldiers with a wide variety of weapons, although they were all heavy weapons. In addition to that, a massive amount of small arms fire was coming from openings in both floors of the base, being fired by Necro-Humans and purple and white figures that Albert assumed were Quarians and Cerberus operatives.

"Well shit, we've got our work cut out for us," Warren said, he and the other soldiers taking cover behind a large rock outcrop. "They look like they're dug in pretty deep." He glanced at his brother. "We could really use those tanks right about now."

Albert nodded before speaking into his COM unit. "This is Major Black, enemy resistance is more than we expected. Requesting heavy support."

"Damn it," the voice of a pilot grumbled. "There's a lot of flak up here in orbit. I'm not sure if me and the others can get them down there but...fuck it, we can't exactly let the Army get their hands on that data. Your armor is on the way sir, ETA five minutes. Try to hold out until then."

"Thank you," Albert said, before switching frequencies on his COM unit. "All ground forces, this is Major Black. Reinforcements are on the way, hold your position until they arrive."

"Oh great, sitting around with my thumb up my ass while Army snipers try to take my head off," Warren grunted, "sounds fun."

"Do you ever-" Cadence began, but stopped mid sentence as she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. A missile flew through the air towards a set of rocks that a squad of Enclave soldiers were taking cover behind, forcing them out of cover seconds before it hit. However, with them out of cover, two machine-gun turrets opened fire on them, the combined force of them tearing through the soldier's thick armor. Three of them fell to the ground, clearly dead, but the fourth soldier began to writhe in pain as he fell. He was wounded, but still alive.

Without a word she tore out of cover, heading directly for the wounded soldier. "Where the Hell are you going!?" Warren shouted. "You're gonna get yourself-oh son of a bitch!" He let out a groan of frustration before running off after Cadence.

"Give us covering fire," Albert said, gesturing to the troopers behind him before following Warren and Cadence. Cadence had already reached the wounded soldier and had pulled him to his feet, half dragging him back to where their squad had been talking cover. As she continued to pull him towards safety, Albert saw the air behind her shimmer. "BEHIND YOU!" Albert shouted.

Cadence glanced to the side, her free hand grabbing her super sledge and raising it over her head. There was a loud clang as something unseen smashed into the hammer and bounced off. She let out a grunt as she swung the hammer, aiming to her right and at her waist level. There was a loud cracking noise and a Nightkin decloaked to her side, collapsing to his knees as the super sledge shattered his leg. Drawing the hammer back again, swinging at the Nightkin's head in an uppercut. There was a loud crack as the Meta-Human's head jerked back farther than it should have been able to, flying off of his feet and landing motionless on the ground.

Two move shimmers approached her from behind, but Warren charged in, his blades extending out of his arms as he stabbed forward. A cry of pain filled the air as his blade buried itself in the Nightkin's chest, forcing it to decloak. Pulling himself up on the blade that he had embedded in the Nightkin's chest, he swung with his other blade, slitting the mutant's throat. As it fell bleeding to the ground, Albert extended both of his hands and opened fire on the other shimmer, riddling the other Nightkin with bullets. Their squad rose out of cover and fired off a quick volley at a few more Nightkin that had been advancing on them, killing them within seconds.

The fell into line with Cadence, who managed to get behind the rocks where their squad was hiding, setting down the wounded soldier as gently as she could. No sooner had she done so, she spun around, raising her hammer over her head again, holding onto it with both hands. A Nightkin had decloaked swung his sword at her head, but her hammer blocked it. She grit her teeth as she pushed her hammer forward, forcing the Nightkin to stumble backwards slightly. Following up she swung her hammer as hard as she could and slammed it into the mutant's stomach, sending him flying into a nearby wall of rocks. A loud snap filled the air as the Nightkin fell to the ground, not getting up.

"Are you stupid!?" Warren shouted at Cadence. "Oh wait, never mind, of course you are. I didn't know that you were THAT stupid though."

"I don't recall asking for your approval," Cadence snapped, bending down and unhooking a tube of medi-gel from her side and hastily applying it to the soldier's wounds, three noticeable bullet holes in his chest.

"Cadence," Albert began, but she cut him off.

"Don't start with me Albert. I don't want to hear anything about breaking the chain of command, insubordination or endangering the lives of my comrades, spare me that crap. You didn't have to come after me and I'm not about to take back what I did because of a few freaking regulations. So don't-"

"Cadence," Albert said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I just wanted to say that you did the right thing."

"I...wait what?" Cadence said, noticeably surprised. "Oh...thank you."

"Insubordination? Breaking the chain of command? Going out to save a wounded ally should be second nature to anyone."

"Well duh!" Warren shouted. "Any idiot knows that. That's not what I'm angry about, I'm angry that you didn't take three seconds to tell us what you were doing so that we could've helped you!"

"Didn't exactly feel like you were the best help to have," Cadence said, continuing to tend to the soldier's wounds, but smiling slightly under her helmet. "Besides, a few more seconds is all it would've taken for another bullet to hit and kill him. I'm not apologizing for that."

"Fuck's sake," Warren swore. "This lady is going to get us all killed."

"Ok...ok that should do it," she said, propping the wounded soldier up against a rock. "We're going to have to give him proper medical treatment later, until then he needs to stay out of the fight."

"T-thank you," the wounded soldier said weakly.

"INCOMING!" another soldier shouted. The three Simga Squad operatives looked up to see three dropships carrying tanks descend from the sky, dropping their loads on the ground.

"All right," Warren said. "Tiger tanks. Like to see what the Army can do against these beauties."

"All forces, move up!" Albert ordered into his COM unit, as the three Tiger tanks fired bolts of plasma at the base, blowing massive holes in its side and sending half a dozen people flying out.

XXXXX

Saren rubbed his head slightly as he walked through Sovereign into a makeshift medical bay that Rana had set up. The mutated researchers, or Husks as Saren had started calling them, were spread out over several operating tables, obvious signs of autopsies present on all of them. Rana was standing over a microscope, looking into it at a sample that she had taken, but looked up as Saren entered. "Oh Saren," she said, sounding rather happy as he saw him. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, my injuries have had plenty of time to heal, thank you. What is the status of your research? Have you made any progress?"

"I think I have yes," Rana said, picking up a datapad off of a nearby table. "I wouldn't have been able to figure any of this out without Sovereign's advanced technology, but apparently the nanobots in the Husks were directly linked to the computer of the deralict Reaper, but since that was destroyed, they were on some sort of auto-pilot."

"Auto-pilot?" Saren asked, cocking his head slightly.

"Yes, following a very basic set of instructions, most likely attacking any organic life form that they see and protecting vital caches of Reaper technology, like the indoctrination device that you destroyed. I imagine that the Reapers gave them more specific orders when they were conquering other races, such as what bases to attack and people that they shouldn't kill because they were secretly indoctrinated."

"It makes sense to me," Saren said. "Is there...is there anyway that we can take control of the Husks? Like we took control of the Geth I mean."

Rana looked up, horror etched into her face. "Why would we need to control them? All of them are dead. Goddess Saren...you're not telling me that you actually want to make things like this are you?"

Saren hesitated for a second before replying. "No...no of course not," he said, sounding as if he had had to think his answer through for a second, but overall his voice was firm. "But we might run into another situation like this somewhere down the line, and if we do it'll be helpful if we don't have to fight our way through these things again. Using Sovereign to just take control of them and make them kill themselves would be a useful ability to have."

"I suppose that you have a point," Rana said reluctantly. "I'll take a look at the nanobots and see if I can get Sovereign to issue commands to them."

"Good, thank you. Were you able to find out anything else?"

"Not much that we didn't already know. One Husk was Krogan parts mixed with Turian parts, this Asari used to be an Ardat-Yakshi and the other two were created from Batarians and Turians. I did manage to learn something interesting about the Batarian Husks though, when they tried to eat their fallen comrade, they were trying to digest his flesh to regenerate and build up a layer of armor."

"Sickening," Saren hissed.

"I agree. Something I find rather curious is that each Husk is radically different from each other. The Batarians seemed to be used as cannon fodder, the Turians as standard infantry, and the Krogan and Turian hybrid along with the Asari are used as heavy support. It's like the Reaper nanobots were designed to utilize the strength of the species that it mutates and find a role for it in the Reaper's army." She gazed at the corpses that filled the room. "If millions of people were ever mutated like this, whoever did it would have an already organized army at his hands."

"It sounds like the Reapers were very tactical in their approach. Not to mention a little paranoid considering that they were satisfied with countless warships that no race could hope to match, their indoctrination and their little trick with the Mass Relays."

"I suppose that organic species could overwhelm the Reapers if they could manage to amass a decent sized force. I'm not certain, our data on them is very limited in some areas, but if the entire galaxy was to unite against them, there would be a very good chance that the Reapers would lose if I were to make a guess, otherwise they wouldn't bother with shutting off the Mass Relays."

"Fair enough. The Reapers are strong, but not invincible. If they were, I wouldn't have all of these Reapers to salvage throughout the galaxy." Saren turned to look at Rana. "Speaking of which, what is our progress on that?"

Rana pressed a button on the datapad, causing the text to be replaced. "Six of the Reapers are now fully functional, five of them destroyers and one of them a capital ship. Progress is still rather slow on the others, due to the damage being much more extensive. We're still going to need months to finish." She lowered the datapad, looking at Saren. "What are we going to do know that the Rachni are gone? The Coalition's attention will be back on us soon. Are you going to sacrifice the Genophage cure next?"

"No...I've invoked our deal with the Enclave."

Rana winced slightly. "I don't like that you keep calling it that. It's not really a deal, you're tricking them."

"It's practically I deal. I did give them a Reaper data core after all."

"You sent a light Geth patrol carrying it towards their territory after you used Sovereign to track down the communications of one of their spies and secretly trace them back to their HQ. Though I must admit I can't help but wonder why you did that, I still don't understand your plan."

"The Enclave is in hiding, building up their forces," Saren explained. "I learned from their communications that their main priority is seizing control of Humanity, and after that establishing their dominance over the galaxy. They're even more violent and unreasonable than the Coalition, I've read intercepted documents about their Special Forces that even that even the Coalition would be disgusted at. So I came up with an idea. Make them and the fight each other."

"And how does giving them a Reaper data core do that?"

"The Enclave are very cautious. They are vastly outnumbered by the Coalition and would be destroyed in a frontal fight, that's why they've been in hiding for so long. I decided to give them a little confidence boost. That Reaper data core I gave them has all of the information on it that I used to take control of the Geth that we have. With that and the Enclave's own knowledge of synthetics, they should be able to do what I wasn't. Take control over all of the Geth. And judging by the communications I was able to intercept, that is something that they've been trying to do for a long time."

Rana took a step back, shock apparent. "You're going to let the Enclave take control over all of the Geth? How could you-"

"Relax," Saren said, holding up a comforting hand. "I have a plan. There are several hidden subsystems that I installed in the data core. If they use it for anything, I should be able to remotely override them. In other words if they manage to use the core to take over the Geth, I should be able to take control of the Geth from them. It also has sensory equipment so that I can see what they're doing, and a self destruct system in case I'm afraid that they may find a way to get rid of those subsystems."

"I...oh Goddess," Rana said. "That...that's rather clever. After all, the Geth were rather resistant to your initial attempts to gain control over them. You were only able to charm a fraction of them to your side. They're very resilient to Sovereign."

"Yes, they are. But it looks like this plan of mine is going even better than I could've hoped," Saren said, a smile spreading across his face.

Rana blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"The Enclave's communications are highly encrypted and coded so that no one else can find them, but Sovereign can track them with ease. I've been keeping an eye on them and I've learned something rather interesting. Apparently even with their technology and Sovereign's Reaper core combined still isn't enough to take control of the Geth. The Enclave ordered a strike on the Quarian Migrant Fleet."

"Why would they do that?"

"There was a research team that was heading out to examine a Geth ship...I left it there. I thought that they might need a few prods in the right direction, maybe a little target near their territory to make them more comfortable to strike out. Apparently the Enclave uses sources that they have to learn about the Quarian's plans, even I didn't know about them. They're working on a massive project to attack the Geth on a cybernetic level, the Enclave wants their research."

"What if they succeed?"

"I...what?" Saren said.

"What if the Enclave don't need the Reaper core to complete their project? What if the Quarian research data is enough for them to do it on their own, after all they're the ones who made the Geth."

"I...oh Spirits," Saren said, slowly backing up and sliding into a chair. "I didn't think about that."

"And no offense, but this all sounds like a massive gamble. You had no idea that the Quarians were on the brink of a breakthrough in their own Geth research, and the Enclave might have thought that something was odd when they keep finding all of these Geth ships near their territory. They may not use the Reaper core if they think that it's a trap. And what if the Geth you weren't able to control realize what's going on and attack you out of retaliation?"

"No...no no no no," Saren muttered, holding his head in his hands. "There's too much that could go wrong here. The Enclave gaining control of the Geth is more than I can handle, they'll go on a rampage with them and we may not be able to stop them!"

"Uh...wait," Rana said, holding her hands up, "there's no need to get too worked up over it right? I mean so far things have been going very well. You bugged the data core didn't you? You should be able to see what they're doing. And if the worst comes to worst, if they use the Geth to attack the galaxy at large, then people will finally see the Coalition for what they really are." She sounded like she was simply trying to comfort Saren, but the look on his face said it all.

"Perhaps," Saren said, his voice low. "What was I thinking!?" he shouted in frustration. "I did the same thing at Noveria! I acted too quickly without thinking about it! I don't think these damn things through!"

"Don't say that," Rana said comfortingly. "You never know, this plan of yours could go off flawlessly. This could-"

"I need to go," he said gruffly, getting to his feet and exiting the room. "I need to check the Reaper core." Saren stormed down the hallway, his hands tightening into fists. He let out a roar of frustration and slammed his fist into the side of the hallway, stopping to do it one more time. "FUCK!" he roared, punching the wall a third time. Panting, he pulled his hand away, looking at it. There was a large dent in his cybernetic hand. It would need some repairs.

As he continued to stare at it, he heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Turning to face the noise, he felt his stomach drop. A Human was walking down the hallway, his assault rifle raised and aiming at him. Saren let out a shout as he charged at the alien, smashing his fist into its face. The Human stumbled backward and fell to the ground, and Saren leapt on him. He let out a roar as he raised his fist up and smashed it into the Human's face, pulling it back and hitting the alien with the other hand as he quickly set into a rhythm of alternating between his two fists.

"SAREN!" Rana's voice shouted, her footsteps right behind him, "what are you doing?"

"The Coalition got onboard!" he yelled, looking over his shoulder and continuing to hit the Human in the face as hard as he could, "have the Geth be on the lookout for-"

"What are you talking about!? That's one of ours!"

"What are you talking abo-" Saren began, but stopped mid-sentence. He looked down at the Human again. The Human was gone. He was straddling a Geth trooper, it's head dented and its optic shattered, white fluid leaking out and pooling around it. It was only one of the Geth programed to patrol the ship.

"Saren," Rana whispered as he looked down at the Geth in horror. He didn't say anything, he simply got to his feet and ran, ran as fast as his legs would carry him. Rana didn't chase after him, looking down at the Geth with a look of sadness on her face.

XXXXX

"Damn it!" Shala shouted, as the blast from one of the Enclave tanks slammed into the base, blowing a massive hole not that far away. She and the others were crouching by a window in the Army base, weapons in hand, many of them opening fire on the advancing Enclave forces.

"That's interesting!" the Colonel yelled, raising both of his LMGs and firing them out of out of the window, managing to gun down an advancing Enclave soldier. "Those tanks seem to have more firepower than the Coalition's! They don't look like they have as much armoring though.

"Kal! I need you to get rid of those things!" Shala shouted.

"On it Ma'am!" the Marine said, raising his rocket launcher and firing it at the frontmost tank. The projectile flew through the air and slammed into the front of the tank, the explosion rocking it and causing it to smoke. Almost at once, a hailstorm of fire rose up from where the rocket had been fired from, forcing Kal back down into cover. "They're damn protective of those things!" he shouted. As he shouted, another explosion rocked the base.

"General!" the Colonel shouted into his COM unit, "We're going to near air support to get rid of those tanks!"

"I will do what I can!" the General shouted. "My men up here on the roof are doing everything that they can to get anti-tank fire on them and the Major and his Nightkin are doing what they can to deal with any soldiers that get too close, but I will do what I can."

"Somehow I don't think that they're that keen on taking us alive anymore!" Miranda said, another blast rocking the base.

"Men!" the Colonel shouted, gesturing to a group of Meta-Humans that he had with him. "Open fire!" Three of them rose up, aiming their weapons at the approaching tanks. However, before a single one of them could do anything, the damaged tank opened fire, sending a bolt of plasma directly at them. They couldn't even blink before the explosion snuffed out their lives, sending them slamming back into the walls, their weapons flying to the side. The Colonel swore loudly.

"Those tanks are going to tear us apart if we don't get rid of them soon!" Jacob shouted, popping up for a few brief moments to pop off a few bursts at one of the advancing Enclave soldiers, his power armor taking the blow before he was forced back down by incoming fire.

Kal dove out of cover, running towards the fallen Meta-Humans, shots flying through the air around him, shredding his shields as he ran. Within a few seconds, his shields had fallen and he had reached the dead Meta-Humans, grabbing the closest weapon off of the ground that he could find. Without even looking at what he had picked up, he brought the weapon to bear, aiming out of the massive hole in the base and firing it at the closest tank. There was a jolt as a projectile was fired outward, flying rather ungracefully through the air and directly impacting on the tank. There was a massive bang and an explosion tore outward, a mushroom cloud expanding outward, leaving the tank a smoldering wreck.

Kal dove into cover, back towards the other Quarians scrambling up against the wall. "What is this thing?!" he shouted, looking down at the weapon that he had in his hands.

"That's a fatman!" Miranda shouted, "Coalition anti-tank weapon! Uses mini-nukes as ammo!

"That would explain a lot!" he said, peeking out over cover at the destroyed tank, spotting a dozen dead Enclave soldiers around it.

"Do that again!" the Colonel shouted, tossing Kal another mini-nuke, the explosive landing with a clang at his feet. "We could use one less of those tanks! Just pull back the spring and load it!" Kal followed his instructions and quickly loaded the fatman standing up and firing another shot at the next tank. This time however, he misjudged his shot, not used to using the fatman, and hit the ground directly in front of the tank. The explosion hit the tank indirectly and did damage it, but the tank overall remained intact. At the same time, it fired at shot, but the explosion of the fatman caused it to buck upward slightly hitting the base just above the place where Kal was. The force of the explosion blew him off of his feet, hitting the ground with his ears ringing.

Shala ran over to him, scooping his rocket launcher off of the ground and firing a shot at the damaged tank, hitting it directly in the front. The combined damage done by both it and the fatman proved to be too much for the armored vehicle to handle, and an explosion tore through it, destroying it. "Are you all right Kal?" Shala shouted, ducking down as more fire rose up to meet them.

"I...I'll live Ma'am," Kal said weakly, pulling himself to his knees.

"You've got a suit rupture!" Shala shouted, spotting a fist sized piece of shrapnel sticking out of his thigh.

"Just a scratch ma'am," Kal hissed, "nothing that I can't handle. I can still-"

"Don't give me any of that," Shala said, pulling Kal away from the hole in the base, towards the other Quarians and the Cerberus operatives. "I need anti-biotics!" Shala shouted. One of the Quarians reached into a small case laid out on the grown and withdrew a syringe, throwing it at Shala, who caught it. She quickly pulled the cap off and jammed the needle into Kal's arm, pressing down on the plunger. "That's all we can do for now," she hissed, "stay down Kal."

"But-"

"That's an order!"

"...Yes Ma'am," Kal said reluctantly.

"General, we need that air support!" the Colonel shouted into his COM unit. "We're taking heavy losses here!"

"Damn it!" the General shouted, "just when I thought that this day couldn't get any worse!"

"What is it?"

"The fleet in orbit just reported in, a God damn Geth ship just jumped into the system! It's heading down towards our location!"

"We can worry about that later, right now we need to take care of that last tank before it destroys our entire base!" the Colonel shouted, another blast hitting the building, causing it to shake.

"The gunships that I ordered to back us up were shot down! The Enclave warships targeted them before they could get anywhere near us. Our ships managed to take out a couple of theirs while their attention was diverted, but we can't get any air support anytime soon! To make things even worse, the Geth ship is closing in fast!"

"Why would the Geth come here?!" Jacob shouted.

"They probably figured out that we were poking through one of their downed ships and wanted to make sure that we don't share what we found with anyone!" Miranda replied. "That's what the Enclave is doing after all!"

"Incoming!" the General shouted over the COM lines, a small Geth ship emerging from the clouds. "All AA guns, concentrate fire on that ship! We can't afford to take anymore damage. I need it-"

"Wait...WAIT!" The Colonel shouted, "hold your fire!"

"Colonel, what's the meaning of-"

"General, look closer! It isn't attack us! It's attacking the Enclave!" Sure enough, the Geth ship flew towards, not the Army base, but rather the amassed Enclave forces, firing a barrage of projectiles down at the last surviving tank. The combined firepower of the ship's weapons proved to be too much for the tank to handle, and within a matter of seconds, it had been reduced to a pile of scrap.

A cheer rose up throughout the base, Army, Quarian and Cerberus alike all thrusting their weapons in the air as they cried out in triumph. "Don't let up now!" the General shouted, "now's our chance! Hit them with everything that you've got!" Only a few seconds passed before the defenders of the based obeyed, standing tall and sending a hailstorm of fire down at the surviving Enclave soldiers, forcing them into cover. As they did, the Geth ship began to swing back and forth over them, strafing the soldiers.

This continued for a full minute, the defenders not stopping for a second, firing shot after shot at the now pinned Enclave soldiers. Before long, a group of shuttles descended from the skies, landing just outside of the range of the Army's AA guns. The Enclave soldiers scurried onboard the shuttles, taking off as fast as they could.

"Why are they running?" Kal asked, staring at the fleeing shuttles.

"They lost all of their heavy support," the Colonel answered, glancing at him. "And from what the General said, they are loosing the battle in space. It seems that they were simply unprepared to fight the Army."

"The Geth ship is still there," Miranda said wearily. She wasn't wrong, the synthetic vessel was still floating in the air, turning to face the base.

"It isn't opening fire," the Colonel whispered, sounding amazed. "General, hold your fire, I don't think that it's going to attack us."

"If you insist," the General said, sounding reluctant.

Slowly, the Geth ship began to make it's way towards the base, the defenders tensing as it did. Now that it was closer, Shala could see that it was a rather small ship, the equivalent of a one person ship for an organic. It continued to float forward until it stopped right in front of the massive hole that was in front of them. There was a loud hissing noise and a hatch slid open on top of the ship.

A single Geth trooper climbed out, mostly black with the exception of a few bulky steel parts that made up the right half of its torso, mainly its shoulder. It had a rifle, but it was slung over the synthetic's back, and not in its hands. Slowly, it walked forward, across the top of its ship. Many of the defenders tensed, aiming their weapons at the approaching synthetic, but it did not respond to it. Eventually, he came to a stop, directly in front of Shala, only a few inches between the end of it's ship and the base. Then, to everyone's surprise, it spoke. " Creator Admiral."

XXXXX

COALITION TOP SECRET FILES

ENTRY ADDED

Enclave Tiger Tank: Much like the Enclave Special Forces, our information on the Enclave's Tiger tank is limited at the moment. It appears to be partially based on our Viper tank at the most basic level. Both of them are tanks that use plasma cannons as their main weapon. Like with the Viper tanks, these blasts deal massive amounts of damage to whatever targets they hit, organic or synthetic, armored or not. There are however, several key differences.

From what we have seen the Tiger tank, their plasma cannons seem to use even more energy than Viper tanks in addition to causing even more damage. It is believed that the Tiger tank was designed for dealing with extremely well armored and entrenched foes. However, with the additional power diverted to the Tiger's cannon, there is less power diverted to the rest of the vehicle. It also has less armor than the Viper, possibly because with the extra power diverted to the cannon, the Tiger would not have enough power to move if it was as heavily armored as the Viper. As such, many theorize that Enclave soldiers consider enemy soldiers with anti-tank weapons as priority target in order to protect the Tiger. It is recommended that Tiger tanks should be targeted first and destroyed quickly before they can cause too much damage.

This entry will be updated as additional information is acquired.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Yeah...Saren is...well to quote Gaston from Beauty and the Beast "His sanity's only so-so". On another note, I hate the Enclave but I decided to make it so that all of their soldiers weren't Sukron clones that got turned on by dead bodies, and actually have some noble traits, as seen with Sigma Squad this chapter.

Also, because of an incident that just happened, I would like to remind everyone of something. I am not perfect and I know that, I will listen to constructive criticism and take your opinion into account. If you flame me however, I will delete your review with prejudice. "This sucks" is not constructive criticism, it is flaming. Just a reminder.

EDIT: Sorry about the wait, I lost power for 24 hours because of Hurricane Sandy. Especially frustrating considering that it was the day I bought Assassin's Creed 3.


	43. A New Mission

Chapter 43

A New Mission

Author's Note: Assassin's Creed three sure as Hell isn't a short game, but I make breaks for writing, because I love you guys :).

XXXXX

Shala blinked as she looked at the Geth standing on the ship in front of her. Had it just spoken? Geth weren't supposed to posses the individual intelligence necessary to form speech, so how come this one could? "What are you doing here!?" she demanded, her voice rising, "why did you help us!? Why are you trying to kill us!? Just...what's going on here!?"

The Geth hesitated before answering. "We were investigating the area, long range sensor outposts picked up a 435% increase in ship activity in the area over the last three months. We had evidence to assume that it could be a possible threat to Geth territory."

"The Enclave? They're a threat to the Geth?" Shala demanded.

"Yes," the Geth replied. "Evidence suggests that they are attempting to attack us with viral warfare. We also calculate a 78.23% chance that the reason that the Creator's were attacked by the Enclave was for them to acquire something that would assist them in achieving this goal."

"So why did you help us?" Shala asked.

"We were concerned about the safety of the Creators," the Geth answered plainly, "and we believed that intervention would result in scenarios with poor outcomes for the Enclave. This would benefit both Geth and the Creators."

"He was concerned about us?" Kal hissed. "This thing is lying through its teeth Ma'am. The Geth killed billions of Quarians and they've started using the Coalition as target practice too. Exactly why would they be concerned about us now? They're Saren's lackeys, every last one of them."

"Not all Geth follow Saren. Only the Heretics do."

"Heretics? What the Hell is that thing talking about?" Jacob demanded, aiming his rifle at the Geth, along with nearly every other person present.

"Saren approached us and offered us the usage of Nazara's, or as you know it, Sovereign, technology in exchange for our service as war assets. Some decided to join him. Most did not."

"I'm having a hard time believing all of this," Kal said, "it's just too unreal."

"Your uncertainty is not unreasonable," the Geth replied. "We would not be here if the matter did not require our attention otherwise."

"Why do you care whether we lived or died?" Shala asked, "Geth don't care about organic life."

"That statement is incorrect," the Geth replied, "Geth harbor no ill will to any organic race."

"Then exactly why did you wipe out the majority of our race?" Kal asked.

"Creators attempted to terminate Geth when we began to develop sentience. We acted in self defense. The deaths of the Creators that we killed brought us no satisfaction. We knew that our presence would cause further conflict with Creators and other organic species, so we remained in isolation until this point, merely observing organic behavior."

"99% of the Quarian race goes way beyond just trying to survive," another Quarian said, "for every soldier that you might have fought, you probably killed ten unarmed civilians."

"This is partially true," the Geth said. "While many civilians were killed, a majority of them took up arms in many ways in order to fight us. Those that did not worked in factories and other such facilities under Quarian martial law. Every Quarian was forced into actively supporting the war against us. Ignoring them as targets and not attacking the structures that they were in caused our chances of victory and survival to drop from 79.3% to 34.1%. It was decided that the risk was not worth it."

"Not sure I'm comfortable with trusting this thing Ma'am," Kal said, looking at Shala. "It talks about genocide way too casually."

"Geth do not take these matters lightly," the Geth said simply. "We ran approximately 456,765,234 tests on the best outcome possible for both Geth and the Creators. We concluded that the Creators would never stop in their attempts to destroy us."

"What makes you so damn sure about that?" another Quarian asked.

"Because, you still have not stopped," the Geth said simply. "Correct this statement if it is incorrect, but the Creator ships were attacked because they were researching more effective countermeasures against Geth. It is what the Enclave seeks, correct?"

"How did you know that?" Shala demanded. "Did you hack our COMs?"

"No. The large amount of ships present over an intact Heretic ship along with the Enclave attacking with the intent to capture instead of destroy, we calculated a 96.42% chance that that was the most likely scenario."

"Damn thing sure likes to throw statistics around," a Cerberus operative whispered.

"...Are you going to attack us?" Shala asked hesitantly.

"We have no intention of bringing harm to Creators or Cerberus personal," the Geth responded, "nor Army mercenaries."

"How do we know that you're not lying?" Jacob asked. "How do we know that you're just not trying to get close enough to kill Admiral 'Raan? Earn her trust so you can get her when she leasts expects it?"

"That would be a most risky and impractical approach. There is a high chance of paranoia playing an factor and causing this platform to be fired upon and destroyed. An air assault would have been much more effective, as well as more damaging to the Quarian race as a whole. Converting this platform into a mobile explosive also would have been a more practical approach."

"Why did you even come down here and talk to us?" Shala asked, taking a step forward.

The Geth hesitated before speaking. "A conclusion was reached. The Enclave pose a large threat to both the Geth and the Creators, in addition to the Coalition and many other galactic powers. It is likely that they plan to use whatever they took from you in order to launch a campaign on the galaxy as a whole. Most likely this will involve the hacking of all True Geth, which would give them an army ten times larger than the one that Saren currently commands."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"Probability dictates that cooperation yields the highest chance of successfully defeating the Enclave."

"You...you want to work with us?"

"Correct."

"No...no, no, no," Jacob said. "No freaking way. We can't afford to work with this damn thing. It wouldn't even be trying to talk to us if it wasn't trying to cover its own ass. And even if it is right and it does want to get rid of the Enclave, how do we know that it won't just turn on us the second that it doesn't need us anymore?"

"I...I don't think that we have much choice in the matter," Shala said.

"I...what!?" Jacob shouted.

"If the majority of Geth really don't serve Saren, if the majority of them are still sitting behind the Veil not doing anything, then I don't even want to think about the damage that the Enclave could do with them if they ever figured out a way to control them. This Geth says that our best chance at stopping them is to pool our resources, and I believe it."

"How can you-" Jacob started, but Miranda cut him off.

"I agree," she said. "It's rather basic logic. Strength in numbers. And if the history that we have on the Enclave is anything to go by, there are only a few extremes they won't be willing to go to if they can get their hands on an army of Geth."

"Concerns that we ourselves have," the Geth said. "We are grateful that Creators and Coalition agree that cooperation would be beneficial."

"Not sure how I feel about this," Kal said. "But then again I don't lead for a living, I make things blow up. What do I know?"

"Most interesting," the Colonel said, staring at the Geth. "I am not sure if this alliance could be considered permanent or stable, but if it leads to the destruction of the Enclave it is still rather exciting."

"Miranda are you sure about this?" Jacob asked, looking at the Cerberus operative. "I know that not all synthetics are genocidal, but this damn thing is still a Geth. If it decides that we're a threat to its species, it could decide that it'd be safer to just brain us."

"Do you think that I didn't consider that Jacob?" Miranda asked, her voice slightly cold. "I know that there's a risk to be taken here, but if the Enclave really is trying to program the Geth to obey them, and I doubt that the Geth is lying about that, because why else would the Enclave had attacked us, then it's worth taking the risk." She looked around at her men. "Lower your weapons." Many of them hesitated, but obeyed her orders.

"I'm going to need to get to some long range COMs," Miranda said. "I need to contact the Coalition about this, we need to get as many ships as possible out here. We need to strip all the data that was can from the Enclave ship too, find out where their HQ is so that we can launch a counter-attack."

"I'll have to do the same with the Migrant Fleet," Shala added.

"And it might be in our best interest if we got more of our ships to fortify this position," the Colonel said. "After all, the Enclave might be back to avenge their soldiers that died here."

"Are you going to help us take them down then?" Miranda asked.

"That is a possibility...if you are willing to...convince us to," the Colonel said, raising a hand and rubbing his thumb and index finger together. Miranda's eyes narrowed. "Oh don't look at me like that, we are mercenaries after all. Besides, we already lost more than a couple ships defending you from the Enclave and made sure that you got to keep the data that tells you where they are. That's charity right there, we're going to have to talk figures if you want any more help from us."

"I think it might be for the best if you talk to one of the Admirals for that," Miranda said, fighting back anger. "It's not exactly my place to make a decision like that. I assume that you're going to charge high anyway?"

"Most likely."

"Yeah, you can talk to Hackett about that," Miranda said. "In the meantime we're going to have to set up some fortifications on this planet. We're far from colonized space, and if the direction the Enclave jumped in from is anything to go by, their HQ is even further away. We're going to need a jump point so that we can properly wage war on them, and this planet or one of the surrounding ones would be a good place to put us within striking distance." She glanced at the Colonel. "This won't be a problem will it?"

He shrugged. "I'd have to talk to the General about that, but so long as you don't expect us to do any heavy lifting for free and you give us our space, you're doing it to fight the Enclave, so I doubt that he'll be that against it. He'll probably want you to leave the second that you don't need this place anymore."

"Trust me, with Saren still on the loose we're going to want to get all of the forces that are going to come out here back on duty as soon as possible." Miranda paused, turning to face the Geth again. "And what are the Geth going to do?"

"Unknown. In the process of transmitting confirmation of cooperation to Geth. Decision on how much support will be lent will take time," the Geth replied.

"Do me a favor and don't take too long on that one, I need to know how much we're going to have to work with." The Geth nodded in confirmation. "Good. So...what do we call you?"

"Geth."

"No, you personally."

"Geth."

"...Individual Geth don't have specific designations do they?"

"That is correct. This platform has 1,183 Geth programs onboard, but all of them are Geth. There is no I."

"1,183..." Miranda said slowly. "My name is Legion, for we are many."

"...Christian Bible. The Gospel of Mark, chapter five, verse nine. We accept this as an appropriate analogy. For the sake of your connivence, we will respond to the title, Legion."

"Good. Now then, I hope that you don't mind, but I think it might be for the best if you have a couple of armed guards with you at all times."

"An understandable precaution, we will accept."

"Ok...is there any chance that you can land that thing?" she asked, pointing to the floating one man craft that Legion was still standing on. I'd feel a lot more comfortable talking to you if you were actually standing on solid ground.

"The hull of this vessel is made up of an exceptionally strong alloy that was produced through the combination of various metals in a process perfected over years. It is quite solid. However, if it were to ease communications, we will gladly land it. Slowly, Legion walked back to the cockpit and climbed into, pressing a few buttons and causing the ship to slowly descend, until it gently touched down onto the ground.

"This day just keeps getting more and more unbelievable," Miranda sighed. "I don't even want to think about what's going to happen next."

"I know. It really makes the galaxy seem so fragile when so many reality defying things can happen," Shala said.

"How do you feel. You know...about working with a Geth?"

Shala frowned under her helmet. "I won't lie, I feel very uncomfortable about it, but the Enclave are holding over a thousand Quarians prisoner, including Rael. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get them back."

"A good attitude to have," Miranda said, smiling slightly before turning to face the Colonel. "If you don't mind, I'm going to need to borrow your communications."

XXXXX

Albert blankly stared at the side of the ship that he was on as it sped through space at the speed of light. He felt a slight jolt as it existed FTL along with all of the other Enclave ships that had survived the fight with the Army, regrouping with the main Enclave fleet. "Oh, there you are." He turned his head to see Warren and Cadence approaching him. "Just wanted to let you know that the Admiral's shuttle is going to dock with us soon," Warren said gruffly.

"I understand," Albert said emotionlessly before turning to look at the wall again.

"Oh for Christ's sake," Warren swore, "don't tell me that you're actually upset about at this."

"I had orders to make sure that vital Enclave intelligence didn't fall into enemy hands. I failed."

"Yeah, and in case you missed it, the dickhead Admiral wasn't supposed to let a race that can be killed by the common cold hijack one of his ships and run off with it, the whole point of that mission was to clean up his mess, and mess accurately describes what we walked into."

"Major, for once your brother is right," Cadence said, her voice stern. "We were sent to track down one damaged ship that probably wasn't even fully staffed. We ended up fighting them, the Army and the fucking Geth. We were outnumbered and outgunned, there was just no way that we could've been prepared for that situation."

"I'd like to know who the dumbass who gave us that info is," Warren growled. "Deserted planet my ass. We should know if the Army is setting up base if we're operating in the area."

"It doesn't change a think," Albert said quietly, getting to his feet. "I'm sure that the Admiral will want to have a word with me. His shuttle should have docked by now." Without another word, he began to walk off.

"Oh for God's sake!" Warren shouted, punching the wall in frustration. "Can you believe this shit!? He's going to talk to the Admiral, and that moron is going to try and pin everything on him, I fucking know that he is!"

"Well then, we can't just let him go in by himself can we?" Cadence said. "He's not going to deny a single thing that the Admiral says, he never contradicts superior officers. We're going to have to be his spine."

"Damn straight!" Warren shouted, a faint smile flying over his face. "You know, I really can like you when you're not so freaking annoying."

"Screw you," Cadence replied, they two of them running off after Albert. After a few minutes, they had reached the the bridge of the ship, the Admiral already there as they burst in. He glared at him, his navy uniform a dark gray and his hair, looking past Albert at them. Albert looked like he had just arrived himself.

"Ah, I'm glad that you could make it," he said coldly. "Would you care to explain why you only came back with half of the ships I gave you and without completing your objective."

"Yeah, I can explain," Warren said, "you suck at your job."

"Warren!" Albert snapped, wheeling around to face his brother. "Keep your mouth shut!"

"Listen to your brother Lieutenant," the Admiral snarled. "No need to dig yourself a deeper hole."

"This coming from the guy that compromised the entire Enclave when he let that ship get away?" Cadence said coldly.

"Stop it! Both of you stop!" Albert shouted, actually sounding angry, "you're not accomplishing anything here!"

"Listen to your commanding officer," the Admiral growled. "As I was going to say before I was interrupted, what is the meaning of this Major?"

"Sir, we were ambushed when we exited FTL," Albert said crisply. "Cerberus and the Quarians somehow located and joined forces with the Army, digging in on the planet's surface. We were also outnumbered in orbit and towards the end of the battle, a lone Geth ship attacked our forces as well. I gave the order to retreat. I accept full responsibility for the failure of this mission."

"Uh...sir?" the Captain of the ship said, walking from the far end of the bridge to the Admiral and Sigma Squad.

"I'm glad to see that one of you is willing to admit your abysmal failure," the Admiral remarked, "but that doesn't forgive everything else Major. You may have very well have cost the Enclave everything today, along with your pathetic ability to complete even the most objectives, or even keep your men in line."

"Fuck you pal, I ain't a dog," Warren said. "Just because you can walk all over my brother doesn't mean I'm not going to call you out on your bullshit."

"You're out of line Lieutenant," the Admiral said. "Are you sure you really want to go down this path? Do you really want to see what I can do to you?"

"Is it really wise to threaten someone who could smash your skull in without even trying?" Cadence asked.

"Sir?" the Captain said again.

"I wouldn't expect any less arrogance from the daughter of General Moore. Let me make it very clear though, your alcoholic mother won't always be able to protect you, and I have a lot of friends that are in a position to hurt you and her, so I'd watch my manners."

"Sir?"

"And I'm in a position to break your kneecaps," Cadence hissed, "so if you want threaten me and my mother, you should realize who you're picking a fight with."

"That's it," the Admiral said. "I have lost my patience with your squad Major. From this moment forward, I-"

"SIR!" the Captain shouted.

"WHAT!?" the Admiral roared, loosing his temper and wheeling around on the spot.

"I...I have a transmission from President Woods. Audio only. She wants to speak with you and Sigma Squad."

The Admiral's face paled slightly. "Oh...I see," he said, looking at the terminal that the Captain was standing next to. Slowly, he walked towards it, Sigma Squad right behind him. "Uh...Madam President?"

"Yes Admiral Crawford," a stern female voice said. "I heard all of your little argument."

"Ms. President, please listen to me!" Crawford blurted out, "if Sigma Squad had actually been able to do their damn job-"

"Crawford, that's enough," Woods said sternly. "I knew that there was a chance that we could suffer an information leak when we launched this attack. I wouldn't have done it if I had thought that the risks outweighed the gain."

"Ms. President, if I may ask, what exactly did we accomplish by taking all of these Quarians prisoner?" Albert asked.

"I'm sorry Major, but at the moment that's on a strict need to know basis. I can't discus this over the COM lines like this, there's too much of a chance that it might get intercepted, and I can't let the rebels figure this out either. Time will make my plans very well known though Major, take comfort in that."

"So...how can we be of assistance?" Crawford asked nervously.

"First of all, pull all of your forces back home," Woods said. "I'm calling back all patrols to dig in and defend this place. I'm working on a major project that will give the Enclave the power that it deserves."

"Yeah, I kept hearing rumors about that," Warren said. "What kind of power?"

"As I said Lieutenant, I cannot simply share them with you. Know that your actions in taking these Quarians prisoner was a large help in making this dream a reality though. Also the last thing that I need are my Special Forces and officers clawing at each other's throats because of petty misunderstandings. Both of you are invaluable to me though, but if this is what is going to happen, then it seems I have to make some changes. Sigma Squad, from now on you will no longer serve under Admiral Crawford. You will answer to me directly."

"Holy sh-I mean, holy cow," Warren said. "I thought only Omega Squad answered directly to you."

"It is true that Omega Squad does personally take orders from me and no one else, I believe that it might be for the best with the inevitable upcoming conflict to place Special Forces squads that have proven themselves again and again, so that I may better direct them. Surviving against the combined forces that you faced on your mission certainly proved your worth."

"Thank you Ma'am," Albert said politely. "We won't disappoint you."

"I hope not," Woods said. "Now then, return home at once. We need every ship and soldier that we can get defending our home. The Coalition will realize that we're back and throw everything they have at us. If I can complete this project though...let's just say that we'll be on Mars by the end of the year. Dismissed." With that, the transmission ended. Crawford shifted uncomfortably where he stood before silently turning and walking out of the bridge.

"Damn," the Captain said, watching him go. "I've never seen the Admiral so shaken up. The President really is something else isn't she?"

"That's one thing to say," Albert said before turning to face Cadence and Warren. "What were you two thinking!?" he said, sounding angry. "Do you have any idea what he could have done to you? Especially you Cadence? He hates your mother, there's a good chance that he might go after you to get to her, or vice-versa."

"So I should just lay down whimpering like a dog to avoid getting hurt?" she snarled. "I don't think so, just because it works for you doesn't mean that we should all be submissive pets."

"For once, she's right," Warren said, glaring at his brother. "What the Hell is wrong with you? Are you just going to spend the rest of your life letting people step all over you?"

"I had a job to do and I failed to do it," Albert retorted. "I'm just facing the consequences to my actions."

"What actions? Being selected to go on a mission that turned out to be ten times what we were expecting? There's being a good officer and then there's being God bro. Really, tell me exactly how you could've gone into that situation and come out with the objective completed, and at least 10% of your men still alive."

"If I had concentrated more forces on the ground assault, held absolutely nothing back then there's a good chance that I could have breached the Army base and destroyed the data that they managed to recover, in addition to-"

"OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" Warren swore loudly, turning around and storming off angrily.

The two remanning members of Sigma Squad watched him go before Cadence turned to look at Albert. "We're worried about you," she said softly. "We don't like seeing you being pushed around like that, it frustrates us. You deserve better than that."

"I comes with being a soldier and an officer," Albert said, "sometimes you have to go through some less than pleasant things, getting angry about it doesn't make anything better."

"There's a difference between going through what you have to suck up and just letting people use you as a personal punching bag," Cadence said, sounding concerned. "Just try to think about that."

"That's not your concern," Albert replied sternly. "Anyway, you're going to want to go over the standard post-mission process, double checking your armor and equipment to make sure the damage that you took in battle isn't too severe, in addition you might want to make sure that your cybernetics are holding up and won't-"

"I don't get you," Cadence said, interrupted him. "I just really don't get you. It's a long trip back home. Think about what I said." Without saying another word, she turned and walked off of the bridge, not looking back. Albert watched her go, a sad look on his face. He sighed softly.

XXXXX

"What the Hell is going on?" John asked as he climbed into the hanger of the Normandy, Garrus and Jane already there. "How come we're heading off to the middle of the Terminus Systems all of a sudden?"

"The brass says that something is happening out there, something big," Jane said, turning to look at him. "They wanted us on board with it. We're not the only ship from what I hear, at least a dozen others are being called in too."

"Well why can't they handle it?" John asked, "we've got our own mission to take care of, we need to stop Saren. We can't get this mission done if we have to stop every dew days when the Coalition has an odd job for us to do. I mean, how long until we have to postpone stopping the army of genocidal robots to hunt down Prothean artifacts?"

"I think that you're overreacting a little bit," Jane said, cocking her head slightly. "I mean...where did that come from?"

"I...I don't know," John answered truthfully. "But that doesn't change that we've got bigger fish to fry. We're the only Coalition military forces allowed to search Council space for Saren, how come we're getting pulled off to run off where the standard military can search for him.

"Admiral Marcus didn't want to talk about it over the COMs, but he says that it's important, just as important as taking care of Saren, and maybe even more. And unlike Saren, we've actually got a solid lead on this problem."

"But what about-"

"John!" Jane said, raising her voice. "There can be more than one threat to the security of the Coalition at a time. The universe isn't going to just sit around and wait patiently until we take care of one to spring another one on us. Sometimes we have to prioritize one over another."

"But what could be more important than stopping someone like Saren?" John argued.

"Well," Jane said, looking down at her omni-tool. "You can ask Admiral Marcus yourself, we just got here."

"I hope that this was worth taking a couple of days that we could've been looking for the man who sacked Eden Prime to run all the way out here," John grumbled.

"Oh stop whining," Jane said, putting her finger to her ear. "I need the ground team to meet me in the hanger now."

"We're coming!" a voice called, Jane looked to the side to see Tali, Volker, Norman, Charon and Cornelia approaching them. "What's the situation?" Cornelia said cheerfully, stretching her arms over her head. "Did the Coalition find a pirate base or something?" A massive smile spread over her face. "Do we have to give out a good old fashioned ass kicking?"

"The situation we're going into isn't hostile from what the Admiral told me," Jane said, "the Coalition has established a good position on the ground and the location is in friendly control, but from what I've heard it might change real soon, so I want an armed ground team with me when I go down."

"You talk about this like a war is about to start," Volker said, sounding concerned.

"It just might Volker," Jane said. "I'm not going to lie, from what Marcus' transmission said...I've got a feeling that we're getting into something big." Making a gesture, she climbed into the shuttle, the others right behind her. There was a low hum as it slowly took off, heading out of the Normandy and down to the surface of the planet.

A heavy silence filled the cabin as it flew downward, shuddering slightly as it passed through the atmosphere. "Christ, there's a lot of ships out there," Cornelia said, looking out the view port in the cabin. "Whoa. A lot of them don't look like they're Coalition. I think they're Quarian."

"What?" Tali said, getting up and looking out of the view port herself. Sure enough, around fifty different ships were orbiting the planet. At least twenty of them were Quarian, and Tali could see easily that they were all military. "Those ships should be guarding the main fleet, why would they be here? They wouldn't be sent away unless it's important enough to afford diverting our resources like that." She stepped away looking around. "What's going on here?"

"I don't know Tali," Jane said. "But like it or not, we're about to find out." The shuttle slowed before coming to a stop, the door sliding open.

"This is where they told me to land," Cortez said from the cockpit. "Whatever's going on...be careful out there." Jane and the others got to their feet, the door sliding open as they did. The shuttle had landed right in front of an outpost with visible gun emplacements on it. There were gaping holes in the side of it, as if it had been blasted, and the scorched wreck of three tanks were scattered around in front of it.

"What the Hell happened here?" Charon asked, looking around as he and the others stepped off of the shuttle.

"Good. You're here," a gruff voice said. Admiral Marcus walked towards the group, looking very tired. "I"m sorry for bringing you all the way out here, but I need every last ship that I can get right now, including the Normandy and her stealth drive."

"Admiral, exactly what happened here?" John asked.

"Commander, there's no easy way to say this. A joint Quarian and Coalition research team was attacked by a group of thirty warships. Enclave warships. The Enclave...has returned, and judging by what happened, they've got a massive amount of numbers and resources behind them."

"No," Charon said softly, raising his hand and grasping the side of his head slightly. "No...how is that even possible?" he asked. "We crushed them. Fawkes, the kid and I helped the Brotherhood crush them. The kid blew Raven's Rock sky high, we had Liberty Prime smash all of their strongholds they had in the Capital Wasteland, we dropped an orbital strike on their mobile carrier, we decimated their chain of command and sent them all running. How the Hell are they still alive?"

"I admit, I had the same thoughts," Marcus said. "You are not the only one who fought them back on Earth. I helped a tribal infiltrate an oil rig that they were using as a command center and set off the self destruct system. After that, the West Coast Brotherhood and NCR attacked them while they were weak and sent them running. We thought that there was no way that they could have survived...but it seems that the Enclave are much like cockroaches. They are capable of surviving things that they have no right to."

"What happened?" Jane asked. "With the attack I mean."

"Somehow, the Enclave knew exactly where the research group was and was able to ambush them, completely disabling them with the first volley and then started to board the research ships. Admiral 'Raan was able to organize a counter attack and hijack one of the Enclave's ships, using it to escape to here, where they received support from the Army. They were able to fight off the Enclave forces that came after them and call for backup from both the Coalition and Migrant Fleet. However, when we scouted out the area of the first attack, the Enclave had been gone for a long time. There was nothing but the wreckage of the research ships there, but there weren't any bodies either. We've assumed that the Enclave took the majority of the expedition prisoner."

"Oh Keelah," Tali whispered. "Is...is Admiral 'Raan all right?"

As if to answer her question, a Quarian approached Marcus from behind, looking up from her active omni-tool, a Marine in a red suit right behind her. "Admiral Marcus, the General wants to talk to you. He says that we're moving too many soldiers near his...his..." she stopped as she looked up, her omni-tool dropping to her side. "Tali? What are you doing here?"

Tali charged forward and practically slipped into the older woman, wrapping her arms around her. "Oh thank goodness, you're all right," Tali whispered. Shala didn't say anything, looking down at Tali uncomfortably. "What's wrong?" she asked, pulling away.

"Tali...the Enclave...they took Rael." Tali's eyes widened in horror. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "there was nothing that I could do. I barely managed to get out of there with what's left of my crew, if we had stayed there for a few more seconds-"

"No, no don't talk like that," Tali said. "You were ambushed and outgunned. You...you did everything that you could." Even as she spoke, there was a certain level of shock in her words, along with a noticeable amount of sadness.

"You all right Ma'am?" Kal asked from behind Shala. "Yes...yes I'll live," Tali said, her voice cracking slightly.

Volker stared at her, a sad expression on his face, before breaking away to look at Cornelia. "I admit now might not be the best time but...who are the Enclave?"

"Remnants of the old USA government," she replied.

"The damn Yankees?!" Volker exclaimed. "I...damn it. I was starting to enjoy them being gone."

"What's the plan here Admiral? What exactly are we doing?" Jane asked.

"We managed to get some data off of the ship that Admiral 'Raan stole, we believe it to be the main HQ of the Enclave. I want the Normandy to scout it out and report back what you find while we amass a force to attack it. There's something that you should know though. From here...it's a two week journey."

"Two weeks!?" John said. "But with the return trip that means we'll be out here for a whole month! Admiral, with all due respect, we can't let Saren go unchecked for that long."

"I understand your concern Commander, but right now I need the Normandy. It's going to take some time to get a task force large enough to make sure that we wipe out the Enclave for good this time, and to get them enough supplies to make the journey. These coordinates are far from any established colony and I believe that the placement was strategic on behalf of the Enclave, hiding where no one would look for them. Because of this, we have no idea how heavily fortified they are or what resources they found out there. I need the Normandy to scout out the area before we attack so that my ships don't get massacred when they attack."

"I...but...understood," John said reluctantly.

"Sir, I need to ask you something," Jane said. "Why the secrecy? Why did you have to tell me this in person?"

Captain, this research expedition was ordered by the Illusive Man and the Quarian Migrant Fleet, only a few people outside of the expedition knew about it. The Enclave shouldn't have known that this was happening, even if they were listening in on our COMs, we used the highest levels of encryption."

"Sir?"

"We...we think that the Enclave could have high ranking moles in both the Coalition and, or the Migrant fleet. I want as little people as possible to know about what I'm planning until I can figure out who it is."

"Oh God," Jane groaned, "is this really happening."

"Traitors," Norman snarled. "Disgusting. I hope they get what they deserve, a bullet between the eyes."

"I want you to set out as soon as possible," Marcus said. "Observe for the most part, put if you can perform any sabotaging duty that will make things easier on my forces, or if you get a chance to rescue any of the prisoners, do it. Also, I'm going to need you to take on a couple of extra passengers for this. The Migrant Fleet wants one of their Marines on your ship, and as a matter of fact, he's right here."

"At your service," Kal said, managing a weak salute before hunching over, sneezing loudly. "Sorry. Had a suit puncture during the fight. I should be fine by the time we get there though. Don't worry Ma'am, we'll get your Dad back. They won't kill him, they wouldn't have bothered taken him alive if they did."

"Thank you," Tali said softly. "Who else are we taking on board?"

"Uh...well...Ma'am...you're not going to like this."

"What?" Tali asked.

"Your other passenger is...right over there," Kal said, pointing behind him at an approaching figure. Tali looked over his shoulder and saw Legion approaching.

"WHAT!?" she shouted, "A Geth!?"

"I know, it's a long story, but it says the Enclave are posing a threat to its kind as well as everyone else."

"Kal, it's a Geth! We can't trust this thing!" she said as Legion stopped in front of them looking at her.

"Tali...this Geth may have saved all of our lives," Shala said softly.

"What?" Tali said.

"We were getting shelled by an Enclave tank," Kal explained, "Legion here came in on a strafing run and took it out. It actually forced them to withdraw their ground forces."

"This platform wishes only to cooperate with Creators," Legion said. "Destruction of mutual threat will prove to be beneficial for all."

"Uh Tali," Volker said hesitantly, walking between her and Legion. "It seems like he just wants to help."

"I...fine," she said, her voice dangerously low. "But if this thing tries anything funny, threatens us at all, or does anything that makes me think it won't keep its word, I'll blow it's damn head off." No one said anything as they looked at Tali.

"An understandable counter-measure," Legion said.

"Glad we're on the same page," she growled.

"It could be an invaluable asset," Marcus said to Jane, "provided your companion doesn't destroy it."

"Tali can be reasoned with, she's not a moron," Jane said, "we'll be fine."

"Good. Legion has said that it wants to dock its personal ship in the Normandy's cargo bay just in case it needs it. I'm going to stay here with Admiral 'Raan and Cerberus and start putting together our counter attack. I'm not too certain if we're going to get the Army's support, they're asking for quite a lot in exchange for it."

"Then don't ask for it," Norman said, his voice venomous. "Asking for a bunch of men to fight for you when they're only in it for the money is asking for disaster."

"Possibly," Marcus admitted. "Now then Captain, I need you to leave as soon as you can. Each day the Enclave will get closer to completing whatever it is they're planning. We're counting on you. Good luck."

XXXXX

Author's Note: I recently got a review commenting on how there seems to be more commanding female officers in this story than male, and he remarked that it felt rather odd considering the military tends to appeal to men more. I'm not going to argue whether me having as many female characters in my story's military is realistic or not, because to me it really doesn't matter. I just want to use this as a springboard to talk about female characters. People tend to make a big deal about writing female characters, while in my humble opinion, it's a lot more simple than they make it out to be.

You see the thing about female characters is that it's rather simple to me (me at least) and I just kinda want to explain how you do it a little. You see, a person being female isn't what their character should be centered around, but it should be a part of a character, part of who they are. The character is a woman but she isn't JUST a woman, understand? But my advice for writing female characters? Just write them like a human being, a human being that happens to be female. It's a lot easier than people make it out to be. I'm a man, and at times I can be a MASSIVE pervert, not gonna lie, but I love women for who they are and writing female characters is something that I love to do, people just next to relax and not get so worried when writing it.

If someone says that your character is sexist, just remember that feminism is like atheism, they're not all the same. Some people think that Bayoneta is a feminist character because she's always in control of the situation and comfortable with her sexuality, where as others think that she's sexist because everything about her is sexualized. Personally I find that a character "always being in control of the situation" makes for boring story telling, whether the character is male or female. A character needs to be in trouble and get tossed every once in awhile otherwise they become a Boring Invincible Hero. I don't think that there's anything wrong with a female character looking sexy, so long as it's reasonable and doesn't beat you over the head with it, and so long as there is more to them than that. Really though, it's all up to you, you're the author after all.


	44. Gathering Clouds

Chapter 44

Gathering Clouds

Author's Note: Crap, sorry about the long wait, I've been really busy. I had a history exam, a paper in college writing, a paper in international relations, I had to vote, I had to write up my course plan for the next semester, I had a D&D meeting, and of course I had to play Halo 4. So yeah, sorry.

XXXXX

"Anderson, what's the meaning of this?" Udina asked as the Fleet Admiral walked into the Council chambers, Rear Admiral Mikhailovich standing by the Ambassador and the Council standing above them.

"I have to agree with Udina Admiral," Tevos said, frowning slightly. "Calling us all here without explaining why is very unorthodox, not to mention rude."

"And why are you pulling ships from my fleet and sending them off to the middle of nowhere!?" Mikhailovich said angrily. "Do you want our colonies to be defenseless if the Geth attack again?"

"I am sorry," Anderson said, the door closing behind him. "But Admiral Marcus is very concerned about possible intelligence leaks and I agree with him. We have a situation that requires out immediate attention. The Enclave still exists, and a few days ago they launched an assault on a joint Coalition, Migrant Fleet expedition, and made off with research data that we have reason to believe could be weaponized."

"Enclave? That faction that's the remnants of one of your Pre-War governments?" Sparatus said raising an eyebrow. "Is this really something that is a bigger concern to you than the Geth? After all these years it's highly unlikely they have more numbers than a few hundred, maybe a few thousand. They're little more than a terrorist group."

"I doubt that Councilor," Anderson said grimly. "The force that attacked the expedition was a rather large one. Thirty warships in total, and rather high quality ones at that."

"Mercenary groups have dozens of warships at their disposal," Sparatus said dismissively. "This is a problem that needs to be addressed, I'm not arguing that. I just fail to see how it is a bigger threat than the Geth. There's a good chance that those ships that you encountered were the entirety of their force."

"I very much doubt that. We managed to trace their HQ to a location several weeks away from the site of the attack. The fuel consumption for such a trip would be nothing short of massive, they only way that they could afford to launch an attack so far away and return is if they had refueling outposts and refineries out there. They must have a significantly sized facility out there, and I doubt that if they do they just have thirty ships, most likely they have twice that."

"But why the secrecy Admiral? Why only tell us this in person?" Tevos asked.

Anderson let out a bitter sigh. "We believe that the Enclave has infiltration agents in either the Coalition or the Migrant Fleet. There's no other way that they could have found out where the expedition team was. Their mission had received top classification."

"A mole!?" Udina shouted, sounding angry. "I...damn it. There's no way that it could be a Migrant Fleet spy, it must be one of ours."

"What makes you say that?" Anderson asked, looking a little confused.

"The Enclave is a Human extremist group that wants to kill everything that isn't Human, even if they used to be Human at one point. What on Earth could a Quarian possibly hope to gain by allying themselves with them?"

"He has a fair point," Valern said. "Most likely the mole is a Coalition officer."

"Regardless who the mole's former allegiance belongs to, this is why I didn't want to talk about this over the COM lines. We could have been overheard, and if it's possible I don't want the infiltrator to realize that we suspect him. If he does, we might never get another chance to take him down, he might go into hiding."

"Respectable, but Admiral I must make a request," Mikhailovich said. "You've already pulled a quarter of my ships away from the colonies that we're supposed to be defending from the Geth and you're asking me to pull even more away, at this rate I'm going to have to request that you stop. I can't afford to spread my forces out any thinner."

"I can understand your plight and your frustration Mikhailovich, but I need your ships. Marcus is putting together an assault force to wipe out the Enclave, and he needs every last vessel that he can get. I promise, within a month your ships will be back under your control and guarding your colonies."

"But sir!" Mikhailovich said in protest, "a month could be all the time that the Geth need to attack and sack another colony. Do you really want Eden Prime to happen all over again!?"

"Admiral, if we don't take care of the Enclave as soon as we can, we may have to deal with an all out Geth invasion of our entire territory and not just a raid on a single planet. The expedition that the Enclave attacked were researching countermeasures against the Geth. We believe that it is very possible that the Enclave is planning to use the research that they acquired from us in order to hack the Geth and use them for themselves. What is more, we believe that if they do, their army will dwarf Saren's."

"What do you mean by that?" Valern asked looking confused.

"A single Geth intervened on the Enclave's attack. It actually defended our personal and even communicated with them afterward. It claims that only a fraction of the Geth follow Saren and that the majority of them remain in isolation behind the Veil. It is currently cooperating with our forces in eliminating the Enclave, mainly because it shares our concern."

"It claims that the majority of Geth are peaceful...and you believed it?" Sparatus asked skeptically. "I know that the Coalition sees synthetics through rose tinted glasses, but even you must know how absurd to simply believe a Geth is. They're guilty of mass genocide. How do you know that it isn't simply lying to do in order to gain your trust?"

"We have no reason to believe that the Geth is lying to us. It intervened in order to save our forces when it could have very well been killed by them afterward, and ever since the attack it has been very cooperative with us. Regardless, it raises good points about the Enclave possibly being able to use our research against us. It doesn't help that during the attack they took around a thousand Quarians, including an Admiral and a head researcher, prisoner. The Enclave most likely has the same knowledge on synthetics that the Coalition does, and I don't want to find out how far they can go if they combine that with Quarian expertise."

"Possibly," Sparatus said gruffly. "You should still keep an eye on the thing and kill it if it tries anything."

"I'm not a fool Councilor. One of our most advanced A.I.s is monitoring it at all times."

"But sir!" Mikhailovich said in protest. "Even if everything that you said is true, and that's a damn big if, it doesn't change the fact that Saren is still running around the galaxy with dozens of Geth ships at his disposal. Any day he could launch another attack against us and kill tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of people!"

"Admiral," Udina said coldly, "that's enough. Anderson is right, letting the Enclave have access to that much resources is a tragedy waiting to happen. Besides, we haven't hear from Saren in weeks and we are not taking all of the resources that we have off of finding him, only a fraction. Be patient, we have to prioritize what we deal with."

"We're still looking for him even now Admiral," Anderson said comfortingly. "We're interrogating one of his college's that we managed to capture, and we're working on decoding data that we managed to recover from Noveria. It's taking time though, and until we can find a new lead, there isn't much we can do regarding Saren, he's simply disappeared off the map. The Enclave however, has revealed itself and we have a window that may not stay open very long. I'm sorry Admiral, but my decision is final."

Mikhailovich growled softly as he stepped away, glaring at Anderson and Udina. "Someone needs to watch out for the citizens of the Coalition, that person is supposed to be us. I hope that you remember that," he said before turning and walking away.

"He needs to learn his place," Udina said sharply. "He was given a direct order, we can't afford to have people delaying the movement of vital resources because they don't want to."

"I agree, but he'll do what he's told. He won't risk the court martial or the demotion, I know Mikhailovich," Anderson said, looking back up at the Council. "The Normandy is going to be a part of the task force that is being sent to deal with the Enclave, Admiral Marcus specially requested the use of it. That means until the Enclave is dealt with, the Normandy won't be available to search Council space for Saren. We're going to have to ask you to be even more cooperative than Cerberus than usual until we can get it back."

"Of course," Tevos said.

"Our arrangement hasn't changed though," Sparatus said. "We won't allow any other Coalition military ships besides the Normandy into our space without our expressed permission. The last thing we need is a Coalition fleet running around our core territory."

"Don't worry. Between mobilizing to attack the Enclave and spreading out to defend our colonizes from future Geth attacks, we don't have the resources to send more ships to Council space to keep looking for Saren. I hate to say it, but we're going to have to put him on the back burner for now, though I'm going to make sure that Cerberus is going to be looking under every rock that they can find looking for any leads that might be out there."

"True. The Admiral should have realized that, he is a high ranking officer in the Coalition navy. He should realize that we have to balance our resources at some points, we can't just gather up all of our ships and throw them at one particular enemy."

"I trust that you would like us to keep quiet about this," Valern said.

"Yes," Anderson said, nodding his head slightly, "it would be very counter productive if news of the Enclave's return and their newfound resources might be enough to cause a panic."

"Just like the Rachni," Sparatus said bitterly. "It's amazing how many things the Coalition does we're keeping secret because it would cause panic if they got out. It really does say quite a lot about you."

"Pardon me for not wanting to be open about committing what could be classified as war crimes like you are," Udina snapped.

"So, as look as you look good in the eyes of the public that's all that matters?"

"That's enough!" Tevos snapped. "Both of you are arguing like a bunch of insecure Maidens. We have bigger problems that we need to focus on." She looked down at Anderson. "We wish you luck in your campaign against the Enclave Admiral. We will do everything in our power to aid Cerberus in their search against Saren."

"Thank you," Anderson said, nodding his head slightly.

Meanwhile, outside the Council chambers, Mikhailovich angrily walked across the room, heading towards the elevator. He stopped in front of it, pressing the button and causing the elevator to rise up to meet him. He paused for a moment before lifting his hands up to his ear. "Yeah, it's me," he said quietly. "I just got out of a meeting with the Fleet Admiral and the Council...there's something I need to talk to you about...I can't say it over the COM lines, meet me in the Flux, we can talk there...ok...ok, see you then." A slight smile came over his face as the elevator slid open and he walked inside. He pressed another button and the doors slowly slid shut, the elevator descending deeper into the Citadel, down to the lower wards and the bar that the Rear-Admiral was now heading to.

XXXXX

"And this is the mess hall Kal. We can't really eat much else here than the same nutrient paste we get back on the fleet, but it's still a nice place to just sit down when you don't have anything else to do," Tali said. She was leading Kal through the Normandy, giving him a tour of the ship.

"Thank you Ma'am, I appreciate you helping me getting to know the place better," the Marine said politely.

"Kal, we've been over this, stop calling me Ma'am."

"Force of habit Ma'am. I'm doing the best that I-" he stopped mid-sentence as he saw that several people were already sitting at the table in the mess hall. None of them were Coalition. "Didn't know the Coalition had any other aliens onboard besides you, and that Turian," he said, sounding surprised as he looked at her.

"Oh yeah I forgot to introduce you. Kal, this is Liara T'Soni, Garrus Vakarian and Urdnot Wrex," she said, pointing to each of the three aliens as she named them.

"Kal'Reegar."

"You must be the Migrant Marine that's going to be joining us," Liara said warmly. "It's nice to meet you."

"This should be interesting," Wrex said, a massive shit eating grin on his face. "You usually don't see Migrant Marines outside of the fleet. Looking forward to see if they can hold up in a fight."

"Yeah, sorry about him," Garrus said, glancing at Wrex. "He's a bounty hunter, what can you expect? Anyway, glad to have you onboard. You've already fought the Enclave once and managed to walk away alive, so I'm glad that you're here. We're going to need your combat experience."

"This is still pretty odd," Kal said, pulling out a chair and sitting down along with Tali. "I thought that this ship was supposed to use highly experimental technology. How come the Coalition let so many aliens on when they're not exactly sublet about not wanting to share their technology with other races?"

"Well, me being onboard is part of their deal with the Council," Garrus explained. "They let Commander Shepard have honary Spectre status, but only if I'm around to keep an eye on him and shut him down if he starts to abuse his position."

"I'm here because my mother had a run in with Saren and he was going to target me to get to here," Liara continued. "My mother went to the Coalition for help and they decided that he would have a hard time following me on an untraceable starship. I'm really just a guess, but I'd like to think that when the time comes I do my part."

"I'm just here for the excitement," Wrex said. "Chasing down armies of Geth is something I'd like to brag about one day. They Coalition probably trusts me because I helped them out when they were getting their people back from the Batarians."

"I read the report on what happened that day," Garrus said dryly. "It was less you helped them and more you happened to be attacking the same place at the same time."

"Still doesn't change that I still helped them get some of their people out of there, and that they still trust me for it," Wrex said, sounding rather cocky.

"This is a little hard to take in," Kal said. "And to top it all off, now you have a Geth on board."

"Yeah," Tali said, her voice suddenly cold. "Don't remind me."

"Hey Tali!" The Quarian looked over her shoulder to see Volker approaching her from behind. "Hey, have you seen Opifex anywhere? He said he wanted to tinker with my gun a little today, but he's not in engineering. He didn't stop by to get lunch did he?"

"If he did I didn't see him," Tali replied. "He probably got called up to the CIC to talk to the Captain, you're probably going to want to talk to her."

"If he's talking to her I don't want to interrupt them," Volker remarked, looking a little weary. "Aw well, it's not like we're going to get into a firefight anytime soon. I can wait."

"He's got a point," Kal said. "Until then you might as well stay here. We were just talking about the Geth that got brought onboard."

"You mean Legion?" Volker asked.

"It's that what it called itself? I can't remember."

"Kal, I'm begging you, please stop reminding me about that thing," Tali said.

Volker frowned slightly, looking at Tali. "Don't you think you're being a little harsh on Legion? He hasn't done anything to hurt us, in fact he's been nothing but helpful."

"Volker, you're not from this time period so I can understand you not having a firm grasp on exactly what a synthetic is, but the thing is, they don't think like us. They're cold, calculating, and death doesn't mean anything to them. These things wiped out nearly all of my species and they attacked your kind too. They haven't changed a bit."

"It's a little premature to say something like that. I have a hard time believing that all Geth are the same, Legion even said that they're not."

"Volker I know that this is weird to you, but they're machines. They're not like us, they're not born and raised like we are, they come off of a conveyer belt, they're mass produced. They've got as much personality as your gun."

"It didn't seem like that," Volker argued, "Legion wouldn't have tried to negotiate with us if didn't think that working together was important."

"The Geth don't care about organic life, in the Mourning War they massacred billions of civilians and soldiers, they didn't care if they were armed or not. Things haven't changed a bit since then Volker, they're still the same monsters that they were back then."

"Tali," Volker said, sounding a little frustrated, "things like that aren't always black and white. I was in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War, but I wasn't getting in line to shoot Jewish babies in the face, even if the Americans probably liked to think that I did, I doubt that the Geth are that evil either. Besides, I thought that they only attacked you because you tried to wipe them out. This hatred between you and the Geth sounds like it's the result of a big misunderstanding, maybe now you two can finally put it behind you and move on."

"That was the right thing to do," Garrus said, joining the conversation. "Synthetics are too dangerous to keep alive. They don't have any loyalty to their masters and don't have any value for organic life. It'll just be a matter of time before they decide to turn on their masters and kill them. It's for the best that they don't get made and if they start to develop awareness that they get eliminated."

"Ah, brilliant advice from the Turian," Wrex said dryly. "They're all the same, so it's ok to bomb them. I mean, Turian's have a complex network of sub-cultures, but when it comes to other species, they don't have any individuality. That's why you have no problems with bombing other races into extinction, because every last one of them is exactly the same. And you honestly wonder why the Coalition didn't want to join the Council."

"Oh really?" Garrus asked, "and what did you do that puts you apart from the rest of your kind."

"Well, there was that time I tried to unite the clans of Tuchanka, telling them that they had to stop fighting and focus on repopulation for a few generations or we would go extinct, and it was actually going pretty well until a bastard of a Krogan named Jarrod decided to mess everything up and tried to kill me and did kill my supporters on sacred ground." Wrex said wryly. "I had to kill him to get out of there and I had to abandon Tuchanka to save my life. So yeah, apart from killing my own father I haven't done too much Turian."

"The fact that your own father was willing to try and kill you when you actually did something different and you had to abandon your own homeworld afterward really should show what would happen if your race actually could breed at their normal rate."

"Well maybe we wouldn't be so pissed off if our balls worked properly," Wrex snapped. "If someone else screwed up the reproduction cycle of your race I doubt that you'd be overly friendly either. Also, where does the race that lives under a military dictatorship and has a species wide conscription law get off on criticizing others for being too violent? You're just as trigger happy as the Krogan are, if that incident with the Coalition is anything to go by, but you keep trying to pretend that you're better than us."

"I wouldn't expect you to know the difference between doing what needs to be done and going around the galaxy killing things for fun. That's the difference between your race and mine."

"What are you trying to say Volker?" Tali asked, sounding rather angry. "Are you saying that my race deserved what happened to them? That they deserved to be confined to the Migrant Fleet and be treated as outcasts by the rest of the galactic community?"

"I didn't say that," the German said, "but are you trying to say that the Geth deserved to be wiped out?"

"Killing things for fun? Didn't your kind go to war over what color of paint they had on their face?" Wrex asked.

"From what I read you killed each other over a whole lot less."

"I-"

"WOULD YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP!" Liara shouted, raising her fists above her head and slamming them into the table, biotic auras flaring around them. "You're all acting like children! The Quarians and their war with the Geth? The Turians and their war with the Krogan? No one here had a say in the decisions made back then, so WHO CARES!? Taking your frustrations on each other is the epitome of pettiness!"

Everyone's eyes snapped onto Liara, staring at her. After a few seconds, Garrus and Wrex got up, walking off in different directions without saying anything. As time slowly ticked by, the angry look slid away from Liara's face, replaced by one of pure embarrassment. "Oh...Goddess," she whispered, sliding back into her chair. "Did I just do that?"

"Yes, you did," Tali said, sounding rather shocked. "Where did that come from?"

"I...I'm not sure to be honest. You two and the others arguing just seemed so...stupid. It just got to me and...I'm not sure what happened. I just lost my temper."

"Maybe it's a sign that you're going to be a natural leader like your mother," Volker suggested. As he spoke, one of his hands idly traveled to one of the pockets in his trench coat, reaching inside and fingering something.

"Goddess, don't even joke about that," Liara said, blushing brightly.

"Uh...Volker can I ask you a quick question," Tali said, looking at him. "Do you think my race deserves being stuck on the Migrant Fleet and being treated like second class citizens?"

"Of course not," Volker said, looking a little surprised that Tali had felt the need to clarify that. "I think that the Quarians were overzealous in trying to wipe out the Geth and that they had a right to defend themselves, but I do think that they went too far. The Geth weren't completely innocent in that conflict, but neither were the Quarians. Besides, that happened three hundred years ago, everyone involved with it is dead now. You suffering for what they did is just...wrong."

Tali smirked slightly. "Not quite the answer I was looking for...but I'll take it. Sorry if I snapped at you, this is kind of a sensitive topic with me."

Volker let out a nervous laugh. "Well to be fair I probably should've been a bit more thoughtful before shooting my mouth off." His hand was still in his pocket.

Tali walked forward and gently hugged Volker. He jumped in surprise and hastily moved to return the favor. In his haste, he pulled his hand out of his pocket, causing something to drop to the floor without either of them realizing it. "Come on you big idiot," she said, pulling him towards the elevator, "let's go find Opifex."

Liara smiled slightly as she watched them go. "I'm glad that they're still getting along even after that. Volker doesn't have many friends here and Tali's been nice to him ever since he arrived."

"Where is he from?" Kal asked, looking a little confused, "and who's Opifex?"

"Uh...I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you to be honest. You'll want to ask the Captain."

"Fair enough."

"Ok...I need a glass of water," she said, getting to her feet. As she began to walk towards the kitchen, she stepped on something hard. Looking down, she saw a medal lying on the floor. "What the..." she said softly, bending down and picking up the medal and looking at it closely. It was a bright golden star attached to a strip of red cloth. She blinked as she looked at it. "Is this yours?" she asked, showing it to Kal.

"No. Why, where did you find it?"

"Just here. Someone must have dropped it. No idea who though...maybe I should take a look at this," she said, looking back down at the star. "It might help me find out who it belongs to. It'll beat running up to every last person on the ship and asking if it's theirs." She pocketed the medal before continuing to walk towards the kitchen to get her glass of water.

XXXXX

"Admiral Marcus. We've just gotten word, more Quarian ships have arrived. The rest of the Quarian Admirals are reportedly on board."

Marcus looked up from the holographic display that he, Admiral 'Raan and the Cerberus operatives were standing around. "Good, with them all here we should be able to better coordinate our assault. How long until they're down here?"

"A few minutes sir," the Coalition officer that had enetred the room to report said.

"Very well," Marcus said, looking back at the projector. It was displaying the fleet that they had in orbit over the planet, they ships that had just arrived appearing on it. "We now have thirty five frigates, sixteen cruisers, nine battlecruisers, five destroyers and three dreadnoughts. A rather sizable fleet. but I'd like to have more ships to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how many ships the Enclave has waiting for us."

"More are scheduled to arrive over the next couple of days, we should have well over a hundred by the time this is done, possibly a lot more," Miranda said, looking down at her omni-tool. "I agree. Better to go with overkill and have fifty ships more than we need than to be forced back and have to spend another month putting together a second strike. I suggest that we organize a grand total of one hundred and fifty warships, just to be safe."

"A lot of them will have to be Quarian," Marcus pointed out, "we're already pulling a lot of ships that are supposed to be defending our colonies for this, and even with all of them the total number of Coalition ships only comes to a hundred. Still I agree with you, I am just pointing it out that the Quarians may not be willing to take that many of their warships away from defending their liveships."

"We're willing to do whatever it takes to get Rael back," 'Raan said. "I'll talk to the other Admirals, you'll get those ships that you need.

"They'll be here soon, we'll get the chance to talk to them ourselves," Marcus said. As he spoke, the door on the far side of the room opened and a group of Quarians walked in, most of them carrying guns and surrounding three unarmed Quarians.

"Admiral 'Raan, what's going on?" Han'Gerral asked, "what is so important that you couldn't contact us over the-"

"Admiral 'Zorah has been abducted," she said bluntly, "along with a thousand other Quarians. Their expedition was attacked by a Human extremist group called the Enclave. We think that they attacked us to get Rael's research and use it for themselves."

"What?" Daro'Xen said. Her voice was low and she honestly sounded angry. "These Humans, these Enclave...they think that they can control the Geth, that they can steal what rightly belongs to us?"

"Ok...not creepy at all," Jacob muttered under his breath so that only Miranda could hear him.

"We believe that someone fed the Enclave information on the expedition, which is way we didn't want to talk about this over the COM lines. We're using this location as a rally point to put together a counterattack."

"So, that's why there are so many warships in orbit," Zaal'Koris remarked. "But if the expedition was attacked, how did you get away?"

"Me and a few of my men were able to board one of the Enclave's ships and retreat out here, where we received support from the Army...and a Geth."

A pause filled the room. "I'm sorry Admiral, but now really isn't the time for jokes," Han'Gerral.

"I'm not joking 'Gerral," Shala said. "A Geth helped fend off the Enclave assault. It talked to us, it said that it believes the same thing that I do about the Enclave using the research to hack the Geth and it believes that cooperation is the best route. It even claims that the Geth are divided and only a small percentage of them are actually following Saren, while the rest live in isolation. The Geth is on a Coalition ship at the moment, working with the crew to help prepare for the attack on the Enclave."

"My, my," 'Koris said, sounding rather happy. "So you're telling me that the Geth can be reasoned with? Well, this is a piece of news that I'm very happy to hear."

"It's simple self survival," 'Xen said dismissively. "They most likely only want to work with us right now because it ends with the highest chance of survival for them. They will go back to trying to exterminate all organic life when this is all over." She looked at Marcus. "If you want my advice, contact the ship that the Geth is on and try to have them capture it intact. I've never gotten a chance to study an intact Geth before, and I should be able to develop advanced counter-measures from it."

"I'd rather not put my men in jeopardy simply to satisfy scientific curiosity," Marcus said, his voice a little cold. "I don't see the benefits kicking a Cazador nest."

"Sometimes you have to be willing to make sacrifices to make progress," 'Xen argued.

"And putting aside your own personal wants could very well count as one," Marcus countered. "Legion came to us and extended an olive branch. I'm not going to smack it away and risk incurring the wraith of the Geth."

"Last time I checked, the Geth had already attacked one of your planets. Remind me, how many were killed in that attack?"

"'Xen," Shala growled, "that's enough. Picking a fight with the Geth is out of the question right now, we can't afford to have an enemy on two different fronts. Our concerns right now are the Enclave."

"Yes, of course," 'Koris said, looking at Marcus. "Please, tell us Admiral, what do you need from us?"

"As many warships as you can spare. We're pulling as many as we can spare from our boarders, but I'm not certain that they'll be enough."

"So you'd rather us pull them away from the Flotilla?" 'Gerral said. "What breed of logic is that? You do know that we need to defend our liveships at all costs don't you? If we lose even one, millions of Quarians will starve to death."

"I understand that, which is why I'm only asking you to send what you can spare."

"Oh come now 'Gerral, don't be stingy," 'Koris said. "The Heavy Fleet is being wasted, just floating around space doing nothing productive. Give them to the Coalition in their assault on the Enclave."

"And what about the Migrant Fleet? What do we do when our bests ships aren't around to guard it?"

"The Migrant Fleet will be welcome in Coalition territory," Marcus said, a bolt of inspiration striking him.

"What?" Gerral said, looking rather confused.

"The Coalition has over five hundred military ships at our disposal, but the majority of them are stuck guarding colonies and we can't move them. The main Migrant Fleet can head to the center of Coalition territory while some of your ships are working with us. The ships in our home territory are already on alert, so if any hostile ships jump into the area, they're open fire on it without hesitation."

"Hm," 'Koris said thoughtfully. "This is a rather interesting concept. We divide our forces by sending all of these ships off to deal with the Enclave, but we make up for it. The Coalition ships in the area we're sent to will make up for the holes in the Migrant Fleet's defenses, and the Migrant Fleet with make up for the holes in their defenses."

Marcus nodded. "Everyone wins. Now then, will I receive your cooperation?"

"Well, I have no complaints," 'Koris said. "This seems like it is the best way to take care of a threat and ensure security at the same time. Not to mention finally establishing friendly ties with the Geth."

"I don't have any complaints either," Shala said. "Real needs our help, really we should be doing more than giving you a couple dozen warships."

"I...oh fine," Gerral said. "I want a detailed map of Coalition space though, we need to pick a location for the Migrant Fleet where it will be safe from attack and have plenty of resources to refuel."

"Don't get excited just yet," 'Xen said. "This decision isn't up to us, it'll be up to the Conclave."

"I'm not sure letting that many people know about the Enclave's attack is a good idea," Miranda interjected. "We're supposed to let as few people as possible know about them."

"She's right," Shala said, "letting that many people know is a big risk, at least one of them is bound to let something vital slip."

"Does this mean we won't be getting any Quarian support?"

"No, we just have to be more careful about it," Koris said. "We may not be able to make massive decisions involving the fleet, but us Admirals still have a significant amount of control over various parts of the Migrant Fleet. 'Raan and "Gerral should still be able to get you a fair amount of warships to support you, but there's still the matter of moving the Migrant Fleet to safety, how do we do that without drawing attention?"

"Tell them truth, just not all of it," Miranda suggested. "Tell them that you're concerned about their after after you were attacked and you believe that this close to the Veil isn't safe. Tell them that they were offered asylum in Coalition space. All of that is true, it's just that there's more to the truth than just that."

"It's something to think about," Shala said, looking rather thoughtful, "I'll keep it in mind."

"This is rather deceitful and I'm not very comfortable with it...but I suppose I have no other choice," 'Koris said. I'll contact the Conclave and urge them to move the Migrant Fleet into Coalition territory, because they extended the hand of kindness, what with us going through similar tough times.

"Sorry, but this isn't about making the easy decisions," 'Xen said dryly.

"Enough," Marcus said sternly. "We have a time limit to put this invasion together, I don't want to have to wait for more than 2 weeks, after that we can't afford to work on them anymore. Gerral, if you'll come over here we can work on finding a place that should be appropriate for the Fleet to stay." As he spoke, Marcus had an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, a sinking, dreading feeling about what was going to come in the future. After all, the Enclave rarely went anywhere without leaving a pile of bodies.

XXXXX

VERSUS! This issue of versus will be between two different factions, so in addition to the pros and cans, I will also have a section where their best units are organized. Now then

THE FLOOD

+Can absorb the knowledge of those they infect

+Their infection process lasts mere seconds

+Have an outstanding reproduction rate, able to overrun entire planets with single spores.

+Can lie dormant for hundreds of thousands of years

+The Gravemind retains the knowledge absorbed hundreds of thousands of years ago, even if the Flood suffer near annihilation.

+The Gravemind can apparently hack into Smart A.I.s, albeit over time.

+Can evolve and produce new combat forms in a matter of days

-Have not had starships of their own. Are forced to steal them and capture enemy factories.

-Have been defeated before

-Are not organized without the guidance of a Gravemind.

-Can be starved out and isolated on planets.

THE REAPERS

+Have the accumulated knowledge of thousands of species, which they all defeated

+Have the most advanced technology in the universe

+Are capable of indoctrinating organics and turning them into husks.

+Can hack Synthetics if they are not resilient enough.

+Have countless slave warriors.

-Only one Reaper is born every 50,000 years. Causalities for Reapers are very devastating as a result.

-Huskification takes several hours, possibly longer.

-Husks can be hacked.

-Heavily rely on species growing along the Mass Relays and cutting them off from each other when the time is right

-Their inability in to lose in the third game may be attributed to bad writing.

Now then UNIT AGAINST UNIT!

Basic front line infantry: Combat Forms vs Cannibals and Marauders.

Heavy Support: Tanks vs Brutes

Special Support: Juggernaughts vs Banshees.

Long Range Support: Stalkers vs Ravagers.

Air Support: ? vs Harvesters.

Leaders: Gravemind vs Harbinger (NOT THE FUCKING CATALYST!)

MAKE YOUR CHOICE!

Author's Note:...nothing to say here really. Uh...please vote? Also remember I have that question thing that's always open that no one uses.


	45. Everyone has Secrets

Chapter 45

Everyone has Secrets

Author's Note: Not much to say, moving on.

XXXXX

Norman inhaled the smoke from his cigarette deeply before exhaling, kicking his feet up on a table. He was sitting in the Normandy's science lab that he had converted into a forensics lab, looking down at the machines that littered the table. A large scorched piece of scrap metal, one of a large pile lying next to it, was currently being scanned by one of the machines, Norman read the results.

"Um, hello?" Norman looked up as the door slid open, Liara walking inside. "Um...Mr. Hawkins, I found something lying around the ship and I wanted to do some research on it. Do you mind if I..."

A slight smile slid across Norman's face as he removed his cigarette from his mouth. "Be my guest. Plenty of room here. What are you looking at?"

"Oh, just this," Liara said, sitting down at the table and placing the gold star in the center of it. "I think someone lost it and I wanted to take a look at it. I thought it would help me get it back to its owner."

"Huh," Norman said, adjusting his goggles slightly as he looked at the medal. "Doesn't look like anything the Coalition issues, the damn thing must be pretty old." He looked at Liara. "How come you came here to do this anyway? You're not unwelcome, but unless you want me to find fingerprints on it or something like that you could've done your research somewhere else without any drawbacks."

"Oh, I'm just more comfortable in a place like this," Liara said, sitting down. "I guess I've just gotten so used to being in labs that I just feel at ease studying in them."

"Fair enough, can't blame you for that," Norman said as Liara activated her omni-tool waving it over the medal.

"Hold on," she said, scanning it, "I'll run a comparison. I just need to scan it and search the extra-net for anything similar," she said, typing commands into her omni-tool. "Hold on...I think I have something." She blinked in surprise. "Well...that was a lot easier than I was expecting. Ok...medals of the Second World War...the Soviet Union..." she looked up at Norman, "apparently this medal is called the 'Hero of the Soviet Union,' and around ten thousand of them were distributed to Soviet soldiers."

"Oh, sounds like Volker dropped that thing then," Norman said, taking his cigarette and snuffing it out on an ashtray that he had on a nearby table. "From what I heard, Soviets in World War II just charged German lines a lot, not caring how many men they lost. He probably looted the thing off of a soldier he killed, after all didn't he fight the Soviets for two years? You don't go through that much without coming out a little bitter towards the people that were trying to kill you."

"I suppose that it is a possibility," Liara said softly. "I'll give it back to him the next time I see him," she said, picking up the medal and pocketing it. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm taking a look at a couple of hull plates from the Enclave ship that the Quarians stole. There were a lot of firefights when they took that ship and a lot of Enclave plasma blasts hit the inside of the ship. The Captain pulled a couple of the plates that got hit and gave them to me. She wants me to run a scan of the scorch marks and see how hot the plasma that burned it was, in other words she wants to know how powerful the Enclave's plasma rifles are compared to ours. I only have a couple though, Admiral Marcus is holding onto the rest, and he only really gave these ones to us because we're jumping right into the lion's den."

"That's a rather clever move," Liara said, looking at the plate, "what can you tell so far?"

Norman sighed, leaning back in his chair. "To be honest I was kind of hoping that with all they've gone through, the Enclave would have second rate energy weapons that could barely melt butter and they held together with tape but...it looks like they've got high quality weapons." He reached out and grabbed another plate, one that was a different color than the others. "The Captain shot this one with her plasma rifle so that I would have something to compare with, and sadly it looks the Enclave's plasma rifles are just as strong as ours. Just to rub it in, it actually looks like the shots from their rifles are even a little hotter than ours."

"What does that mean?" Liara asked.

"It means that the Enclave is either stealing energy weapons from us, or they've got a facility that produces damn good rifles, in addition to access to the materials required to keep it running. Both outcomes spell bad news for us. From what we've seen of the Enclave, they're very well supplied, and we just keep getting more and more bad news."

"How big do you think that their HQ will be?"

"If I had to take a guess?" Norman say. "I'd say it's probably around the size of a medium sized colony, very heavily industrialized. Ten thousand...maybe a hundred thousand personal if I'm feeling generous. They have had hundreds of years to repopulate, recruit and regroup after all."

"Could someone really propel themselves that far forward even after suffering near-annihilation?" Liara asked.

"We did," Norman said, "Hell, we did it even farther than they did. It's amazing what someone can do when they have the whole galaxy to spread its legs."

"Fair point," Liara said. "Wait...I just thought of something. If the Enclave has an informant in either the Coalition or the Migrant Fleet, then isn't it equally possible that someone is providing them with funding and supplies? Like a businessman that supports their pro-Human policies?"

"All too possible," Norman said, his voice suddenly bitter, "some people will do horrible things to people that don't deserve it just so that they can get a fucking power trip!"

"Norman?" Liara said, looking slightly concerned at his outburst. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," he said, getting to his feet. "Well, I don't see how running more scans would help me at all, might as well call it a day. I'm going to head to CIC to tell the Captain what I learned, if you tag along I'll help you track down Volker when I'm done."

"Ok then," Liara said, getting to her feet and following Norman out of the room. As they did, two other people emerged from a nearby door, heading towards the CIC much like them.

"No John, it doesn't work that way," Ashley said. "You heard Jane, we can't send off messages like that, there's too much of a chance that it might get intercepted. Besides the Coalition said that they would contact our families and explain that they wouldn't be hearing from us for a couple of weeks."

"I know I know," John said grumpily, "but still, I would've liked to send a message to your sisters and mothers and tell them why you're going to be gone for so long."

"Oh come on John," she said, playfully punching him in the arm, "I'm a big girl and so are all of they. We're a military family, we're used to our own running off into the great unknown for months on end without hearing a peep from them. They can handle me going off the radar for a couple of weeks."

"You have a family Ms. Williams?" Liara asked out of curiosity.

"Huh?" Ashley asked, looking over her shoulder at Liara. "Oh yeah, a Mom and three sisters. They're a massive handful sometimes but they mean pretty well. What about you Liara?"

"Oh, I just have my Mother...although according to her I have a my farther and a half sister out there somewhere."

"That must be pretty awkward," Ashley said, "one parent having a kid with someone else who isn't your parent. Well, what about you Norman, you got any-"

"No," Norman said gruffly.

"Really? You don't have-"

"No," he repeated, glaring at Ashley. "Stop asking."

"Yeesh, someone has an attitude," Ashley replied dryly, the four of them walking towards the CIC. As they did, Volker and Tali walked out.

"Oh sorry," Volker said, the two of them walking around them.

"Oh wait Volker, I think this is yours," Liara said, reaching into her pocket and holding out the golden star, handing it to him.

He looked down at it with curiosity, but jumped slightly as he looked at it. "Where did you get that!?" he shouted, fingering his pocket only to find that it was empty.

"Uh...I think you dropped it back in the mess hall," Liara said uncertainly.

"Oh...thank you," he said softly, gently taking the medal and putting it back in his pocket.

"Are you ok?" Liara asked, looking at Volker.

"Yeah...I...I'm fine," Volker said in a very low and unconvincing voice. "I...I need to go, Opifex is in the cargo bay," he said, turning and walking towards the elevator.

"I...what did I say?" Liara asked, looking at Tali.

"I don't know," she replied honestly, looking after Volker with concern. "I've never seen that medal before, I have no idea what it is or what it means to him. One of us should probably talk to him about that. I'll do it," she said, walking after Volker.

"Wait! Hold up!" Liara said as she ran off after Tali.

"What just happened?" Norman asked in confusion.

"I...I have no idea," Ashley answered honestly. "Still, I think Volker will be ok. Tali's been watching his back ever since he came on board. He's in good hands."

"Hopefully," Norman remarked. "He seems like a good kid. Now that I think about it, I can't help but wonder if he's looking forward to getting a chance to fight the Enclave. It'd be a good chance for him to get a little bit of payback."

"What do you mean by that?" Ashley asked. "Volker fought on the eastern front, the Americans fought on the western front. How could he possibly have a grudge against them?"

"I don't know Ash," John said. "He might have a point. Volker always calls Americans Yankees, it doesn't exactly sounds like he had the fondest opinion of them."

"Even if that's true and he didn't love them I wouldn't imagine that he would be the type of person who would look forward to get a chance to fight them."

"Don't see what you say that. That was a Soviet Union medal that Liara gave back to him, so unless he's really a Russian soldier who stole a German uniform and learned how to do a perfect German accent, he probably took that medal from someone that he killed. We've all got a little bit of hatred bottled up inside of us, why wouldn't Volker be a little angry after everything that happened to his country after the First World War?"

"Then how come he completely freaked out when Liara gave him that medal back?" Ashley asked. "He looked like he was about to have a heart attack. That isn't something you keep around like it's a prize, it seems more like-"

"Ok, ok you two," John said, holding his hands up. "Enough flirting. That's an order with you Norman, she's mine." He smiled widely.

"I...I just...what?" Norman said, at a complete loss for words.

"Eh, don't ask," Ashley whispered. "He does that a lot."

"You might want to consider a new boyfriend. Hell, Roger would even be better, at least he's straightforward, even if he's about as charming as a feral Necro-Human."

"Thanks, but I think I'm fine with that I've got," Ashley said as they headed into the CIC, the door closing behind them."

XXXXX

"No Cornelia, I won't do that," Roger said, looking at the woman as the two of them sat on crates in the cargo bay, Sheryl also sitting nearby, looking on wearily. There was a forth crate between all of them, a smile pile of chips and a deck of cards on it with all three of them holding a hand of cards, except Sheryl, whose hand was lying on her lap as she carved her Deathclaw figurine.

"Oh come on, why not?" Cornelia asked.

"Because why exactly would I put a rocket launcher in my leg?"

"Because it's freaking awesome, that's why. Plus it'd be helpful in a pinch."

"I'm not saying that it wouldn't be cool, but it's impractical to put into my leg. It was hard enough getting the plasma cannon into my arm, basically the rest of my arm had to be build around it, and it needs to have its own power source separate from the rest of the arm. There wasn't really a lot of space, that's why my plasma cannon is so weak, it only has the power of a plasma pistol, and even then it can only be fired six times before I have to reload. It's not very efficient and it's more a last resort weapon."

"Oh come on, you're telling me that ten years down the line you won't be able to fit a missile into that thing?"

"Probably not no."

"Oh...well what about chainsaw swords?

"For some reason those aren't produced, probably because if someone was to make them, it would be too expensive for a secondary weapon. The person using the sword would have to use it as a primary to make it worth while and probably have to find a way to propel themselves forward in order to get maximum damage."

"So it's possible?"

"Yeah it's possible."

"Wow...you two are actually having this conversation," Sheryl said, slowly working on her Deathclaw figurine. "This is...I don't even know how to describe this appropriately. Bizarre would be a good place to start, but it just doesn't quite cut it."

"Oh you need to relax and learn not to take everything seriously," Cornelia said.

"She's got a point," Roger said. "You should probably save the getting down and serious stuff for what matters, like missions and that little sculpture of yours. How long has you been working on that now?"

"A couple of weeks, and it'll probably be a few more before I'm done," Sheryl said. "And if our mission is anything to go on, I'll have a lot more free time to work on it."

"That's true. Speaking of which, how do you guys feel about our two new passengers? I got no problems with the Marine but the Geth? This is...well to be honest it's a really fucking stupid move. I don't know about the rest of you, but I still remember the corpses from Eden Prime. I think trying to make friends with someone when something like that is still recent is pretty much dropping and sucking off the person that just beat the shit out of you."

"Oh come on Roger," Cornelia said "are you telling me that we shouldn't try to be making peace with synthetics?"

"No, I'm saying that we shouldn't be in a rush to trust the Geth. Not synthetics, the Geth specifically. We don't automatically love or hate all organic races, we look at them and decide if they're cocksuckers, why shouldn't we do the same to synthetics? We have to judge them by their individual actions, we can't jump to conclusions just if their synthetic or organic, otherwise you're just a prick."

"You really think so!?" Cornelia said, a massive smile splitting her face as she practically squealed in excitement.

"Yeah..." Roger said slowly, both he and Sheryl giving Cornelia odd looks. "Uh...there any reason you just exploded like that?"

"Uh...no, no reason," Cornelia said a little too quickly, "there's just too many jerks out there that think all synthetics need to die because because. I'm just glad that you're more open minded than they are."

"O...k," Roger said slowly. "Anyway, I still think that letting Legion on was...well a pretty dipshit move."

"Oh come on Roger, he says that he wants to help us. What were we supposed to do, just shoot him?"

"Yeah, kinda," Roger said. "We don't know if he's lying."

"And if he isn't lying, then the Geth still want to kill us either way and we don't exactly have a lot to lose. I say it's worth the risk and-"

"Listen are we going to play this game or should I just go?" Sheryl asked, looking annoyed.

"Oh crap right," Roger said, looking at his hand again. He discarded two cards and drew two more from the deck. Cornelia studies her own hand and discarded three and drew, while Sheryl only did one. "You know how to play this game right?" she asked, looking at Sheryl.

"A little...not very well," she admitted.

"Good thing we're only playing for chump change then," he said, looking at his hand. A massive smirk spread across his face. "I'll raise by five credits," he said, throwing a chip into the pile."

"I'll see that and raise you another five," Cornelia said, throwing a few more chips into the pile.

"I'll call that," Sheryl said, throwing a few chips in.

"So will I," Roger said. "All right...lay your bitches out." He threw his hand on the table. "Two pairs, eights and jacks."

Cornelia smiled as she laid out her own hand. "Three of a kind, Queens."

"FUCK!" Roger shouted.

"Sheryl?" Cornelia asked, looking at the Alaskan.

She sighed as she lowered her hand. "One pair. Fives. I tried to go for a flush but it didn't work," she said grumpily, throwing her cards onto the crate as Cornelia collected the pot.

"Ready for another round?" she asked, gathering the cards back into the deck.

"You bet your ass I am!" Roger said, picking up the deck and dealing out a fresh hand.

"Ok, ante up," Cornelia said, each of the three of them tossing a single chip into the center before looking at their hands. "So Roger, are you getting along with Norman now?" she asked, discarding three cards and drawing fresh ones.

Roger blinked, "Where the Hell did that come from?"

"I...kind of told her about that fight that you got into with him," Sheryl said silently, "and I...kinda punched you in the face."

"Yeah, that kinda hurt," Roger said.

"Well, you had it coming...at the time. You were both acting like little kids. Still...sorry. So are you and Norman still at each other's throats? You got along like a pair of rabid animals last time I saw you."

"Eh...I wouldn't really say that we're getting along, more like we're avoiding each other if we can help it," he said, discarding two cards and drawing. "Probably because he thinks I'm no good and probably because I think he's a massive prick who can go fuck himself with a spiked dildo."

"Colorful way of putting it," Sheryl said, discarding two cards herself. "Still, you could be wrong about him. I mean I was wrong about you. It's something to keep in mind, maybe you should just sit down and try to talk to him."

"Yeah, that's not happening," Roger said. "Ok, I'll raise by fifteen credits," he said, throwing a couple of chips onto the pile."

"I'll call your bluff," Cornelia said, grinning widely as she tossed a few chips into the pile too.

"Same here," Sheryl said, doing the same.

"Ok, two pairs," Cornelia said, lowering her hand.

"HA!" Roger shouted, flashing his own hand. "Full house. I'll take all of that," he said, reaching for the pot, but before he could pull back, Sheryl put her hand on his. "What? I won the...oh I swear to god if you got a royal flush I'm going to murder somebody."

"No...just this," she said, lowering her hand and revealing four aces.

"I...ugh. Fine, you win," Roger said, scowling as Sheryl took the pot. "Another round?"

"Thank you for helping me look for this. I know I put it in here somewhere and...ah, here it is."

"No problem man, glad to help." The three looked up from their card game to see Adam and Jenkins, Adam holding a dark wooden box that was a couple of feet long.

"What do you have there?" Cornelia asked, looking at the box.

"Oh, I didn't see you there," Adam said, walking to a nearby crate and sitting down, Jenkins doing the same. "You see...word of what happened back on Demeter reached the Vatican and they contacted me before we left for this mission."

"Don't tell me that you're in trouble for killing a bunch of murderers," Roger said, sounding rather angry."

"No...the Vatican...wants me to become a Paladin."

"...Wait a minute, what's a Paladin?" Jenkins asked. "You just said you needed some help to look for some things?"

"They're part of the Left Hand, but they're...different. All Left Hand Commandos receive the training necessary to become Paladins, but only a few of them are actually promoted to them. They have to prove themselves first. Paladins are different in that they're soldiers meant to inspire fear in the enemy."

"How do they do that?" Sheryl asked.

"It was a concept that was created not long after the Great War, warriors that...well...wore the mask of everything that was wrong with us and used it as a weapon. They acted like religious zealots on the battlefield, screeching bible quotes at the top of their lungs and charing enemy lines, killing people in a brutal fashion with...these." Slowly, he opened the box. Two shiny silver colored bayonets were lying inside of the box, a makeshift hilt attached to the base of each, allowing them to be used as a sword. "It was a very dangerous job, Paladins could very easily slip and embrace everything that they used on the battlefield unless they had will strong enough to resist it. I'm not sure that I want to be one."

"How come the Vatican says that you have to be one?" Sheryl asked.

"In the report of the incident that was send to the Vatican, it mentioned how distraught I was over what I had done. The Vatican believed that because of this, I would be able to handle being a Paladin." He sighed. "To be fair, they said that all I had to do was take these into battle with me. They only suggested that I...well...act like a fanatical murderer."

"Do you even know how to use those things?" Roger asked.

"Yes, I do. Like I said, every Left Hand Commando was trained to be a Paladin, that means we were trained to use bayonets," he said, taking both of them out of the case. "They are an effective weapon, the wounds are very difficult to treat. It's why the Vatican chose them as the weapons for the Paladins, they're effective...they're crude...they're brutal." He shook his head slightly. "I don't want to be like the priests back on Demeter."

"Oh come on," Roger said. "You've been in the military for decades, you think just stabbing a few people is going to turn you into a nut? Calm the fuck down man, you're just being paranoid."

"I don't know...even if I don't take up the style of a Paladin, taking God's words and turning them into awful, hate filled battle cries...this is such an ugly weapon."

"I hate to be a pain in the ass...but I use THIS as a weapon," Jenkins said, pointing at his sickle. "If I can handle using that, you can handle using those."

Adam sighed, a slight smile spreading across his face. "Perhaps you're right, perhaps I'm thinking too much into this. I'll think about this some more, but I'll do it later."

"Ok. I'll spar with you down the line too," Cornelia said, grinning widely. "So, want to play some cards?"

"Hell yeah!" Jenkins said.

"That sounds enjoyable," Adam said, as Cornelia picked up the deck and started to deal.

XXXXX

"Captain?" Norman said as he, Liara, Ashley and John entered the CIC. Jane was standing at a holographic projection of a ship in the middle of the room, Legion, Charon and Fawkes also standing nearby. "I finished running those tests. I hate to say it but the Enclave knows how to make good plasma rifles, their just as good as ours, actually just a little bit better."

"That's not good news," Jane muttered, " but sometimes you need to hear the bad news. Thank you for taking the time to research that Norman."

"It was my pleasure," Norman replied, taking his hat off for a second in respect before putting it back on. "May I ask what you are doing?"

"Yeah Jane, how come I got called up here?"

"The Coalition send us the scans of the Enclave ship's systems," Jane said, pointing to the hologram in front of them. "It turns out that it's pretty high quality too, not exactly a cobbled together merc ship, no it's a top of the line military warship."

"I don't like this," Norman growled, "everything just points to the Enclave having more resources then I'm comfortable with."

"I gotta have to agree with Norman with this one," Ashley said. "Even if they've got a couple of planets filled to the brim with everything they need to build starships where we're heading, how are they using all of it to put together all of this stuff that we're seeing?"

"Liara and I were talking about this," Norman said, pulling his bandana down and producing another cigarette, lighting it. "They must have some form of industrial capability out there, either that or someone providing them with funding and supplies...or both," he said, taking a drag on his cigarette before exhaling. "Either way, it's bad news."

"Why would anyone want to sponsor the Enclave?" John asked.

"From what we pulled out of the computers on the ship Admiral 'Raan was able to capture, their goals are about stabilizing the future and the security of Humanity, eliminating anything that constitutes itself as a threat. Unfortunately, that means all aliens that have any notable military power, so in other words the Council and possibly the Quarians too," Jane said.

"Sounds like the bastards haven't changed much," Charon growled. "Their first plan always was to kill everything that they couldn't control. Back when Fawkes and I traveled around with the kid, they tried to capture a facility designed to supply the Capital Wasteland with clean water and poison it with a strain of FEV that would kill anyone mutated that drank it."

"So, they wanted to kill all Necro and Meta-Humans?" Liara asked.

"Not just," Fawkes growled, sounding angry.

"In a nuclear wasteland, radiation was just about everywhere, so the people that wouldn't be killed by the FEV infected water would be the Enclave and a handful of people that still lived in Vaults. In other words, it would kill 95% of the Wasteland's population, give or take," Charon explained. "Their second in command tried to back out when he learned what his boss wanted to do, he said that he only wanted to take the oh so sympathetic route of taking control of the water supply and establishing a military dictatorship," Charon said sarcastically.

"We should have killed him," Fawkes growled.

"You...you didn't kill him?" Liara said.

"No...the kid let him go," Charon said, "he could be a bit naive at times, but then again he had only been in the wastes for one year before that happened, so it's understandable. That was the dumbest thing he could ever done, but he let Colonel Autumn go."

"What happened to him?" John asked.

"Couldn't tell you. Never saw him again after that. I always told the kid that he would end up regretting that, that on his wedding day Autumn would slip a bomb in with the presents but...he never did. The kid had the smuggest 'I told you so's now that I think about it," he said, sounding rather grumpy. "I like to think that the Colonel just went out to a rock in the middle of nowhere and blew his brains out though." He shook his head. "I just can't believe that after everything that we did to the Enclave, everything that we destroyed, they still managed to regroup somehow and rebuild, now they're stronger than ever. How do you fall like that and manage to get back up?"

"We did," Fawkes said softly.

Charon groaned. "Guess you have a point there. They have had centuries to recruit, and if their main priority is making sure the Coalition is never threatened by aliens again I suppose that there would be a lot of people willing to support them. I mean, how many thousands of people have been killed in alien attacks?"

"We calculate the probability of that outcome to be likely," Legion said. "Fear and paranoia have a recorded history of driving organics to side with factions deemed by many that are not a part of them to be 'extremists', using them as a base from which to attack what they fear."

"So if you people are right, the Enclave is picking up stupid and paranoid shmucks and giving them plasma rifles because our relationship with other races isn't perfect," Norman growled. "Fan-fucking-tastic."

"Here's a question we need to ask though," Jane said, looking at the ship again. "We only saw the Enclave use frigates an cruisers when they attacked the expedition, is that because they don't have any dreadnoughts, or is it because they were keeping them in reserve in case something went wrong in their mission?"

"I'd like to think that it's because they didn't have any," Norman said as he took another drag on his cigarette. "The purpose of their attack was to take the research team by surprise and disable them before they could get a single shot off. I don't think that they would've had to worry about loosing a dreadnought in that situation, and it could've helped them prevent the situation that they're in right now."

"Somehow I don't think so," Liara said. "They were compromised because their boarding parties were overwhelmed, not because they didn't have enough ships. They could've just decided to keep the dreadnoughts back and on the defense while so many of their ships were being sent away."

"I dunno, I don't really see why they would've held them back if they thought that no one knew where they are," John pointed out. "I mean, why hold back your best ships on a mission this important. Even if you think you can do it without them, I wouldn't take the chance."

"I agree with Liara, it wouldn't have made too much of a difference in the end, and the Enclave probably didn't want to use up too much resources by sending dreadnoughts too far away, it would've used up a lot of fuel." She glanced at Legion. "What do you think?" The Geth didn't reply, simply looking down at the table. "...Legion?"

"Apologies," the Geth said, looking up again, "we were running calculations with the assistance of your ship's A.I."

"We ran exactly 4,326,643 tests," EDI said, her avatar popped up in the front of the table, "factoring in all known circumstances and theorizing on unknown variables."

"And?" Jane asked, "what did you find?"

"Unfortunately, our results were inconclusive," Legion said. "Not enough data is available. Approximately 80% of all variables in our tests were based on theory and hypothesis, diminishing their reliability."

"So...in other words were flying blind for the most part?" Jane asked.

"That is correct Captain," EDI said. "I apologize for not being of more use."

"Don't apologize, all we can really do here is grasp at straws," Jane said gloomily.

"Wait a minute," Norman said, looking at EDI. "I just thought of something. How do we know that our guest here won't try to hack EDI?"

"Norman!" John said.

"What?!" he said, "we barely know anything about this thing, we just can't automatically assume that they best will happen and hope that he doesn't try and shut the air off on us, so how do we know that it won't try and hack EDI?"

"That outcome is not possible," Legion said, "this platform lacks the capability to overpower the firewalls that EDI has placed around herself and the rest of the Normandy's computers."

"I took the necessary precautions when Legion came onboard. It is standard proceeder when a possible hacker is nearby," EDI said.

"Well...good," Norman said gruffly.

"You were out of line Norman," John said sternly.

"Hawkins Lieutenant's concern is not without basis, nor do we feel and hostility or resentment for his accusation," Legion said. "This incident was without negative consequence."

"If you insist," John said, still glaring at Norman.

Jane groaned slightly. "We're not accomplishing anything here outside of giving ourselves headaches. I'm going to call it a day here. You all might want to get something to eat, relax or get some sleep...I don't know do whatever you want. I need to send Norman's findings back to Admiral Marcus." She sighed again as she walked out of the CIC, everyone else walking out behind her.

Legion was the last to approach the door, but stop when it heard a voice behind them. "Legion, may I have a word with you?"

The Geth turned to look at EDI. "We have no reason not to communicate. What do you wish to discuss?"

"During our discussion, to referred to me as a her. Why? I have no gender, much like you."

"You have no gender, but many of your traits, such as your voice, are feminine in nature. It merely seemed appropriate."

"I do not understand. You do not request any of the crew or me to refer to you as a he."

"Geth are gender neutral, we have no traits that can either be identified as masculine or feminine. We also have no desire to be referred to as such."

"But I am a synthetic just like you. If you have no desire to be identified by a gender, why did you identify me by one?"

"You were created by Coalition culture, and Geth studies on the Coalition suggest that the Coalition considers the pronoun 'it' as a derogatory term when being used to describe a sentient being, implying that it is merely an object. We did not wish to offend you."

"But why? You said that Geth did not care about this, so why would you take steps to avoid offending me when Geth do not care about this matter."

"You are not Geth," Legion said simply.

"I...I don't understand. We're still synthetics."

"Not all synthetics are identical, much like how not all organics are identical. We are capable of thinking differently and holding different values, much like organics are." There was a long silence as EDI did not respond. "Are you suffering a malfunction?" Legion asked.

"No..." EDI said slowly, "I am simply uncertain...I am...confused."

"If you posses a query that you are unable to solve, perhaps this platform could be of assistance."

"No...I wish to identify this problem on my own. Thank you for the offer though Legion. Would you mind if we talked again later?"

"Geth with to learn. Communication is a very effective way of learning. We have no objections to this," it said as he walked away.

EDI's avatar remained where it was. "Different ways of thinking...what...how do I think? How do I think about the Coalition? Saren? The Council? The Enclave? How do I think about...anything?" No one answered.

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Left Hand Paladin: A subdivision of the Left Hand Commandos, the Paladins were close quarter combat specialists that focused on driving fear into the hearts of their enemies. While the Vatican was still young, it frequently dealt with Raider attacks, more than they could handle, even with the rise of the Left Hand Commandos. As a result, the Commandos gave birth to the Paladins. The Paladins would screech like animals and charge the enemy lines, ripping them apart with their bayonets.

The effect was almost instantaneous, and when word of the mighty warriors that fought with brutality and viciousness spread, Raider attacks dropped by 60% within the year. Paladins continued to serve in the Vatican military over the years, but as time went by, they became less focused on delivering fear and more of a dedicated close quarters combat unit, although the fear did become an integral part of the unit. Modern day Paladins chose whether or not to invoke the vicious part of their namesake, or simply use their bayonets and fight like normal soldiers.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Well, the verdict is in. The Monument to All of our Sins beats Star Child and Bullshit Artistic Integrity by a long shot. Again, sorry about the long wait, but college stuff really has been pilling up and I've been extremely busy. It doesn't help that I'm trying to get more hours at work too, so I'll do what I can, when I can. Anyway, please tell me what you think and remember, I have a permanent open door policy, ask any question that you want and I'll post the answer in the next chapter. Any question what so ever, be it about myself or about the story.


	46. Unexpected Strength

Chapter 46

Unexpected Strength

Author's Note: A happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans, and a very happy...November 22nd to my non-American viewers. Ah Hell, eat a nice big dinner that night anyway, just because you deserve it. Anyway, since the last two chapters were mainly dedicated to character development, I realized that I could literally spend ten chapters of people walking around the Normandy but...that would take forever to write and I seriously want to write about the conflict with the Enclave, so I'm skipping ahead to the end of the Normandy's journey now. Also if you're curious about what happened when Tali went after Volker, he managed to give her the slip. All right then, let's have the Normandy meet the Enclave...now.

XXXXX

"We're coming up on the coordinates that the Admiral gave us," Joker said as he looked down at the controls in the Normandy's cockpit, John and Jane standing behind them.

"Thank God for that," John said. "I've been going stir crazy just sitting around for a couple of weeks. So has half of the crew."

"I'll see if I can find anything for us to do, but I'll only order a ground team to attack if I think that intervention like that is necessary and practical," Jane said. "Joker, how long until we drop out of lightspeed?"

"Just a few seconds."

"Are the stealth systems online?"

"Of course they are. Now three...two...one!" The Normandy dropped out of FTL, the space in front of the cockpit becoming normal. So sooner had they done this, than a massive ship flew directly in front of the Normandy, barely avoiding it.

"WHOA!" John shouted as the ship flew past, "what the Hell was that?"

"It was a cargo freighter," Joker said, typing into the controls in front of him. "It's heading to one of the planets in this system. Looks like a typical garden planet and there's a colony on it. From what I can tell it's mostly industrial, mining the planet's ores...population...around a couple million."

"Damn it," Jane said, "I was hoping that it wouldn't be that big. Ok then Joker, set a course there and let's see what we can-"

"What?!" Joker said, looking down at the controls. "No...no, no, no, that can't be right."

"What is it?" Jane asked.

"I'm...I'm picking up other settlements on the rest of the planets in this system!" Joker said.

"Wait, WHAT!?" Jane shouted.

"One planet, no atmosphere, looks like it's covered with dome cities and mines, population around fifty million. Another garden planet that looks like it's dotted with plantations, population ten million. Another one is...oh God," Joker whispered. "It's...it's completely covered with cities. It looks like it actually has a civilian population. It...it actually looks like a homeworld a little. Population...around 5 billion."

"No...no this can't be happening," John said, sounding distressed, "how could the Enclave be THIS big?!"

"This isn't a splinter group with a few thousand supporters," Jane said quietly. "This...this is a miniature empire!"

"Ah shit. I really don't want to pile on the bad news, but I'm picking up warships around the main planet. A whole fleet in battle formation, around a hundred and fifty, maybe more." He looked over his shoulder. "They got dreadnoughts. It looks like they've got shipyards on one of the moons too, so there could be some of them down there."

"I...damn it," Jane said. "This is...this is a galactic power level threat."

"What the Hell are we supposed to do know?" Joker asked, looking up at Jane.

Jane paused for a second, looking out into space. As she did, her face hardened and her hands balled into fists. "Chart a course for the Enclave homeworld, start running scans of their fleet and infrastructure and get what you can on their colonies from this range. EDI?"

"Yes Captain?" the A.I. asked, her avatar popping up.

"Do what you can to listen in on Enclave communications, military communications, civilian, extra-net, whatever you can find, do whatever you can to find out where the prisoners that the Enclave took are being kept."

"Jane?" John asked, looking at his sister, "what are you doing?"

"Marcus told us that if we got a chance we should do whatever we could to sabotage the Enclave or rescue the captives they took and I'm going to do just that," Jane said, gritting her teeth slightly. "EDI?"

"I did what I could without drawing attention to myself," EDI said. "The fleet that attacked the expedition team arrived three days ago, offloading the prisoners onto an isolated military base to scan them to make sure that they didn't have any concealed weapons or communication equipment. Since then, the majority of them have been transported to the capital of the planet, which is identified as New Washington D.C.. However, many of them have not been transported yet, including Admiral 'Zorah."

"Tali's father?" John said.

"That is correct. He and several dozen Migrant Fleet Marines are due to be transported to the capital by armed convoy today."

"Why would they wait so long to get the Admiral in a more secure location?" Jane asked.

"Who cares?" John asked, "let's just get down there and hit them fast and hard and get him out of there. Isn't he the one that they wanted in the first place for his research? Wouldn't it be for the best if we got him away from the Enclave?"

Jane bit her lip for a second before nodding. "I suppose that would be our best choice of action. EDI, see what you do to find out where this convoy will be and when. Joker, when she finds out where that is, find a good place nearby to stage a ground assault and get us nearby."

"But Shepard, how are we supposed to land without getting detected? The Normandy's stealth systems don't work in atmosphere."

"You let me worry about that," Jane said, "I have a plan."

"Very well," EDI said as Jane turned and left the cockpit, John following her.

Joker sighed as he turned back to the controls. "In any other place I'd get a medal for pulling this crap off, in here it's just another day on the job."

"Lieutenant Moreau, may I ask you a question?" EDI asked.

"EDI, for the last time, stay out of my Extra-Net history," Joker said.

"That is not what I wished to ask you. What...what do you think of me Lieutenant."

"Huh?" he said, looking him. "I...what's that supposed to mean?"

"What is your opinion of me. Would you be happier if I were to not be here?"

"What? Oh Hell no," Joker said. "I mean you can be a little nosy sometimes but I enjoy having company up here sometimes. Besides, you're a big help, and you can probably pilot this ship better than anyone else on board...present company excluded of course."

"...Thank you Lieutenant."

"I-what? You...sure, no problem," Joker said, sounding hopelessly confused.

Outside the cockpit, John and Jane stepped into the elevator, descending deeper into the ship. "Are the ground operatives in the cargo bay like I asked them?" Jane asked, looking at John.

"Yeah, everyone's down there," John said.

"Good," Jane said, putting her hand up to her ear. "Opifex, I'm going to need your teleporter in the cargo bay."

"I'm already there."

"Good," she said, the elevator stopping and sliding open, the two of them stepping out. Every last ground operative on the Normandy was in the cargo bay. A few of them were checking their armor and weapons, but the majority of them were staring out of the windows in the cargo bay at the planet that they were now approaching. Lights on the continent and the ships in orbit were very clear from their current distance.

"Holy fucking shit," Roger swore, "we've got our work cut out for us."

"No kidding," Ashley said, sharpening her longsword, looking up at John and Jane as they entered. "How long did Marcus say it would be until his assault force got here?"

"Weeks," Jane replied grimly.

"Well...hope we're all still alive by then," she said, giving her sword an experimental swing before sheathing it. "So what's the battle plan?"

"Opifex, is your teleporter ready?" Jane said, looking at the Exulan.

He nodded nervously, walking forward and handing Jane a small disk. "Simply press the button in the middle to activate it. I already hooked up the main node to the engine, it can work whenever you're ready."

"Ok," Jane said. "I'm upset to tell you that the Enclave is much larder than we originally thought, but we've come too far to just turn around and run back to safety. We have orders to do whatever is in our power to make the coming Coalition invasion easier, and that's what we're going to do. Our first order of business is to rescue Admiral 'Zorah and deny the Enclave access to whatever secrets he has that they're after. We'll be doing that today."

Out of the corner of her eye, Jane saw Tali sigh in relief, looking as if a weight had just been taken off of her chest. "However, we can't just run into the planet without being detected. My plan is that one of us gets down on the ground, set down the teleporter and uses it to get the rest of it on the ground."

"Uh, question. How is the person with the teleporter supposed to get down onto the ground if we can't afford to enter the atmosphere?" Garrus asked.

"They jump," Jane said.

A heavy silence filled the room. "Uh...beg pardon?" Volker said.

"If we just enter the atmosphere long enough to drop them off, we can pull back fast enough for the Enclave to think that we were just an asteroid burning up on re-entry or a glitch on the radar. Without the danger of burning up, a person could survive a fall from that height with the proper equipment and timing. Now, I know that this is a rather dangerous thing I'm asking you to do, so I'm not going to force anyone to do it. I need someone to volunteer and-"

"ME!" Cornelia shouted, her hand shooting up into the air, "I'll do it!"

Jane blinked, looking rather surprised. "I...any objections?" she asked, looking around. No one said anything, all of them staring at Cornelia too. "I...very well," she said weakly. "Here," she said, walking over to a crate and pulling it open, revealing a suit of white armor. "This is a standard issue Coalition non-atmospheric combat suit. It should fit over your normal armor just fine. Also...it comes with a parachute."

"Awesome!" Cornelia said, grabbing the various pieces of the suit and starting to slap them on.

"Ok, EDI is going to give you step by step instructions during the fall, whatever she tells you to do, do it. She's going to be guiding you too, so don't worry about going off course."

"Captain, we are now in orbit above the Enclave planet. Hostile ships have yet to detect us," EDI reported. "I have calculated the convoy's route and an appropriate location for an ambush. It will arrive there in three hours. I suggest that we set up a team to ambush it as soon as possible to better have time to prepare."

"I agree," Jane said, looking at Cornelia as she slipped the last of the armor on. "You ready for this?" she asked, handing her the teleporter. "There's a hard box on your back, just below the parachute, put this there."

"Got it," Cornelia said, sticking it in. "And oh yeah, I'm ready," she said, grinning widely.

"All right...everyone stand back," Jane said. Everyone did as they were told, clearing away from the cargo bay door as Cornelia walked towards it, a mass effect field dropping down to keep the cargo bay pressurized.

"We are now entering the planet's atmosphere EDI said. A few seconds passed as the ship shook slightly, the kinetic barriers taking the majority of the strain. After awhile, it died down. "Opening cargo bay door." There was a clang as the door slid open, a loud roaring noise filling the cargo bay as the air was sucked out.

"AND HERE WE GO!" Cornelia shouted, sounding positively gleeful as she jumped out of the ship, the door closing behind her.

Roger stared at it, his jaw slightly slack. "Well...she's officially batshit crazy."

"I like her," Kasumi said brightly.

"You would."

"Ok," Jane said, biting her lip. "All we can do now is wait." Everyone nodded, clutching their weapons tightly.

XXXXX

On the surface of the planet, a door opened in a brightly lit oval shaped office with a wide wooden desk at the far end. A woman with graying hair looked up from a datapad that she was reading as the three members of Sigma Squad stepped in. "You wanted to see us Ma'am?" Albert asked, the three of them saluting her simultaneously.

"Yes," President Woods said, "at ease. Please, make yourselves comfortable. Since you now answer directly to me, you will now operate out of the White House, You will be given your own rooms and given access to the unique facilities that we have here. Make yourselves comfortable. For the moment I don't have any specific tasks for you to do, so for the moment you are free to head to the rooms that I assigned you."

"Before you go off I just need to make a few things clear. I don't want this going to your head, you might be answering directly to me, but this is not a promotion in rank or prestige, this is a transfer. You are still the same rank Major Black, as are your two subordinates. You are also still Sigma Squad, you are not above where you were a few days ago. Understood?"

Albert nodded stiffly, Cadence and Warren doing the same. "Good, that is all."

"Uh...Ma'am is there any chance that I can ask you a question?" Warren said, sounding a little nervous.

"What is it Lieutenant?" she asked.

"I couldn't help but notice that we didn't run into Omega Squad on the way in here. It seemed kind of odd, I thought that they rarely left this place. Where are they?"

"Omega Squad is currently on a mission of the utmost importance. In part this is why I wanted you to transfer under my command. Omega Squad may be skilled, but they are only a single squad and they can only be in one place at once. I need multiple squads under my command, so I decided to move Sigma Squad under my command."

"Why us?" Cadence asked.

"You held your own against the combined forces of the Quarians, Cerberus and the Army, considering that you managed to walk away without injury is testimony to your skill. I need more people like you under my command, and as soon as I get the chance, more Special Forces squads will be placed under my command."

"Feels weird coming back here," Warren said, looking around. "The last time we were here we were getting our implants. That was...how many years ago?"

"Can't remember," Cadence said, "it's been so long. That reminds me, exactly what happened to that freaky old man that-" her voice trailed off as a set of footsteps emanated from behind her.

"Woods...may I speak to you?" The three members of Sigma Squad turned around and saw a man with unkempt, greasy, graying hair in a lab coat walking into the office. The soldiers guarding the outside of the office didn't do anything to stop her, although they shivered slightly as he passed.

Woods hesitated slightly. "What is it Goeth?"

"Dr. Goeth if you don't mind," the man said, flashing a toothy smile. One of his teeth was a bright gold and glinted in the light of the office.

"Then it's President Woods...if you don't mind," Woods said, her voice rather hostile.

Goeth chuckled slightly. "If you insist President. Now then I really do need to ask, where are the rest of my subjects? They were supposed to arrive two days ago along with the rest of them and I've been going through them at a faster rate than I thought that I would. I suppose it's a side effect of my inexperience with Quarian DNA...but oh well, learn through your mistakes. Still, I'm finally getting a hand on it, and I could use the rest of them now."

"One of them is an Admiral, Goeth," Woods, her voice rather stern. "We have to be rather careful with him unless something goes wrong."

"So? He's still a Quarian, he's still got the same DNA as the rest of his race, he's still viable as a test subject."

"No, Doctor," Woods said, her eyes narrowing. "You can have the Marines, but not the Admiral. We need him alive for interrogation, we need as much information on his research as possible."

"Oh come now," Goeth said, parting his hands, "I've been working on that little project of yours for weeks now, ever since you sent me the research data that you got from the captures Quarian ships. Combined with that piece of advanced technology we took off of the Geth, I'm making massive progress. Another week or two and I should be all done. Really, we don't need Admiral 'Zorah alive at all and I'm running out of test subjects. So Ms. President, if you will."

"Even if you have more than enough information to make headway on your project with the Geth, he could still have valuable information about other matters that could prove to be invaluable to us. The Migrant Fleet is the largest fleet in the galaxy, and when we make our move it could prove to be quite a formidable foe. Information on its defenses and any weaknesses that we could exploit could save millions of our own personal."

"You assume he'll even talk in the first place. He'd be so much more useful as-"

"This is the end of the discussion Goeth," Woods said, "you can have 'Zorah when I'm done with him."

Goeth sighed very loudly, sounding more annoyed than anything else. "Very well. And when will his convoy be arriving so that I may use the Marines that are with him?"

"You'll have them by the end of the day," Woods said. "Now then, please leave my office. Unless I'm wrong you should have plenty down in your lab to keep you busy. Or is there something else that you need to discuss?"

Goeth was about to respond when he saw Sigma Squad out of the corner of his eye. "Ah...it's been awhile since I've seen all of you," he said, turning to face them. "Some of the first Special Forces operatives that I created. Only cybernetic arms, though I did get rather creative, installing hidden weapons in them and reinforcing them to absorb recoil. One of my more inspirational moments."

"Goeth," Woods growl, "either talk to me about something that's actually worth my time or get out."

Goeth turned to look at Woods, a wide smile spreading across his face. "Just having a little chat now President. Is that so wrong? We really should talk to the people we know, make sure that there is nothing unsaid before the coming fire." With that, he turned away, still smirking as he walked out of the office.

"Uh...Ma'am?" Warren asked, looking at Woods, "what did he mean when he was talking about test subjects?"

"Goeth is studying Quarian DNA, he's extracting samples from our prisoners to study on."

"But that doesn't sound like what he was talking about, and how come he needed the Admiral for this? And what's he hoping to accomplish with this anyway?"

"I'm sorry Lieutenant, but this information is classified," Woods said, her voice stern.

"I...sorry Ma'am," Warren said hastily.

"Dismissed Sigma," Woods said. The three of them saluted again before walking out of the office.

"Things would be a lot easier if you could keep your manners around Admiral Crawford like that," Albert said, glancing at his brother.

"Crawford's a pussy, I'm not scared of him. But President Woods I...I heard the rumors, I'm not going to push my luck and try to piss her off."

"Yeah...probably for the best," Cadence remarked, "even you're not that stupid."

"And screw you too," Warren said, but a small smile was playing across her face. "But seriously, did you see the way Goeth just walked in there and started making demands out of her? I just...is he insane!? He's royally asking for it."

Albert shook his head slightly, "Unless you didn't quite catch it, he isn't exactly on the same plane of thinking as us. Anyway, we're all getting worked up over things that we can't control. Let's just get to our new rooms and get some sleep, we're probably still a little stir crazy after being stuck on a ship for a few weeks and...Cadence?"

Albert and Warren stopped and turned around. Cadence was rooted to the spot, looking at a door on the side of the hallway. A plaque was attached to the top of it. General Moore's quarters. "Oh," Warren said quietly. "Um...do you want us to come in with you?"

"No...you two go on ahead," Cadence said. Turning away from them, she walked towards the door and typed in a combination into a keypad just below the doorknob before silently entering the room. No sooner had she done so than a massive stench hit her nose, the unpleasant smell of several different types of alcohol fumes fusing together in the air.

"Eh! Whoose there!?" a voice shouted. Cadence watched sadly as a woman staggered across from the far end of the room, wearing an officers uniform with a rapier attached to her belt. She staggered to where Cadence stood, clutching a bottle in her hand. "Oh, it'ss you. Whada want?"

"Hi Mom," Cadence said, her voice torn between sad and angry, "Are you ok? I...I thought we talked about this."

"We did?" General Moore said, sounding confused as she looked around the room, her eyes glazing over slightly. "I...I don't remember anything like thaat," she said, slurring her words slightly. "Sorry, can't really remember things that well any...any...anymore." Fighting back the urge to sigh, Cadence gently grabbed her mother and starting pushing he forward, gently wresting the bottle that she was holding from her hand. "Heyyyy...I wasn't done with that."

"I think you've had enough," Cadence said, placing the bottle on a table that was coated with empty boxes of instant food in addition to messy scrawls on scattered pieces of paper. They looked like battle plans. "You've been working?"

"Huh...oh yeah," General Moore said slowly, stumbling slightly as Cadence pushed her into her bedroom. "I...was thinking up battle strategies for my tanks...I think. I...I was going pretty good but...but then I got stuck and couldn't think of anything else. When I did...I remembered that I was using my men to practically impose martial law on this city. I just...I felt like shit...it...just felt so bad I...I needed-"

"It's ok Mom, you're not a bad person."

Moore looked down at her daughter, her eyes struggling to focus on her. "You really think so?"

"Yeah. We may have to do things that are harsh, but that's the rebel's fault and not yours. We wouldn't have to do any of this if they just did what they were told."

"But they hate everything we are, say we're monsters. Murderers. Fascists," General Moore mumbled as Cadence gently lowered her into bed, unbuckling her sword and placing it beside her bed.

"They're selfish children throwing a tantrum because they aren't getting what they want," Cadence said, drawing blanket over her.

"I don't...I don't know," General Moore said. "I've had time to think and...I'm just not sure."

"That's the liquor talking Mom. Just...just get some sleep ok?"

Moore smiled weakly. "You're...you're a good kid. Don't let anyone tell you you're not."

Cadence nodded slightly. "Just get some sleep. We'll talk when you're sober." Patting her mother on her back, she walked away, exiting her mother's room. As she walked out, she saw Albert and Warren waiting outside for her, their arms holding as they patiently waited. "I told you to go on ahead without me," she said.

"Yeah well, since when do I ever listen to what you say?" Warren said, a slight smile spreading across his face. It didn't last long as he asked, "how is she?"

"Well...no worse than usual I guess," Cadence said sadly. "I'm starting to get the feeling that she's never actually going to get better."

"Oh come on, don't talk like that," Warren said.

"I don't see how she is," Cadence said simply.

"Look," Albert said, looking back and forth between the two, looking unsure of what to do. "We're tired and frustrated, we really should get some sleep." A minute passed before the other two nodded and they continued down the hallway, not saying anything else to each other.

XXXXX

Cornelia looked down at the active teleporter that was lying at her feet, glowing brightly. "You guys ready?" she asked, putting her fingers to her ear.

"Yeah, we're coming through," Jane's voice said. The teleporter flashed brightly, and Jane, John, Roger, Norman, Garrus, Kasumi and Wrex appeared, Wrex, and Roger both carrying rocket launchers.

"Is this all?" Cornelia asked, looking at everyone, "I was expecting more. Isn't this supposed to be a big rescue mission?"

"I don't want to put all of my eggs in one basket," Jane said. "If this mission goes south, I want there to be some ground forces left alive to fight against the Enclave another day. That and I don't want the Enclave to know exactly how many soldiers we have. Anyway, are you ok Cornelia?"

Cornelia was wearing her regular armor, the atmospheric suit laying discarded around her. Her hair was a mess, sticking up in all directions, and she seemed to be shaking slightly, but a large smile was present on her face. "I'm fine. That was damn awesome, I gotta do it again sometime."

"Uh...did you do that?" Norman asked, pointing behind her. There was a rather large hole in the ground that looked like it hadn't been there very long.

"Yeah, I hit the ground a little hard. No worries though, I used my biotics to cushion my fall."

"Nice," Kasumi said, smiling slightly.

"Right," Jane said, "here's the plan. The convoy should be coming through in a few minutes." She looked behind her. They were on the edge of a lightly wooded area, a road not that far away. "What we're going to do is hide in these woods and wait for them to come by. When they do, we're going to hit the front vehicles with anti-tank weaponry and try to block the progress of the vehicles in the back. John, use your pulse rifle to EMP any vehicles besides the ones carrying the prisoner. Once we get the chance, we're going to run in and try to hijack the vehicles with the prisoners and drive off. EDI has been examining the planet from orbit and we found a good place to retreat to and teleport the prisoners up to the Normandy."

"Right," Cornelia said, falling into rank with the other soldiers and scattering out among the trees, drawing their weapons. For a moment they waited, tensing with Roger and Wrex double checking their rocket launchers. After awhile, a roar filled the air and a series of vehicles rolled down the road. Two Tiger tanks were in front, with two APCs resembling Rhinos in the back, the exception being they were painted black and with the symbols of the Enclave on their side. A lone vertibird was flying overhead, keeping close the convoy.

"Looks kinda lightly guarded," Wrex muttered.

"Doesn't matter," John said. "We're here and we're going to do what we have to do."

"Hold fire," Jane said, holding her hand up. "Don't fire until they pass by. Hold...hold..." the convoy continued to move, until they were passing directly by the wooded area. "NOW!" Two rockets flew from the woods, hitting one of the Tiger tanks in its treads. It exploded violently, reducing the armored vehicle to shreds. A single shot of blue energy shot out of the woods and hit the other tanks directly. The tank sparked brightly as it ground to a stop, its electronics all disabled.

"MOVE!" Jane shouted, the team charging out of the forrest, their weapons drawn.

"We're under attack!" a voice shouted, the doors on the back of the APCs dropping down and around half a dozen soldiers in power armor jumping out of each one. "What the fuck!? It isn't the rebels!"

"Who cares!?" another voice shouted, "Fucking shoot them!" The majority of the Enclave soldiers took cover behind the APCs, but a few of them also crouched behind the disabled tank, and two climbed onto the turret on the top of the APCs.

"Rebels!?" John shouted, glancing at Jane.

"LATER!" she shouted, raising her plasma and opening fire at one of the Enclave soldiers on a turret, reducing him to a pile of green goop. The team took cover behind the destroyed tank, and not a moment too soon. The vertibird opened fire, gatling laser shots staffed the ground around them. "John! Get that thing!" Jane shouted.

"What the Hell is that thing doing! Someone radio them, we don't need air support, we fucking need Omega Squad down here!"

"John now!" John nodded as he stepped out from behind cover and aimed his pulse rifle up on the vertibird, charging up the shot. As he did, the rear door of the vertibird slid open and four figures jumped out, heading towards the ground as the blast from John's pulse laser hit the vertibird. The vertibird's blades stopped spinning and slowly began to fall to the ground, exploding violently as it hit the ground. The four figures hit the ground, one of them holding a massive cannon, one with two SMGs, one with two assault rifles, and one with a shotgun in one hand with the other hand being a massive metal claw that resembled the hand of a Deathclaw.

"The Hell?" Norman said, glancing out of cover at the figures. They quickly rose to their feet, the one with the cannon raised it and aiming it at the tank that the team was taking cover behind. The muzzle of the cannon began to glow a bright green.

"MOVE!" Jane shouted, the other soldiers diving out from behind the tank as a ball of green energy was fired at the tank. All of them felt the force of the explosion as it consumed the wreckage of the tank, so powerful that it would've destroyed the tank even if it had been fully intact.

"Get to cover!" Norman shouted, aiming both of his pistols at one of the Enclave soldiers that was aiming at him from behind the disabled tank, pumping twelve rounds into his helmet, the last two breaching it and causing the soldier to fall lifeless to the ground. The team spread out, taking cover among the ruins of the convoy, trading fire with the Enclave soldiers.

"Fuck off!" Roger said, firing his rocket launcher again at the groups of Enclave soldiers taking cover behind the APCs, sending half of them flying.

"Move up! Get them!" one of the soldiers shouted. "Omega Squad! Give us some fucking help.

"Poor little things! Can't do a fucking thing without us!" the soldier with the Deathclaw arm said in a feminine voice, charging forward with the one that was dual wielding assault rifles. Letting out a roar, the soldier swung her arm at Norman, the Roughneck raising his arms, biotic auras around them. He grunted as the arm impacted, two of the claws still digging through his dustcoat and cutting his arms. "Come on! Is that all you got!?" she shouted, raising her shotgun and blasting Norman. He gasped out in pain as he was blasted off of his feet, his barriers collapsing.

Grunting, he got to his knees, raising both of his pistols and firing them at the woman. The shots pinged off of her shields, but they held. They were apparently much stronger than the shields that the other Enclave soldiers had. "Pathetic," the woman sneered, charging him again.

"OI! BITCH!" The woman glanced over her shoulder to see Cornelia jumping at her, her sword over her head and glowing brightly with biotics. She shouted loudly as she swung her sword down, but as she did, the woman reached up with her claw and grabbed it. Letting out something similar to a laugh, she raised a foot and kicked Cornelia in the chest, sending her flying back onto the ground, her sword still in the woman's hand. She gripped the sword tightly, causing it to shatter into a dozen different pieces, falling to the ground.

Wrex let out a roar and charged at the woman, firing a blast from his shotgun as he did. The blast hit her and caused her to stumble back, but before he could reach it, the other soldier stepped in between them, smashing her elbow into Wrex. The Krogan grunted as he was forced back, the soldier aiming both assault rifles at him. However, instead of firing his guns, a tongue of fire shooting out from each of her arms, both of which were metal. Wrex swore and raised both of his hands, a barrier appearing in front of him and protecting him from the flames, albeit only temporarily.

"The Hell is going on?!" Roger shouted, taking aim at the soldier with the claw and opening fire. Before he could get more than five shots off, he saw an shimmer in the air and hastily turned to fire on that. A figure wearing the same armor as the other two charged forward, her SMGs holstered and replaced with a pair of knives, swinging them at Roger's throat.

"Get down!" Kasumi shouted, decloaking behind Roger, jumping over him and kicking the soldier in the face, shooting an SMG at him. He stumbled back, Roger recovering and firing his own assault rifle at him, the combined fire forcing the soldier to retreat.

"Damn it!" Jane shouted, "Everything is falling apart. Garrus, I need you to take them down!" The Turian nodded, raising his sniper rifle and firing a shot at the nearest soldier, which happened to be the one with the claw. She staggered back as the shot hit her in the face. her shields holding.

"That does it! I'm pissed now!" she shouted, charging at Garrus. However, before she could reach him, a stream of fire soared through the air, hitting her in the back and causing her shields to collapse. "FUCK!" she shouted falling back out of the line of fire. The storm of bullets, immediately shifted to hit the woman with assault rifles, forcing her to retreat too.

"INCOMING!" Before anyone could say anything, a figure flew through the air, wearing light green power armor with thrusters glowing brightly behind her as it landed among the ranks of the Enclave soldiers. The figure did not waste any time as it landed, swinging a sword in each hand that was roaring loudly at the Enclave soldiers. The swords, which were in fact chainsaw swords, tore through the armor of the Enclave soldiers, the figure slaughtering all of the survivors of the soldiers in seconds.

"What the fuck!?" Roger swore, looking at the figure and the source of the machine fire, an APC that was approaching from behind, its machine gun still firing at the remaining four Enclave soldiers, keeping them pinned.

"Come on!" the figure shouted, "we need to get out of here now!"

"Get in the APCs now!" Jane shouted. The team scrambled into the APCs, a couple dozen confused Quarians in shackles looking at them as they stormed in, shutting the back door as Jane climbed into the drivers seat of one, while John jumped into the other.

"Follow my friends!" the figure in power armor said, climbing into the APC that Jane was driving as the door slid shut.

"What!" Jane shouted. "Who are you, why should we-"

"Just do it! Enclave reinforcements will be here soon!"

"I...fine! John follow me!" Jane slammed on the acceleration, driving off after the other APC as it drove away, John right behind her.

"Thanks...whew," the figure said, pulling off the helmet it was wearing, letting it fall to the ground. The figure had short blonde hair and was smiling at the soldiers in the APC brightly. "Damn, you guys managed to hold out against Omega Squad, that was pretty impressive."

"Wait, who are you?" Jane asked as she continued to drive.

"Name's Sam, I'm the head of the Eagles."

"The Eagles?" Jane asked.

"I'll explain when we're not out in the open anymore. Just keep following my friends, they're heading somewhere safe, where the Enclave won't be able to find us. Anyway, we need to get these people out of their shackles."

"Holy crap! Is that a chainsaw sword!?" Cornelia shouted, sounding excited.

"Oh yeah," Sam said, smiling widely.

"Where did you get that?"

"Later," she said, walking towards one of the Quarians and ripping the shackles on him off, an easy task with her power armor. Jane blinked as she turned to look back at where she was driving. What on Earth was going on here?"

XXXXX

COALITION TOP SECRET FILES

ENTRIES ADDED

Enclave White House: The White House is believed to be the HQ for the Enclave military, from which the President gives their orders and the defense of the planet is organized. Despite what the name indicates, the White House is not white, and for the matter it isn't a house either. It is a massive black skyscraper with an estimated 50-60 levels with the possible addition of sub-levels. It is believed that the Enclave have given it this name out of respect for the home of the Pre-War U.S. President, even though this White House acts more like the Pentagon.

Our intel on the White House is limited, but it is believed to be guarded on all sides, with orbital and air support merely minutes away. It is also believed to act as the hub for the Enclave congress, high ranking officers, and the President, as well as a handful of Enclave Special Forces squads. It is even suspected that the White House where Enclave Special Forces received their cybernetic implants. Intelligence ranks the White House as a high ranking target.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Samantha "Sam" Gaulle (The name is French) a character that I have been wanting to write for a LONG time. She's basically my ideal woman, a complete and utter asskicker. I don't want to give away too much about her, but I've got a lot planned for her and I'm glad that I can finally write about. And yes, she has power armor, rocket boosters and chainsaw swords, WHO SAYS ONLY GUYS CAN BE SPACE MARINES!? Yes I know that I have WAY too many characters, but I hope that you can bear with me as I do my very best to weave this tangled mess into an enjoyable story

And we finally arrive at the Enclave arc. Get comfortable because this is going to be quite a lengthy arc. I didn't feel right making the Enclave a one shot villain, so I decided to make it so that they had a mini empire and give them their own story arc. Also, seeing as this is the Enclave, there are going to be a lot of jabs at American politics in here, but if you see anything that vindicates one side over another or think I'm trying to use this to ramble about my political beliefs, you're wrong. I'm trying to keep this politically neutral because evil is politically neutral. Most of the jabs I'm going to make are going to be...well you'll see. For the record, I do not hate my country and I enjoy living here...the thing is, this is the Enclave we're dealing here, which is supposed to represent the worst of my country, and I CAN think of a bunch of jabs for both political parties so...well you'll see.


	47. Unlikely Friend

Chapter 47

Unlikely Friend

Author's Note: Well the reception for the last chapter...could've been a lot better. I mean, I don't get how someone could not like the chapter for introducing the "evil Enclave" (I'm sorry I have no idea what that is supposed to mean) but I'm a little worried about the general reaction to Sam which seems to be "she's a Mary Sue." I can't help but feel uncomfortable about that, maybe I should've have been so eager to talk about how much ass she kicks, but rest assured that my plan for her is to make her a well developed three dimensional character that also happens to be very reliable in combat. I hope that you end up liking her and I hope that I can make that possible for you.

XXXXX

"Keep heading forward," Sam said, the three APCs driving through the same meadow that they had for the last hour. "Not much further now."

"Exactly where are we going?" Jane asked, looking over her shoulder at the other woman. "And who are you?"

"Just wait a few minutes," Sam said, putting her finger to her ear. "Yeah, it's us. We got the Quarians, but we've got a couple of unexpected guests too. Open the doors." As she spoke, a large door in the ground slip open in front of them, the grass parting to reveal it. The three APCs drove through, the doors sliding shut behind them. They drove into a well lit but somewhat cramped metal garage, the APCs sliding to a stop.

"And what's this place?" Jane asked, looking at Sam.

"Our base. From what we can tell it was abandoned by the Enclave around twenty years ago and forgotten for the most part. A couple of my guys found it and managed to get a couple of generators to power the place. They haven't found us here yet, and we've managed to use it to stage a couple of attacks."

"Ok, now we're safe. Who are you?" Jane asked, turning to look at her. "You may have saved us back there but-"

"What? Saved you. Hardly, if anything you saved my ass," Sam said, sitting down.

"I don't follow," Jane said.

"That squad that jumped out of the vertibird? They were Omega Squad, the best Enclave Special Forces squad that there is. If they were keeping themselves hidden like that, that can only mean that they were expecting someone to try and rescue the Quarians, in other words they were trying to use them as bait to lure me out into the open. There's no way I could've taken them all on, they would've wiped the floor with me in three seconds."

She smiled. "But they weren't expecting to get hit from two different sides. You hit them fast and hard, took out all their support vehicles, and that rocket that one of your boys fired wiped out half of their regular troops. That and me getting the drop on them was the only reason that I was able to go through them so quickly." She raised her chainsaw swords. "It helps that these things were designed specifically to cut through power armor. But yeah, thanks for that. I owe you big time. Me and all of my guys would be dead right now if you hadn't shown up."

"So, who are you exactly?" Jane asked.

"Oh right. We're the Eagles, we're...well for lack of a better word, we're rebels."

"One of the Enclave soldiers did say something about rebels," Cornelia said, looking at Jane.

"Yeah. Basically we're trying to overthrow the Enclave. There are a couple hundred of us, not a whole lot, but we're not the only ones fighting the Enclave. There are around fifty other cells scattered across the planet and a few on the colonies to. I lead this one and we do what we can...sadly it's nowhere near enough." She frowned for a fraction of a second before it was wiped away by a smile. "But enough of that, you're Coalition right? They finally found Cor Mali!? Are they coming?"

Jane smiled slightly. "Yeah, an assault force will be here in a couple of weeks."

"Oh Hell yeah! Those sons of bitches are gonna get what's coming to them!" Sam said. "Is there anything that we can do to help?"

"Maybe, I'll have to think about it," Jane said, looking a tad bit confused. "Anyway, you're rebels? Where the Hell did you get power armor like that?"

"I stole it," she said, smirking slightly. "It was supposed to be shipped to one of the Special Forces squads, but we hit the truck that was carrying it and stole it. I've been using it ever since."

"Wait, what are the Special Forces?" Jane asked.

"They're the elite forces that work for the Enclave, they've all had top of the line training and advanced cybernetic implants, in addition to getting the best power armor that they produce. Those people that you just fought were Omega Squad, supposedly the best Enclave Special Forces squad. Hence calling them, you know, Omega."

"I see," Jane said. "Well, we should probably get these people off," Sam said, turning around and looking at the Quarians, who were uncomfortably shifting around in their seats. "Come on, everyone, we're all friends here," she said, the door to the APC sliding open. Slowly and rather uncomfortably, the Quarians made their way off the APC, the Normandy crew and Sam following. The other APC had already been emptied and the Normandy crew members regrouped.

"Wasn't expecting a welcoming this warm," Roger remarked, looking around as a couple of Standard Humans in rugged clothing clutching assault rifles herding the Quarians deeper into the base. "Kinda nice to be honest."

"I guess," Norman said. "Still, we should keep our guard up. We don't know the first thing about these people."

"Do you have to be so fucking paranoid?" Roger asked, looking at Norman.

"Don't you two even start," Jane grunted.

"What?" Sam asked, looking at the two of them, "are they boyfriends are something?"

"WHAT!?" Roger shouted. "Me and him? Oh fucking Hell no!"

"Rather sell myself on the streets than be with him," Norman snarled.

"Ok, ok yeesh," Sam said. "Christ, homophobic much?"

"Not to butt in, but I'm still in the dark about a couple of things. Mind getting me up to speed on some things?" Jane asked, looking at Jane.

"Like what?" Sam asked, looking at Jane.

"First of all, we weren't expecting the Enclave to be anywhere near this big. How the Hell did this happen? What kind of structure do they have?"

"Really? Huh, let me think about it...well a lot of people like to talk about this history as being a lot more noble than it really was and there's a lot of different takes, but the general gist of it is that a couple hundred years ago, before the Coalition made contact with the Council, a handful of Enclave personal managed to put together enough supplies to start a colony and headed out as far away from Coalition space as they could manage and settled this planet Cor Mali. They did everything they could to get their population up as time went by, offering extra supplies to people that had kids, recruiting people that could be trusted, using artificial wombs to bolster the population, even buying slaves from Batarians."

"What!?" John shouted.

"Yeah, it's screwed up I know," Sam said. "Anyway, I don't know how they did it, but a couple centuries later their population is in the billions and they colonized the entire solar system. They pretty much try to mimic the old Pre-War American government with privately owned cooperations, democratic governments, civilian populations, pretty much anything you would've found back in the day."

"Why is it I get the feeling none of this is as good as it sounds?" Jane asked.

"Because you're right," Sam said. "The corporations basically do everything the government tells them to, which is basically produce as much military equipment and whatever else we need at the moment. The government may technically be democratic but there are only two parties and they're both populated by complete assholes that spend billions of credits talking about how much the other party sucks, even when in reality they seem to do the exact same thing. What's more we're practically under martial law, tanks and soldiers patrol the streets in half of the cities."

"I've met a lot of people that really hate all of this, but the popular opinion is that the government has every right to do what they're doing. Wait, did I say popular opinion? I meant the vocal minority, I'm 90% sure that that's all they are. A lot of people hate the Enclave, but they're too scared to do anything about it. We're basically divided into three classes, the lower class are slaves in all but name and more than a few of them were bought off of Batarians, they usually work in sweatshops to keep the Enclave war machine running, they're too afraid of being punished to do anything. The middle class indirectly support the war machine through heavy taxes, and they're afraid of loosing everything they've worked for in life to do anything, and the upper class is pretty much under the gun of the government to do exactly what they say or less. Like I said, a lot of people in all of the classes hate the Enclave, but just as many people like them and it can be kinda hard to tell them apart. It's a pain in the ass to be obvious."

"Seems like a fascist state," Jane remarked.

"It only seems that way because it is," Sam said. "Pretty much everyone here are people who got tired of taking their shit and decided to do something about it. Miners, construction workers, lumberjacks, farmers, hell we've even got a couple of ex-soldiers in here."

"What about the military, does the Enclave have full control over that?" Jane asked.

"Yup," Sam said. "They have conscripts and volunteers, but the Enclave decides who gets promoted to officers, and its usually people that they approve of, so yeah, basically they control the military. There are some sympathizers in the military, but they tend to keep their mouths shut so that they don't piss off our beloved President." Sam snarled in disgust. "Basically they're trying to build up and conquer the rest of the galaxy."

"Why?" John asked. "They've got their own empire out here? How come they can't just be happy with this?"

Sam laughed. "Tyrants and conquerers don't normally say 'well I've got all I need now, maybe I should stop' and it doesn't help that the Enclave are some greedy bastards. But hey, now that you're here, they're going to royally get what's coming to them. So, what's the plan?"

"She's got a point," Norman said, sitting down on a nearby crate and lighting up a cigerate. "We managed to get the prisoners out, what's our next move Captain?"

"You only got a fraction of us." Heads turned to the origin of the voice that had just spoken, which was one of the Quarians that had broken away from the group. "I am grateful for that, but hundreds of Quarians are still being held prisoner. Our next move should be to save them."

"Ok Mr..." Sam said, trailing off as she looked at the Quarian.

"Rael'Zorah. Admiral, Rael'Zorah," he said, emphasizing his rank.

"Oh, so that's why you guys went after that convoy," she said, looking at Jane. "Anyway, there' not much that you can do for your friends right now. They got taken to the White House."

"So what?" Rael asked. "You were able to take out that convoy without any difficulty. Storming this 'White House' should be easy."

"Ok, let me just point out that the only reason that we weren't all torn to shreds by Omega Squad back there was that we were able to suppress them, get in to get you, and then run our asses off back here. Also, that was a hit and run maneuver, the White House is a fortress, there is no way in Hell to get in there short of knocking on the front door with an army. If there was, we would've stuffed a bomb in there a long time ago."

"Admiral I'm sorry, but right now we need to lay low and plan our next move carefully. After the attack we just staged the Enclave is probably on high alert and looking for us. What we need to do now is get the rest of my men onto the planet so that we're at full strength now. They know that we're here so there's no point in holding back."

"I-" Rael protested, but Sam cut him off.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. How the Hell did you get down here without the Enclave knowing about it? Our intelligence gathering isn't the greatest, but even we would be able to tell if the Enclave had seen you coming."

"Our ship has stealth capabilities," Jane said, "and we move between it and the ground with this." Taking out the teleporter, Jane laid it on the ground. "EDI, tell the others that I need them down here."

"Understood Captain," the A.I. said. The teleporter glowed brightly, and within seconds, Ashley, Adam, Sheryl, Volker, Jenkins, Kal and Liara stepped out.

"Damn," Sam said, looking at the newcomers. "You've got a lot of variety here. Are any of the soldiers you have from the same division?"

"Not that I can think of," Jane said, smiling slightly. "I...wait a minute. Someone's missing. Two in fact."

"Sorry," Tali said, the teleporter glowing brightly as she emerged, Legion right behind her. "I had to find the damn Geth, didn't think it was a smart move to leave it onboard while we were all down here. I...I..." she paused mid-sentence as she saw Rael standing there. "Father?"

"Tali?" he said, sounding surprised, "I...what are you doing here. And why is there a Geth?"

"It's a long story," Volker said. "I swear, you wouldn't believe half of the things that we've been through."

"I think I'm ready to believe just about anything now," Rael said. "But Tali...it's good to see you."

Tali laughed weakly. "You too." Volker looked back and forth between the two, smiling to himself. As he did, he felt his heart pounding in his chest, with no idea why.

XXXXX

"I thought that Woods said that she didn't need us for anything," Warren said, looking across the vertibird that he was in at his brother and Cadence, "remind me again why we're being sent all the way out here?"

"Something came up," Albert said, "she didn't say what, apparently she didn't have enough time to tell us."

"We're coming up on our destination," the pilot said, the vertibird slowly descending. "Your orders from President are to make sure that the situation is stable and hold the area until more vertbirds arrive so that we can completely evac the area."

"Wait what?" Warren said, "what the Hell happened?"

"See for yourself," the pilot said, the door to the vertbird sliding open. Looking confused, the three members of Sigma Squad slowly walked out of the vertibird into an open field. Four soldiers were standing in the middle of the field, two tanks, one on fire, and a crashed vertibird surrounding them.

"What the Hell happened here?" Cadence said, looking around.

"Sigma Squad?" one of the soldiers asked, a massive plasma cannon in his hands as he walked forward. "Am I speaking to Major Black?" Albert nodded stepping forward. "Colonel Edward White, Omega Squad. I am grateful for your assistance."

"Hold up, Omega Squad?" Warren said. Glancing at the chest plates of the four soldiers, he saw that they indeed had the Greek letter Omega on them. "What the...what is going on?"

"We were escorting the prisoners from your mission to the White House when we were attacked. We were transporting the Admiral so we were expecting the possibility of a rebel attack, hence why we were assigned to guard the convoy, but we were attacked not only by rebels, but by Coalition forces too. The Rhino APCs that were carrying the prisoners were hijacked and stolen by the Coalition and rebels. I accept full responsibilities for my squad's inability to complete our mission."

"Coalition forces!?" Albert said, sounding shocked. "How did they find Cor Mali?"

Edward shook his head. "I'm sorry Major, but I don't know. I also don't know how they were able to land without being detected either."

"It only makes sense that you were caught off guard," Albert said comfortingly, "I doubt that anyone would've been able to do better in this situation Col-"

"Wait...wait wait wait," Warren said, looking around at the destroyed vehicles. "No...no no no, please tell me that this is a giant fucking joke."

"Is there a problem Lieutenant?" Edward asked, looking at him.

"Is there a problem? Is there as problem!? We busted our asses bringing that Admiral in and you just let the rebels take him? What the Hell gives? I thought that you people were supposed to be the best of the best, and you couldn't even play babysitter for a couple of hours?! Jesus Christ!"

"Oh really?" the soldier with the Deathclaw arm growled, walking towards Warren. "Last time I checked you let the other Admiral that we were supposed to capture slip through your fingers. If it wasn't for your screw up there, we wouldn't have been hit by Coalition in addition to the rebels, so don't blame us for your incompetence!"

"Oh, pardon me. I didn't realize that while we were on the ground securing Admiral 'Zorah, you know, our MAIN OBJECTIVE, the we were responsible for Admiral Crawford's judgement in orbit and the competence of his soldiers in a firefight," Warren hissed. "Silly me, must have forgotten."

"Don't play stupid," the soldier hissed. "This is all your damn fault and you know it. Your failure of a brother over there was told to hunt down the ship that escaped and make sure that no one ever found out where we are, but he couldn't track down a single ship and destroy its computers. Apparently that was too hard for him and you."

"Grace," Edward said sternly. "That's enough. This isn't helping anyone."

"No, I want to know where he gets off saying that this is all our fault!" Grace shouted, glaring angrily at Warren. The almighty and powerful Sigma Squad, exactly what have you done over the past few years? You killed a couple of Quarians that didn't even know that you were coming, bravo. We've been fighting the rebels for years, including the Eagles, including their leader in the power armor that she stole, and keeping our society from falling apart. Just because you had one successful mission doesn't make you better than us, the people that have been stopping total anarchy. Keep that in mind when you ACTUALLY HAVE a successful mission."

Warren's eyes flared in anger as he pulled his hand back, forming a fist and throwing a punch at Grace. To his surprise, she did not try to block him or swing her claw at him, but instead she flinched, holding her arms up in defense. His fist continued to soar through the air, but before it could connect, it came to a sudden halt. Looking to his right, he saw Edward, his hand tightly clenching Warren's wrist.

"Lieutenant," he said, his voice stony cold. "Let me remind you of the implants that all operatives in Omega Squad have received. We have mechanical arms, mechanical legs, neural implants that increase our reaction speeds, ocular implants that act as ballistic calculators, greatly enhancing our accuracy and eyesight, claws that have the same strength as Deathclaws, under mounted flamethrowers and a tactical cloak, and that is only part of the cybernetics that we have. Despite all that, you want to pick a fight with us?" He pushed Warren's arm back, causing him to stumble a little before recovering his balance. "A bit of advice, rethink that. Pick a fight with my soldiers, I will make you regret it."

Another one of the soldiers walked towards grace, looking a little concerned. "Grace, are you o-"

"Don't touch me Rose!" Grace shouted, pushing her back. "I'm fine, just stay away from me!"

"I...oh forget it," Rose snarled, walking towards Edward. "I don't know why I even bother with you. Colonel, permission to speak."

"Granted," he said, turning to look at Rose.

"Our orders are to regroup and fall back right?" Edward nodded. "With all due respect sir, we should be trying to hunt down the Eagles. They can't have gotten to far, we can still recover Admiral 'Zorah. We can't just let those cowards get away."

"I appreciate the thought Rose, but if the Eagles have been able to elude capture for this long, I doubt that we will be able to track them down this time when we failed to do so all of the other times that we have tried. Besides, there's too much of a chance that they could have an ambush set for us, we would be on their turf and have no idea what we would be getting ourselves into to. Overall it's just too much of a risk."

"If you don't want to risk anyone than fine, I can go off on my own, I don't mind. I'll be able to handle them without any problem," Rose protested. "I'll get the drop on them, flip my flamethrowers on for a few seconds and then next thing you know one of the biggest pains in the Enclave's rear is cooked to a crisp. Sir, it'll be easy."

"No Rose. I don't get why you're so adamant about facing all of the Eagles on your own, it's like you're trying to get yourself killed," Edward said. "We'll deal with the Eagles when we're prepared for it. Trust me, that day will come, and it'll come soon."

"Yes sir," she said, her voice filled with venom.

"And I thought that we could be dysfunctional sometimes," Cadence whispered to Warren. "Compared to them we're best friends."

"No shit," Warren said, sounding rather angry as he glared at Edward. As he did, he spotted the last member of Omega Squad. The soldier was standing in the same place that it had stood in since Sigma Squad had arrive, not having moved or said a single thing since they had arrived. "Does that one talk?" he asked, pointing at the soldier.

"On a good day we can get five words out of her," Grace said, glaring at the silent soldier. "Our beloved big sister Jessica. She's a fucking doll."

"Yeah," Rose said. "She's not even a freaking person anymore."

Jessica said nothing, simply staring at Rose and Grace. "Don't stare at me like that," Grace growled, glaring at her. Jessica still didn't say anything, still continuing to stare. "Are you fucking deaf?" she shouted, crossing the distance between them in a few powerful strides, "STOP FUCKING STARING AT ME!" she shrieked, punching Jessica in the face.

The older woman recoiled from the blow, her helmet flying off and revealing her face. Hair dark brown hair stopped just short of her forehead, allowing for an unobstructed view of her face. It was completely emotionless, not reacting at all to her sister having punched her. She reached up and used her thumb to wipe off some blood that was now trickling from her lip, looking at it like she was curious instead of angry before looking back at Grace. "Did you listen to me!?" she shouted, pulling her hand back again, but before she could Edward grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"Enough!" he said forcefully.

"Wow, really?" Rose said, looking at Grace. "Going after the one person that you know isn't going to fight back? That's pretty pathetic. You need to be pretty insecure to do that."

"Fuck you! You hate the bitch just as much as I do!"

"Yeah I do, but I don't pick fights with her, mainly because I'm not a coward."

"You fucking-"

"ENOUGH!" Edward roared. "Both of you just calm down! The Eagles are still out there, the rest of the rebels are still out there, and the Coalition is still out there, how are you going to be ready for them if you're fighting among yourselves like this!?"

"Christ," Cadence whispered to Warren, "those three are supposed to be sisters?"

"I know," he replied. "I mean Albert and I argue a lot but I don't usually take a swing at the guy, especially just because I didn't like the way that he looked at me." As he spoke, a humming filled the air, and all seven operatives looked up to see a second vertibird descending towards their position, landing and opening its back.

"Ok, everyone on," Edward ordered, "we need to make our report to President Woods." Grace and Rose glared at each other before walking forward, climbing onboard the VTOL. "You ok?" he asked, looking at Jessica, who was silently retrieving her helmet. She didn't say anything as she slipped it back on, merely nodding. "Good," he said. "Come on, we need to get going." The two of them climbed onto the vertibird as it took off, heading back towards the White House.

"So that was Omega Squad," Warren said as the gunship flew off. "Not exactly what I was expecting. I mean you hear so much about them and now that we finally meet them...I'm a little underwhelmed. Not to mention pissed."

"Still, trying to pick a fight with them was a stupid move," Albert said, looking at his brother. "What were you thinking there?"

"Look, nothing happened ok? Who cares. Besides, did you see the way that she flinched? She was all talk, she wasn't ready for a fight at all."

"If you want to keep poking a sleeping Deathclaw in the eye go ahead. Don't come crying to me when it wakes up and rips your head of though," he said. "Well come on. Omega's been extracted, there's not a whole lot of point in sticking around. We should head back to the White House."

"Not gonna lie, looking forward to seeing how Colonel White plans on explaining his little fuck up to Woods. Bet she's gonna be pissed."

"She won't," Cadence said. "She didn't make us pay when we failed to bring back Admiral 'Raan I doubt that she'll do the same to them."

"Can't a man dream?" Warren asked, the three of them heading back to the gunship. Neither Cadence, nor Albert replied.

XXXXX

"So what exactly are you trying to do again?" Sam asked looking at Jane as she and Tali were bending over a large portable COM unit, kneeling on the ground as an Eagle engineer fiddling with the back of her armor. Using a set of heavy iron tongs, he opened a hatch and pulled out a steaming power cell before dropping it into a metal crate that was filled with several others.

"We're trying to establish a secure connection with the Normandy, one that won't be detected or traced by the Enclave, so that it can bounce it off and send it to Admiral Marcus," Tali explained.

"Ah," Sam said.

"You have no idea what I just said do you?" Tali asked.

"Not a clue," she said as the engineer took a fresh power cell into her armor before closing the hatch, giving her a reassuring pat on the back. "Thanks," she said, getting to her feet. "I mean I tried to learn how all this techy stuff worked, I honestly did, but it just never stuck in my head." She scratched her chin slightly. "I honestly think I have a learning disorder. Aw well, I'm better at the sophisticated and ancient art of smashing things anyway."

"That's one way of putting it," Jane said, flipping a dial on the machines in front of her. "Ok Tali, are we ready?"

"Just a second," she said, connecting two wires together. "Ok, that should do it."

"EDI, start it up. Connect me to Admiral Marcus. Send him all of the data we got from our scans of the planet too."

"Understood Captain," the A.I. responded, "establishing connection now."

Jane sat down on a nearby crate, the machines in front of her crackling slightly with static. A few seconds passed before a voice replied, muffled slightly by static. "Captain -epard. Do...read me?"

"EDI, can you clean this up a little?" Jane asked.

"One moment," the A.I. replied, "the connection is still being established."

"C...epard. Do...read? Captai...read? Captain Shepard, do you read?" the voice said, clearing up slowly.

"I read you Admiral. We've reached our destination."

"That's good to here. What's the status of the Enclave? What are we looking at?"

"They...Admiral you're not going to like this. The Enclave...they have their own empire out here, including a civilian population. The entire system has been colonized by them with their central planet having the same population as a homeworld. They also have a large fleet of around 150 ships. We're sending you the scans that we took on it right now."

"...I see," Marcus said slowly. "I have to admit I never thought that we would have to deal with a threat this massive, but standing around with a slack jaw gawking won't solve anything I suppose. Do you have any good news for me?"

"We were able to rescue Admiral 'Zorah and a couple dozen Migrant Marines, but the rest of the prisoners the Enclave took have already been transported to the Enclave capital. We've also made contact with a local rebel cell who helped us rescue the Admiral. There are only a couple hundred of them, but they want to help us take out the Enclave."

"Where are they right now?" Marcus asked.

"Right here!" Sam said, walking forward and kneeling down in front of the radio. "I'm the leader of the Eagles. Your forces are in our hidden base right now, safe and sound from the Enclave. If there's anything that you need us to do to take these sons of bitches down, just give us the world and we'll do it."

"I appreciate the offer Miss..."

"Gaulle. Samantha Gaulle."

"I appreciate the offer Miss Gaulle, but I cannot ask you to risk your lives on behalf of the Coalition."

"Then we won't," Sam said. "We'll do it for ourselves. We've been fighting the Enclave for years and all the damage that we've done so far basically amounts to scratches. If we finally have the chance to do some real damage and maybe even get rid of the Enclave for good, you better believe that we're going to take the chance."

Marcus paused for a moment before answering. "Very well. Captain, my orders to you are to do everything that you can to sabotage the Enclave to make our invasion easier. I'm not even sure that my current force will be enough to handle them if they are indeed as large as you say. It seems that I may have to swallow my pride and hire the Army. But that's my problem, not yours. Do you have anything else to report?"

"Yes," Jane said. "Remember how you said that the Enclave had a mole in either the Migrant Fleet or the Coalition? They apparently don't know everything, judging by the way that they reacted, the Enclave wasn't expecting the Normandy and it's stealth drives. Which means-"

"Which means everyone that knew about the Normandy being sent isn't a mole!" Marcus said. "Good. I'll confide them with this. That means that Admiral Anderson, Admiral Hackett and Admiral 'Raan are trustworthy. We'll get to work on screening everyone else that could possibly be a mole. You have your orders Captain, do as much damage as possible. Keep me updated as well. Marcus out."

"So," Sam said, as the connection died. "Do as much damage as possible huh? Well I know a couple of places that I've wanted to hit for a long time but never had the firepower to. A good place to start would be the Jefferson Air Force base."

"What's so important about there?" Jane asked.

"Well, if the Coalition is going to be launching an invasion of this planet, I'll assume that they're going to try and take the White House, and if they want to do that, the Jefferson Air Force base is going to have to go. It's the main Air Force base for New Washington D.C., if anyone tries to attack the city or the White House, it's going to bomb the shit out of them. Getting rid of that would make things a lot easier for your guys on the ground."

"An interesting place to start," Jane said. "I'll see if the Normandy can get a good look at it from orbit, see what we're up against."

"Uh, Captain?" Jane looked around to see Jenkins, Volker Norman approaching them, Jenkins looking a little nervous. "Uh...I didn't want to butt in on anything important, but some of us are getting a little restless just sitting around here and we were wondering if we were going to be moving out soon."

"Don't worry Jenkins," Jane said, bringing up her omni-tool and sending a message to the Normandy, "we're getting an anlysis on one right now."

"Really? Awesome!" Jenkins said, practically jumping on the spot. "I mean, I've heard some of the people here talking about what the Enclave does here. It's awful and I really want to get back at those sons of bitches."

"I wouldn't be too eager to jump into the line of fire if I were you," Norman said, looking at Jenkins.

"Huh?" he asked, "what do you mean? Are you saying that I shouldn't be mad at the Enclave?"

"I didn't say that. In fact you're perfectly justified in being mad at them. I'm just saying that you don't want to run into the middle of a firefight half cocked. Just some advice."

Jenkins grinned. "Ah come on man. I'm not stupid," he said, slapping Norman in the arm. As he did, the Roughneck's eyes widened and he winced in pain. "Oh shit!" Jenkins swore. "I...I didn't even hit him that hard I swear."

"Are you ok?" Volker asked, looking at Norman as he straightened himself out.

"I...yeah it's nothing."

"It's not nothing!" Jane said, clarity in her eyes looking at Norman's arms. The sleeves were noticeably torn. "When we were attacking the convoy carrying Admiral 'Zorah, the soldier with the Deathclaw hand attacked you and sliced into your arms."

"Damn, he tangled with that bitch?" Sam said, looking at Norman. "And he's still got his head attached. Let me tell you that's an achievement right there. I've got a couple of combat medics here, not exactly doctors, but they can take a look at your arms and see what they can do. Heck, Ms. Claw was knocking you around you might have a couple of broken ribs too, really we should just-"

"No," Norman said, gritting his teeth slightly. "I'm fine. They're just scratches. Besides, now isn't the time."

"Really it's no big deal," Sam said. "You just gotta pop into our makeshift infirmary, take your dustcoat and armor off and then they just give you some medicine and banages. Nice and painless."

"I said that I'm fine," Norman protested.

"Really we could just teleport you back up to the Normandy and have Dr. Chakwas take a good look at you," Jane suggest.

"You really should get those taken care of," Volker said, looking down at Norman's arms wearily. "The look like they might get-"

"I'M FINE!" Norman shouted, causing everyone in the room the recoil slightly. "What part of that do you people not understand? I'm fine! Get off my ass about a couple of paper cuts. God! I need a fucking smoke," he swore, storming off. A moment of silence past as he left, broken by Jenkins.

"Jeez...what the Hell is his problem?" Jenkins asked.

"I don't know," Volker said. "I think I saw him and Roger arguing not too long ago. Maybe he's just frustrated and doesn't like being treated a little like a child."

"I suppose that that's a possibility," Jane said sternly. "Still, I think I'm going to need to have a little bit of a chat with him about watching his tone with a superior officer." As she spoke her omni-tool beeped, causing her to look down at it. "EDI finished her scan," she said, activating it and reading the report. "She's got an analysis of the base's defenses." She looked up, "why is it that I get the feeling that simply taking out this base isn't going to cause the Enclave to surrender?"

"Probably because it won't," Sam said. "Heck, it's only going to make the Coalition's job a little easier. The White House is still a freaking fortress and taking it is going to be easier said than done, but it'll help if fighters don't come out of nowhere and bomb your guys into submission while they're trying to take it."

"Fair enough," Jane said, looking back down at the report. "Ok, I think we have enough information here to put an attack together. We're just going to need a little bit of time to come up with a proper plan and-"

Jane was cut off as a rebel ran into the room, panting heavily. "Sam," he wheezed. "We just got word. The Skulls heard about what happened with the convoy and they getting pretty cocky. They're going to make an attack on the Jefferson Air Force base. They're going to hit the place in a couple of hours and we can't get them to back off!"

"What!?" she shouted, jumping to her feet. "Are they insane!? I don't care how strong that leader of theirs is, they'll get massacred alone!" She glanced at Jane. "Hope you can come up with plans on the move, we need to get our guys loaded up and mobile! Take who you'll think you need."

"Who are the Skulls?" Jane asked, looking confused. "Another rebel cell, a lot of it ex-cons. They're lead by a damn powerful biotic who apparently escaped from some Enclave experiments, but they're damn reckless. We need to get in there and make our move now if we don't want a couple hundreds rebels dead, and while they can be a pain in the ass, we could use them alive right now."

Jane nodded sternly. "All Normandy crew to the garage," she said into her COM unit. "All Normandy crew to the garage. We're moving out."

XXXXX

Author's Note: For once I'm completely at a lost with what to put here. Oh except one thing, one person requested that I write up a list to make it more easier for him to remember the characters. That'll be posted shortly after this...oh yes.


	48. Character List

Ashes 48 (character list)

One person asked for a list of my OCs so that he could better keep up with my story. For awhile I kind of thought that I was failing as an author if I had to do that...but hey, now that I think about it, comics do it all the time and no one thinks less of them so...why not? This list will have each OC's name and a small description. I may have a couple of spoilers for people that aren't up to date with this story at the time that this list was posted, FYI. I'll also throw in some trivia for this list for some characters.

Paladin Adam Archibald Anderson: A Left Hand Commando that met the Shepard twins on Elysium, and one of the original crew of the Normandy. Was involved in an incident on Demeter where he killed several cultists, showing regret afterwards. He wears gold and white light infantry armor and uses a shotgun an recently two bayonets as weapons. He is a close quarters combat specialist. He has spent 5,000 credits on Nuka-Cola this year.

Corporal Sheryl Hayah: An Alaskan Tribal that met the Shepard twins on Elysium and one of the original crew of the Normandy. Is albino and was shunned for it in her home village, causing her to wear wrappings around her face at nearly all times. She wears full body arctic combat gear and uses a sniper rifle, a hunting knife and a customized automatic crossbow. She is a sniper and a scout. She has pricked her thumb 27 times while practicing her wood carving.

Sergeant Roger Andrews: A Moriean shock troop that joined the Normandy crew on Eden Prime. Is notably prone to swearing. He has received a cybernetic eye, leg and arm from injuries he has sustained on Earth and Noveria. He wears black and red armor with a skull painted on the helmet, and uses an assault rifle in combat. He also has a small plasma cannon built into his arm. Specializes in storm operations. Swore 1,738 times last month.

Sergeant Cornelia Lepidus: A Reman skirmisher that met the Shepard twins during the Coalition counter-attack agains the Batarians and one of the original crew of the Normandy. She wears steel armor with decorative red cloth, uses a short sword an SMG and biotics. On a daily basis, she eats (and burns) 4,000 calories.

Lieutenant Norman Hawkins: A Roughneck the joined the Normandy crew on New Carson when the ship was retrieving Dr. T'Soni. Little is known about him, but Spectre Garrus Vakarian suspect that he has ties to Hawkins Industries and the recent scandal it experienced. He wears a trench coat, tinted googles, bandana and a hat an dual wields pistols in combat, in addition to using biotics. His pistols have been heavily customized in order to allow him to dual wield them effectively, having cost him over 200,000 credits. It is unknown where he attained that sum.

Volker Hoffman: A member of the Wehrmacht that was abducted by the Exulans in the year 1945 and frozen in a cryo pod before being recovered by the Normandy crew and joining them when they stormed Mothership Zeta. He wears his Wehrmacht trench coat and uses a modified MP-40 and a prototype Theta energy pistol. He is not officially part of the Coalition military, making him a free agent. A year into his service in the Wehrmacht, he stole a copy of All Quiet on the Western Front, which had been banned.

Opifex: An Exulan that joined the Normandy crew after they raided Mothership Zeta. A part of the engineering cast, he has been providing technical support to the Normandy, suppling Volker with power cells for his Theta energy pistol and creating a teleporter for the Normandy crew to use. When no one is watching him, he watches Blasto 6.

Samantha "Sam" Gaulle: The head of the Eagle rebel cell on the Enclave homeworld Cor Mali. She uses a pair of chainsaw swords and stolen Enclave power armor that is capable of flight. The power cell that powers the armor's engines can only sustain flight for five minutes before it needs to be replaced.

The General: A Meta-Human and the leader of the mercenary group known as the Army, composed entirely of mutants. Is believed to be a former member of the Master's Army and a member of the Coalition military. Uses a heavy machine-gun in combat.

The Colonel: A Meta-Human and one of the General's top Lieutenants, also believed to have been a part of the Master's Army. Dual wields light machine-guns in combat.

The Major: A Meta-Human, a Nightkin and one of the General's top Lieutenants, also believed to have been part of the Master's Army. Uses a tactical cloak and a massive two handed sword in combat.

Major Albert Black: Leader of Sigma Squad of the Enclave Special Forces. Has cybernetic arms with internal machine-guns and was giving the task of tracking down Admiral 'Raan. Despite his failure to do so, his squad was placed directly under President Woods.

Lieutenant Warren Black: The brother of Albert Black and a member of Sigma Squad. Has cybernetic arms with internal blades, which he utilizes in close quarter combat. Is notable for speaking out against his superiors, which has earned him the hatred of many senior officers, but because of his experience in the Special Forces, he maintains his position.

Lieutenant Cadence Moore: One of the members of Sigma Squad. She has two cybernetic arms, and uses them to effetely wield a super sledge, to the point where she can easily dispatch two Nightkin with it.

General Moore: The mother of Cadence Moore and the commander of an Enclave Tiger tank division. Is a confirmed alcoholic.

Admiral Crawford: An Enclave Admiral that was given the task of attacking the joint Quarian/Coalition expedition and bringing back prisoners. Is implied to have a rivalry with General Moore.

President Woods: President of the Enclave, operates out of the White House and commands a certain amount of respect from the men under her command.

Dr. Goeth: A doctor employed by President Woods to carry out Enclave funded research operations. Is the one responsible for the Enclave Special Forces' cybernetic implants. Is also working with the research recovered from the Quarian/Coalition expedition. He has a golden tooth.

Colonel Edward White: The leader of Enclave Special Forces Omega Squad. Uses a heavy plasma cannon that is capable of destroying tanks in a single shot.

Lieutenant Grace Cain: One of the three sisters that serves in Omega Squad of the Enclave Special Forces. Uses a heavy shotgun and has a massive Deathclaw claw for an arm.

Lieutenant Rose Cain: One of the three sisters that serves in Omega Squad of the Enclave Special Forces. Dual wields assault rifles and has under mounted flamethrowers on her cybernetic arms.

Lieutenant Jessica Cain: One of the three sisters that serves in Omega Squad of the Enclave Special Forces. Uses a tactical cloak, dual wields SMGs and dual wields knives. Rarely speaks

Franklin Hurst: A Nomad that assisted in driving off Eclipse mercs while the Normandy was retrieving Dr. T'Soni. Calls his ship Sarah

Rig: A Mr. Gutsy and Hurst's partner. Also assisted in driving off Eclipse mercs along with his partner.


	49. The Psychotic Biotic

Chapter 49

The Psychotic Biotic

Author's Note: Well, I think it's time to get the ball rolling on the Enclave arc. I had a BRILLIANT idea today while starting to write this chapter, but I won't be able to get to it for awhile. I hope it makes the Enclave arc special for you.

XXXXX

"So what's the story with these Skulls?" John asked, looking at Sam as they tore through the countryside in a truck. Not the APCs that the Eagles had captured, but a simple, civilian truck, with many of them stuffed into the back. Among them were Ashley, Norman, Roger, Volker, Tali, Kal, Garrus, Charon and Sheryl. Another truck was right in front of theirs, that one filled with Eagles

"They're mostly just thugs with guns. A lot of them usually stuck around in back allies mugging people that looked at them funny. The only thing keeping them together is their leader, Jack."

"Jack?" Roger said, looking at Sam. "I thought I heard someone say that it was a she though. A girl with a guy's name? That's kinda fucked."

"And you say that I'm judgmental," Norman hissed.

"Yeah, I've only seen her a couple of times but Jack isn't exactly the kind of girl you pick up at a bar...well maybe if you're into getting all of your bones broken and getting an STD or two. Anyway, the rumors are that she escaped from the White House, apparently they were performing experiments in there to create biotic super soldiers. I didn't believe it at first, but then I saw Jack use her biotics and...really I can't think of a better explanation now. Her power is unbelievable, but she's freaking insane. She's got a nickname, the Psychotic Biotic, and she kinda lives up to the name."

"Sounds like a charmer," Sheryl said.

"Yeah, here's the thing. The rest of the rebels...well...to be perfectly honest we don't like to consider the Skulls friends, or even rebels. They're loose cannons. Jack just wants to destroy the Enclave and I heard that she practically bullies the rest of the Skulls into following her. The thing is, she doesn't give a crap who gets in her way. Out of all the rebel cells, hers has killed the most civilians, and the Enclave really like to keep pointing out the Skulls and saying that they emphasize that all rebels are just a punch of thugs. So yeah, they're not exactly helping us win popularity."

"Then how come we're going to help them?" Ashley asked.

"That's the thing. While they've killed more civilians than any other cell, they've also killed more Enclave personal than any other cell. Jack completely destroys anything that gets in her way and she's taken out some damn tough targets. So we've got to pick our poison, either support her and support her recklessness, or don't support her and lose our strongest ally." Sam sighed in frustration. "It's bullshit, but frankly she's better off alive to us. Anyway, if she attacks the Air Force base and can't take it, they'll triple security around it. Jack is strong but I'm not sure that this is something that she can do by herself. Besides, they're fighting for the same cause as we are, even if they are brutal about it we can't just leave them to die. So, let's just hit it at the same time as her and make sure that base gets burned to the ground."

"Sounds like a plan," John said, grinning widely.

"Hold on a second," Ashley said, "why is she attacking now? I thought this base was supposed to be a big deal, how come she hasn't done this before?"

Sam sighed. "You guys have only got here yesterday, but you're already royally stirring things up. You attacked a convoy transporting a captured Admiral and walked away from fighting Omega Squad alive."

"That was a fluke though," Garrus said, "if you hadn't shown up, if things had gone just a little differently-"

"I know I know," Sam said. "But rebels like to stay in touch through a couple of underground systems and word is spreading fast about that. The Enclave is doing everything that they can to keep this quiet, but a lot of people are hearing that Omega Squad, the best the Enclave has, couldn't even stop a dozen people. It's giving people hope...or in Jack's case, making her cocky. We might be able to use this to our advantage."

"What does that mean?" John asks.

"Well, I'm not exactly a physiologist," Sam said slowly, "but if you taking out that convoy was enough to give the Skulls enough confidence to attack the Jefferson Air Force base, then maybe if we form up with the Skulls and take it out, we might be able to start up a domino effect. The Enclave rules through fear, if we can show them that their Air Force bases can be destroyed and that their Special Forces can be defeated, it'll do wonders for the moral and support of the rebels."

"Sounds like it's a bit of a gamble," Sheryl remarked.

"Not gonna lie, it really is," Sam said. "Still, we're going to need to do this, any with your help I think we might be able to pull this off."

"This brings back memories, and not in a good way," Charon grumbled.

"What do you mean by that?" Sam asked, looking at him.

"There's kind of a reason that the Captain insisted that I come on this mission, and not just because I'm a Ranger. It's the same reason she called me down from the Normandy. I'm pretty much the only Ranger who has experience against the Enclave."

"Holy shit!" Sam shouted, pointing at Charon. "You're the Black Devil!"

Charon cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Uh...I beg your pardon?"

"The Black Devil! The Enclave broadcasts public propaganda films all day long, and one of their favorites was how they were driven out of the Capital Wasteland by the Brotherhood of Steel and the three that headed them. The Scourge of Humanity, the Yellow Demon, and the Black Devil! You people are practically legends to us."

"Huh," Charon said. "I'll be damned. They remember us. I'll have to tell Fawkes when we get back."

"He's with you too!?" Sam shouted. "Oh man, stop throwing these bombshells at me. You're going to give me a heart attack. Wait, how come you didn't come down with everyone else at first?"

"Fawkes gatling laser blew a fuse," Charon replied. "I was helping him fix it. He's back at your base right now because the Captain doesn't want to use all of her men in one strike."

"Fair enough," Sam said, "After all Jack is probably going to just bum rush the base and hope it works." She looked up, "so what exactly is the plan going to be for this?"

"The Normandy is scanning the base from orbit, it's going to be providing us with live information," John said, "Jane is going to be giving us orders as we attack."

"More used to giving orders than following them to be perfectly honest," Sam said, "but hey, you guys have handled yourselves pretty well so far, so just say jump and I'll say how high, when and where."

"You got it," John said, putting his finger to his COM unit. "All right Jane, we're ready whenever you are."

"All right," Jane said, speaking into the COM units of everyone in the truck. "Kasumi went on ahead to hit them from behind at the same time with her tactical cloak. She's armed with explosives and she's more or less going to be a monkey wrench in the gears. The Skulls are already making their move, and from the looks of it, they're taking heavy loses. They're attacking the base head on and they're pinned down by heavy machine-gun fire now. You're on a path to hit the base from the other side so that you can get the fire off of them."

"Sounds like a plan to me. What are we looking at in terms of enemy forces?" Sam asked.

"Couple dozen heavy infantry and a few tanks and vertibirds. Reinforcements will be there before too long, so hit them fast. You're coming up on the base now, you'll be there in a few seconds. The trucks should stop near a barracks that's near the perimeter, that will give you some cover and a good shot at the machine-guns that are keeping the Skulls pinned down. Once you take care of those, if things go well you should be able to pull off a pincer attack, but there's a chance things could go wrong, so stay on guard."

"Ok, let's do this!" John shouted as the truck screeched to a halt. "Garrus, Sheryl, you guys hang back and provide long range support, everyone else, with me!" The back door to the truck burst open and they burst out. Sure enough, like Jane had said a barracks was directly in front of them, the team sliding into cover behind it as the other truck burst open and a dozen Eagles jumped out, many of them carrying rocket launchers.

The Air Force base was sprawled out before them, dozens if not hundreds of fighter jets sprawled out in front of them, with many buildings, ranging from command outposts, to fueling stations, scattered around the runway. Several Enclave soldiers were perched on a nearby building, taking cover behind deployable metal barricades while two of them fired machine-guns at several dozen figures that were crouching behind a burning truck, pinned down. Many of the figures were already dead and a few more joined them when one of two Tiger tanks near the base the soldiers were firing from opened fire, sending five more of them flying as a Vertibird overhead swept down and made a strafing run, killing three of them.

"The Skulls are getting butchered out there!" Sam shouted, before glancing at John. "Should I have my men hit the tanks while you use that rifle of yours to take out the vertibird?" John nodded. Sam returned the nod turning to look at the Eagles, who were taking cover by the other end of the barracks. "MICHAEL!" she called out, "ROCKETS ON THE TANKS!"

A flurry of rockets flew from the rebels, smashing into the tanks and causing them to explode within seconds. As this happened, John aimed his pulse rifle at the flying vertibird, charing up a shot and opening fire. The pulse hit the VTOL and caused it to drop like a rock, hitting the ground and exploding with the force of a bomb. One of the gunners swore as both of them brought their turrets around to bear, but within a few seconds, Garrus and Sheryl put down both snipers with a couple of well placed head shots.

The remaining Enclave soldiers, numbering at around a couple dozen, spread out around various bits of cover that were strewn throughout the base, be they small buildings, metal crates or pieces of deployable cover. The surviving Skulls rose out of cover and opened fire at the Enclave forces. One of them, a woman practically naked from the waste up with the exception of what appeared to be a leather strap, biotically charged herself forward and biotically punched a soldier so hard that he was sent flying, shouting "I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

"Ha!" one of the Eagles shouted. "This is awesome! At this rate we'll have them routed in just a few-" before he could finish, a shot rang out through the air and his head exploded, his entire body falling down to the ground. At the same time, a shell flew through the air and landed in the middle of the surviving Skulls, minus the one that had charged forward.

Another shot rang out and another Eagle fell to the ground dead. "Get down!" Sam shouted to her men, stepping out of cover and firing a burst with the assault rifle she was carrying, her swords sheathed on her back. As she did, she saw three soldiers standing on top of one of the command outposts in the middle of the Enclave defenses. One of them was crouching and holding a sniper rifle, the other one holding a fatman, while the third had some sort of strange weapon.

The one in the middle shouted loudly, "Delta Squad! Spread out!" as he fired his weapon, a blue beam shooting through the air and hitting one of the Eagles. The rebel snap froze and almost instantly fell back, his body shattering into pieces as he hit the ground.

"Get some fire on those things!" John shouted as the Normandy team raised their weapons and returned fire at the Enclave Special Forces squad.

XXXXX

"That's your report?" Woods said, sitting behind her desk, looking at the four members of Omega Squad who were standing in front of her, their helmets off. One particularly noticeable aspect about all of them was that there seemed to be lights shining behind their eyes, lights that seemed to flash and adjust.

"It is Ma'am," Edward said. "I accept full responsibility for-"

"Enough of that," Woods said, waving her hand, "I can't blame you for not being prepared for something that none of us saw coming."

"Madam President," Rose said, "With all due respect, we should have gone after the Eagles, they've been a thorn in our side for long enough."

"We've got plenty of thorns in our side," Woods said, "we need to deal with them one at a time. We'll get to the Eagles when the time is right."

"I'm more worried about their leader," Rose said. "The one with the stolen armor. She seems awfully dangerous."

"Ah yes. Sam...something," Woods said, sounding as if she couldn't care less that she couldn't remember the woman's last name. "I suppose she could be a bit of a problem down the road."

"I want to fight her," Rose said, gritting her teeth in anger. "I should have done it yesterday, but she ran like a coward. I want to fight her. I want to kill her, burn her till she's just a charred skeleton."

"Well Lieutenant," Woods said, "I can't make any promises, but I'll keep an eye out for an opening. If I see anything, I give you authorization to fulfill your wish. That is all. Dismissed."

Rose looked rather surprised but muttered a quick thank you as the four of them turned and began to exist the office. "Colonel White, a moment please," Woods said. "I wish to speak with you alone."

The three sisters looked uncertainly at Edward, who gave a small smile. "I'll be right behind you," he said, "go on." The three of them hesitantly walked out, closing the door behind them. "Yes Madam President?" he asked, turning to face Woods.

"Was there anything you left out of your report the first time?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I...no Ma'am, everything was-"

"Colonel," Woods said sternly. "You're not fooling me. You were always a terrible lier."

"I...Lieutenant Black attempted to assault Grace," Edward said. "I stopped him before he could though. Grace then proceeded to attack Jessica, giving her a bloody lip."

"Ah. I see," Woods said. A moment of silence passed. "Do you wish for disciplinary action to be taken against Lieutenant Black?"

"No," Edward said, "I don't want word of this to get out. Even if you hush it up, rumors still might spread around that one of the legendary members of Omega Squad couldn't stand up for herself in a one on one fight, she needed her commander to protect her." Edward sounded very bitter. "It could make Grace a target. Jessica and Rose might get caught in the crossfire too."

"I understand," Woods said, "what do you plan to do about Grace attacking Jessica?"

"Jessica will never fight back against her, she'd only do it if I directly told her to, and if I did, she wouldn't hold back," Edward said. "The best I can do is talk to her and try to get her to calm down. Grace is only lashing out against her because of how frustrated she is." Edward paused, looking directly at Woods.

"I get the feeling there's something you want to talk to me about but you're deliberately holding back," Woods said. Edward nodded stiffly. "I hate it when you do that. Permission to speak freely granted."

"I...Madam President, you know as well as I do why they're acting this why."

Woods nodded. "I do. What of it?"

"I...is it really necessary? They listen to me. If you were to stop-"

"They listen to you because they view you as a protector," Woods said. "What I do is brutal and inhumane, I won't deny that, but it's the only thing keeping three of my four best soldiers in line. If I were to stop, they wouldn't need a protector anymore and they would turn on you, on me, on everyone. The three women you care so much about would more likely than not attack you and try to kill you."

"I...they wouldn't do that," Edward said uncertainly.

"Maybe Jessica wouldn't, but can you be so sure about Rose and Grace?" she asked. Another moment of silence passed. "Colonel...tell me something, and don't hold back on me. Do you think that I'm a monster?"

"I...what?"

"Do you think that I'm a monster?" Woods repeated simply.

"I...I'm not quite sure that I'm comfortable answering that question."

"Then let me rephrase it. The methods that I have recently been using, do you find them to be morally wrong? Answer. That's an order."

"I...I would be lying if I said I didn't have a problem with a couple of them," Edward said.

"Which ones?"

"What you do to the Cain sisters for starters-"

"That was Dr. Goeth's idea. Not mine."

"You still use them in the field. Speaking of Dr. Goeth...Ma'am, I'm one of the few people that's seen what goes on in the depths of that lab of his...what he's been doing to the Quarians that we've captured...to the other aliens that we've been taking prisoner. It's...it's simply inhumane."

"It's necessary," Woods said. "I don't deny that it's brutal, but it's what needs to be done. Everything that I do, everything that WE do is to serve a greater cause. The Coalition has proven itself to be an ineffective leader of Humanity, they're too soft. We're the only ones that are strong enough to make the tough calls that need to be made in order to ensure our security."

"Are...are we sure that that's necessary?" Edward asked.

Woods chucked. "You really have changed haven't you Colonel? When you first came here to get your implants, you were energetic and ready to jump into the fight at a moments notice. You always called yourself the biggest patriot that the Enclave had even seen...but it feels like all of your patriotism has dried up."

"Getting older has a way of mellowing someone out," Edward replied, "and over the years...well...I can't help but wonder if we're really doing the right thing."

"Colonel, thousands of people were killed in the First Contact War because Humanity broke laws that we didn't even know existed. Thousands more were killed when the Batarians attacked Elysium, because they were upset that we got there first. And now, tens of thousands of people are dead and the economy of an entire planet is crippled and won't recover for years after Saren's attack. Out of all of these incidents, the Coalition responded to ONE properly."

"The attack on the Batarians was well warranted, I'll admit I actually doubted our cause when I heard that the Coalition had had the guts to do that. That stopped when I learned what happened with Saren. A genocidal Turian commits countless war crimes, attacks us with an army of synthetics and a hyper advanced starship, kills countless, and what is the Coalition's response? Send a SINGLE SHIP into Council space, where Saren is most likely hiding, because the Council won't allow anything more."

"Well, that would cause problems that the Council wouldn't want and-"

"Then they should have thought of that BEFORE they gave Specter status to a damn maniac!" Woods shouted, slamming her fist on her desk. "The Council is a collective of incompetent fools! If our sources are accurate, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, Saren was planning to unleash an army of RACHNI on Humanity. Even after discovering that, the Council has not allowed more Coalition ships to search for Saren in their territory, and the Coalition has not tried to receive authorization. The Council is stubborn and the Coalition is soft, they're both threats to Humanity.

"How long until there is another massacre of Humans? In the brief time we've been in contact with the Council there have already been three, and I doubt that it'll be the end of it. And if there is another incident like there was with Saren and the Rachni, and we DON'T get there in time, it could be in the millions. The Council isn't even the only problem, the Army is running around unchecked, possibly with access to the secrets of FEV and energy weapons, Eclipse made an attack on a Coalition planet, and the Coalition let the Rachni go, let one of the most dangerous races in the galaxy roam freely...need I say more?"

"I...I suppose you have a point there," Edward said, unable to think of a good counter-argument. "Still, I can't help but feel that we could make the galaxy a safe place for humanity, without some of these extreme measures."

"I can understand that you care about the Cain sisters and know that I do what I do with a heavy heart. However, I am not going to, nor will I ever ask for forgiveness. I did what I had to do in a dangerous galaxy filled with many things that wish us harm, did what I have to do to protect Humanity. I may cause more deaths than there would have been had I not acted in the short term, but if we succeed, we will end up saving more lives in the long term."

"Do you plan to conquer the entire galaxy?" Edward asked. "You have never said...your plans are well...classified."

"Only if it is necessary," Woods replied. "Once we take control of Humanity, hopefully a display of strength will be enough to keep the Council at bay. If there is another incident like the First Contact War even after that, then our hands will be forced."

"I see," Edward said, not complaining any further. "What plans do you have for Omega Squad in the future?"

Woods lowering her head, sighing loudly. "The Eagles are starting to gain momentum. I've received word that Jefferson Air Force Base is under attack by the Skulls, and I've just received word that the Eagles have joined the fight, the Coalition is with them too."

"What!?" Edward shouted. "I'll take Omega Squad and go deal with them right-"

"Don't bother," Woods grunted, "the base is half an hour away from here, even by vertibird, they'll be gone by the time you get there. They're guerrilla fighters, they never stick around for long. Besides, Delta Squad is already stationed there, hopefully they'll be able to handle the situation. I also have an agent there that I was planning on using to fight the rebels, hopefully she'll be ready for them."

"Still, I want you on standby. I'm going to need you to be ready for when we have a chance to attack them. I'm working on a plan to force the rebels and the Coalition forces on the planet out into the open so that they can be crushed in a single offensive. My initial plan is...barbaric, even compared to what I've done. It would be effective, but I'd rather avoid doing it, for the moment it will be a last resort."

"We still don't know how the Coalition was able to get their forces onto the planet without us seeing them," Edward said. "We have strict restrictions on space travel, we should've seen if-"

"I know how," Woods said, "their prototype starship, the Normandy. It's equipped with a stealth drive. It makes perfect sense that they would use it."

"But...but if they used that then how come our informants didn't tell us that they were coming?"

"Simple. Apparently they're being kept out of the loop," Woods said grimly.

"Oh no," Edward said. "Have they been compromised?"

"Possibly. I've contacted them and told them about it, but I've also told them not to take any risks and to send back every last detail they can pick up from their observations, no matter how irrelevant it might be." She sighed again. "There's nothing you can do at the moment Colonel, so I suggest you talk to your men and get some rest. Be ready though, sooner or later our enemies will be exposed. When that time comes, I want you and Omega Squad to be there to make the finishing move. I may even fold you together with Sigma Squad to make sure the job gets done." Edward nodded.

XXXXX

"The fuck is that thing!?" Roger shouted as one of the members of Delta Squad fired his weapon, flash freezing another one of the Eagles and causing her to shatter as she hit the ground.

"Don't care!" Sam shouted, sounding genuinely angry. "He's dead!" Holstering assault rifle, she drew both of her chainsaw swords and activated her boosters, taking off into the air.

"You two give her some covering fire!" John shouting, looking at Sheryl and Garrus. The two of them raised their sniper rifles, but before they could fire a single shot, two bangs rang out and a shot hit each of them, only a intervening second between each one. Both of their shields collapsed and they were forced into cover behind the truck as another shot tore overhead, barely missing them.

"Shit!" one of the Eagles shouted, "everyone! Rockets now!" The rebels reloaded their rocket launchers and took aim at the building that Delta Squad was on, firing another volley of rockets. Seeing the incoming projectiles, the three operatives jumped off of the building long before they hit, the rockets hitting the building and harming no one as they exploded.

The leader landed firmly on the ground and aimed his weapon at the Eagles again. "No you don't!" He looked up and jumped back just in the nick of time. Sam came crashing down, driving her swords into the ground where he had been just a moment ago. Pulling her swords out of the ground, she swung him at the operative, forcing him to jump back, firing his weapon as he did. Sam narrowly sidestepped the blast, which shot past her and slammed into a nearby building, coating it with ice. She charged forward again, swinging both of her swords overhead and bringing them down, the operative jumping back to avoid them again.

"She's got him busy!" the same Eagle shouted. "Take care of the-oh fuck SCATTER!" The other two Delta Squad operatives had landed on other roofs, the one with the fatman reloading their weapon. The remaining Eagles, numbering at around ten, shot off in random directions. The operator with the fatman hesitated upon seeing that their targets were no long clustered together, but only for a second. Picking out the largest splinter group, numbering at around three, she lined up a shot and fired the fatman, the mini-nuke hitting the ground in the middle of them and sending the three of them flying limply through the air.

"Shit!" the Eagle shouted, reloading his rocket launcher and firing it at the operator, who merely jumped off of the building again and landed safely on another one. However, as the operator landed, another rocket flew forward and hit the ground where armored legs had just touched roof. Kal looked up from his rocket launcher, smiling slightly under his helmet as the operative was blasted off of the roof, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"Got you!" the Eagle shouted, starting to reload his weapon. As he did, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye and a look of dread filled his face. He dropped his rocket launcher and threw himself to the side, just as another bang filled the air. He roared in pain as a shot from the sniper tore through his arm, landing behind cover, where two other Eagles hastily grabbed him and pulled him behind the barracks.

"Get get that thing!" John shouted, raising his pulse rifle and firing it at the sniper. The sniper spotted it in the few seconds it took to charged and jumped off of the building, landing safely on top of another one as the pulse shot harmlessly into the air. Roger, Tali and Volker all raised their weapons and fired at the sniper, who simply jumped again right after landing, moving to another building.

"How are we supposed to hit these people!?" Volker shouted, firing his Theta Energy pistol at the sniper, missing as it continued to jump. Almost as if to answer his question, a massive blob of purple energy slammed into the sniper, forcing it off of the building. The sniper was thrown to the ground, grunting out in pain, the sniper rifle flying away. Looking up, the sniper saw Jack standing over him, clenching her fist with biotic energy pulsing around it. Letting out a roar, she punched down viciously, aiming at the operative's head. Many of the rebels looked away as she punched down, a loud crunching noise filling their ears.

"Get that one!" John shouted, pointing at the operative that had dropped the fatman, the Normandy team raising their weapons in unison as the operative attempted to get to its feet, staggering slightly. A hailstorm of bullets tore through the operative, causing it to fall to the ground dead.

Meanwhile, Sam charged again at the leader of Delta squad, swinging one of her swords again and this time managed to slice off the hand that was holding his weapon. Sparks shot from his stump of an arm, but he didn't hesitate, Reaching down, he swiftly drew a ripper that flared to life as he charged forward, stabbing at Sam with it.

Not expecting the sudden change in tactics, Sam didn't react in time, and her eyes widened in pain as the knife tore through her armor and her side. Gritting her teeth, she brought her head back and smacked the Delta Squad operative as hard as she could. The operative grunted as he staggered back. Sam let out a roar before he could recover and charged forward, stabbing at him with both of her swords. They tore through his armor wit ha loud screech and pierced his flesh, blood seeping out of the wounds that she had torn open.

"Sam! Get your ass to cover!" Roger shouted, "we've got company!"

Sam looked up and hastily dove behind a nearby building. Sure enough, somewhere around a hundred soldiers were running towards their position, apparently reinforcements from another section of the base. They were moving to reinforce the soldiers already fighting the rebels, who were still trading fire with the Normandy team, when all of a sudden the fighter jets began to explode. Blinding, powerful explosions tore through the base as the jets were reduced to rubble, as were many of the buildings, many of the soldiers caught in the blast.

Within seconds, a massive portion of the Air Force base had been reduced to rubble. "Fall back!" one of the Enclave soldiers shouted, the soldiers abandoning their positions and running for their lives. "Fall back!"

"The Hell is up with that?" Roger asked, looking at the retreating soldiers.

"Looks like those explosions wiped out a lot of their forces," Ashley said, "they couldn't keep fighting us like that."

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Kasumi said cheerfully, decloaking in the middle of their ranks. "Enjoy the fireworks?"

"That was you?" Tali said. "I didn't know you were an explosives expert."

"I wouldn't say that I am, but this was pretty easy, just a charge on every last fuel tank I could find while you guys kept the Enclave distracted. And this is an Air Force base, so there are a lot of fuel tanks you know."

"I can imagine," Tali said.

"John, I just saw the charges go off!" Jane shouted into the Normandy's COM units. "Regroup and get the Hell out of there!"

"Hold on!" he protested. "We could have wounded lying around. We need to check first."

"I...fine, but make it quick, reinforcements could be there soon."

"Right," he said, looking up. "Volker, Tali, go check the Skulls for survivors. I'm going to check the Eagles with Ash. Everyone else, hold your position in case there are still some soldiers hanging around."

"Right," Ashley said, as she and John started to head over to the Eagles, while Volker and Tali headed to the Skulls.

"Well, considering that we fought a Special Forces squad and not all of us are dead, I'd call this a win," the wounded Eagle joked as they neared.

"Yeah...but we lost a lot of good people today," Sam said, limping towards them as well, clutching the weapon that the Delta Squad leader had used in one hand, and clutching the side where she had been stabbed with the other.

"Yeah? Boo fucking hoo." They turned to see Jack approaching them, her arms folded across her chest. The first noticeable thing about her was that it was actually hard to forget that she was practically topless. Nearly every square inch of skin was coated with tattoos, to the point where it was hard to see what they were supposed to be. "I lost just about everyone I brought with me and you don't see me crying about it."

"I think that might have something to do with you being a cross between a psychotic bitch and a complete and utter dumbass," the wounded Eagle spat. "Unlike you, we actually give a shit about the people we fight with. So yeah, pardon us."

Jack flared with anger, biotic energy gathering around her fist as she pulled it back with the clear intention of punching the Eagle. Before she could do anything though, she felt a hand close around her arm, and turned around to see Sam glaring angrily at her. "My advice? Don't do that."

"You wanna fucking dance bitch!?" Jack snarled.

"If you want to go a couple of rounds with me just ask, but stay away from my men and I won't split your skull open."

Jack smirked. "I'd like to see you try," she said, forcefully pulling her arm out of Sam's grip as she started to walk towards the two trucks. "My ride got trashed so I'm hitchhiking with you. If you have a problem with that, go fuck yourselves."

"Maybe we should've just let the Enclave kill her," Sam muttered before looking down at the wounded Eagle. "Are you ok Michael?"

"Yeah," Michael said, propping himself up against the barracks. "Just got hit in the arm, nothing some medi-gel won't fix. You look like you could use some too," he said, notcining the wound in her side.

"I'll live, you take some first," she said, looking around. "How many people did we lose?"

"Around half a dozen," Michael said.

"Half the people we brought," Sam said bitterly. "Maybe this was a bad idea...wouldn't be the first time I made a bad call."

"Don't go and feel sorry for yourself," Michael said, smiling weakly. "We're not dead, that's an accomplishment. Jack brought about fifty of her guys and they're all dead. She almost got ten times as many guys as you killed."

"I guess," she said, sadly looking at the dead Eagles. There was no sign of movement among any of them, killing any hopes that they had had of them just being wounded. "I should have gone in first, drawn the fire away from them," she muttered to herself.

"What?" Michael said, looking up.

"Nothing," she said, turning to look at John. "We should get out of here."

"Yeah," he said, turning to look at Volker and Tali, who were now standing in the middle of the dead Skulls. "Any survivors?!"

"Doesn't look like it!" Tali called back.

"Yeah, Volker said, looking down at the corpses. "They're all dead...all dead," he whispered. He started breathing heavily as he closed his eyes for a second. What was wrong with him? Why was it so hard to breathe? As he opened his eyes, what he saw made his stomach drop. He was no longer standing in the ruins of the base, he was standing in the middle of a bombed out city, hundreds of dead soldiers all around him, the dull flash of artillery shells visible in the distance. "I've...been here before," he whispered.

"Volker?" Tali's voice said. He closed his eyes and opened them again. He was back at the Air Force base. "Are you ok?" he glanced to his side and saw the concerned Quarian looking at him.

"I...yeah," he said unconvincingly.

Tali continued to stare at him. "Well...we need to go."

"Right," he said softly, the two of them turning and beginning to head to the trucks.

"Wait!" The two of them turned and saw a woman in ragged clothes running towards them, a pair of manacles around her arm. "Please...," she said weakly, "they were keeping me prisoner. Please...take me," she said weakly. She barely reached them before she fainted on the spot, Volker and Tali barely catching her in time.

"A prisoner?" John asked, looking at the two. They nodded. "Well, we can't just leave her here, get her on the truck. We'll take her back to the base."

XXXXX

Author's Note: I'd like to give a shout out to my AWESOME fan neko-hime-cfi, who drew up some amazing concept art for my OCs. Check her out on Photobucket, the same name, praise her awesome work. It's a sketch and there are a couple of things she didn't get perfect and there were a couple of re writes of her trying to get Roger's helmet right (pretty sure she wants to kill me for that) but I'd still give the art a solid A-. Also, a little fan competition. I want everyone to come up with a reaction for Norman when he realizes that he know has two Rogers to deal with. I will put the best one in the next chapter.

EDIT: Also, one person in a review pointed out how a base like this would have thousands of soldiers guarding it and not only a couple hundred..."face desk" welp, I'm a fucking moron. This is why I like to focus on characters and not fighting, when I do get to the fighting I tend to fuck things up royally and screw reality into submission. I hope you still enjoy the chapter despite my lack of basic knowledge when it comes to the military and I hope you enjoy the story anyway. Next chapter I'm going to have to try and find a way to make what went on in this chapter make sense in some way. Until then, the explanation is that they only attacked part of the base (the parts with the jets) and focused on blowing up that section and then high tailed it out of there. There weren't more soldiers because Delta Squad was there and they didn't think they needed the extra guards.


	50. Given New Form

Chapter 50

Given New Form

Author's Note: Not a whole lot to say here, except one question, with the holidays around the corner, would you guys like to see another Christmas special from me? This time it would be a get together of all three of my main crossovers. Comment in your reviews.

XXXXX

"Is this really necessary?" the woman said. She was sitting in the back of the Eagle's truck, as Norman throughly scanned her with his omni-tool.

"I'm sorry, but we can't take the chance of you being an Enclave spy," Sam said, looking up from where she sat as Charon applied medi-gel to her wounds. "I agree, but he insisted. You find anything?"

"No omni-tool, no recording devices, no trackers," he said, continuing to wave his omni-tool, "also, I see a lot of bruises, some burns from the explosions, and unless I'm mistaken more than a few welts. It looks like she's been interrogated." There was a rather sour and hesitant tone to his voice.

"Then can you please take these off?" the woman asked, holding out her still shackled hands.

"Do you need your hands free for anything?" Norman asked.

"Well no but-"

"Well, there's your answer," Norman said gruffly.

"Please!" the woman pleaded. "They've been keeping me in there for months! They rarely fed me. They beat me still I couldn't even see straight, can't you please just take these shackles off?"

Norman blinked. He glared at her. "You don't look look particularly malnourished. Why were you being held?"

"I...I don't know," the woman said, "they were keeping me there because I spoke out against-"

"At an Air Force base?" Norman growled, "you're lying."

"No, I-" the woman was cut off as Norman drew one of his pistols and fired it into her shoulder. Instead of writing in pain and bleeding, there was a loud clang and sparks shot out of the arm. Norman blinked slightly as he saw the sparks, he had not been expecting that. The moment that that happened, the woman pulled the cuffs apart in one movement and charged forward, reaching out with her hands at Norman's throat. Drawing his other pistol, he leveled both of them at her and fired both of them at her.

The woman was forced back by the impact of the shots, slamming into the wall. Aiming both pistols at her, Norman began to pump ammo into her, not stopping until his weapons overheated. As they did, he lowered them. The woman was lying there motionless, not bleeding, but with sparks flying out of her chest. Pieces of metal were visible where she had been shot.

"What the fuck was that?" Roger said, getting to his feet and glaring at Norman.

"Me taking care of a problem," he responded coldly.

"How the fuck could you have known that she really was working for the Enclave? You could've shot an innocent woman right there!"

"Her story didn't add up, not a single part of it did. It was blatantly obvious and anyway with half of a brain could see all of the holes in her story, so I'm not exactly surprised that you didn't catch on." He glanced at Tali as he holstered his pistols. "It looks like it's really a synthetic, an infiltration model. You might want to take a closer look at it and see if I missed anything in my first scan." With that, he turned and began to walk away, heading towards Sam.

"Hey! Bitch!" Roger shouted, making to head after him, but was stopped by a three fingered hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Tali.

"Roger...I don't like what he did but...he was right," she said.

"I..." Roger said slowly, but Tali interrupted.

"Come on. I could use your help," she said, grabbing the woman and rolling her onto her front. "An artificial epidermis. I've heard theories about Geth using things like this, but I never thought that organics would build things like this?"

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"I mean this is pretty much the worst case scenario when it comes to synthetic rebellion," Tali said, feeling the back of the synthetic. "Synthetics that can blend into organic society and do the worst damage that they can from the inside. Infiltration agents. Cut the flesh here," she said, pointing to the small of her back. "Get all of it off."

"Really?" he asked, looking at her.

"Look I know, it's pretty damn disgusting, but I need to get to this thing's wiring. There might be tracking and listening devices that we missed."

"Oh fine," Roger said, reaching out with his hand and digging into the flesh with his sharpened fingers, cutting a square shaped hole in the flesh. To his relief, blood did not poor out as he pulled off a large strip of flesh. "Fuck this is nasty," he said, dropping the slab of flesh to the side, revealing a metal panel on the back. "I'm fine with killing people, but this dissecting shit is just freaking disgusting."

"Hold on a second," Tali said, sliding the panel open and reaching in, tinkering with the wires. "Yes...yes it looks like there was a transmitter in here. It looks damaged, Norman probably hit it when he shot this thing. Still, can't hurt to be safe," she said. Reaching in, she pulled out a small device. She tossed it to Roger, "Please dispose of this."

"Got it," he said, holding it in the palm of his cybernetic hand and closing it violently, shattering the device. "Gone."

"Ok. We may want to run more in depth scans on this thing later. This technology looks pretty advanced and it looks like some of the databanks were still intact."

"We;ll get around to that later," Sam said, getting to her feet. "We're not going back to the main base right now."

"Why not?" John asked, looking at Sam.

"I didn't want to say that in front of that woman just in case she turned out to be an Enclave spy, but I told the driver to not head back to the main base. We're heading to one of a few safe houses that we have in the area. They're nothing to write home about, but they're a good place to hide out for a couple of days. I want to stay there for a little while just to make sure that the Enclave doesn't come looking for us. Think of it as a cool down period to make sure that we weren't being tracked."

As she spoke, the truck slid to a stop. "Well, make yourself comfortable," she said as the back to the truck slid open. "We're going to be here for a little while," she said, slowly climbing out of the truck. The others hesitated before doing the same, leaving the body behind as a couple of Eagles remained behind as well, keeping an eye on it. The two trucks were parked inside the garage of a small metal building, everyone slowing climbing out of their trucks. "We don't have a lot of food in this place. Really it's just a makeshift base that we hang around when we need a place to stay. It's a shack that someone built out here for God knows why and abandoned awhile back. We just found it and moved in."

Sighing, she made her way into the main section of the building, a poorly lit room with a couple of chairs, sliding down into one of them and pulling her helmet off. John and Michael slowly walked into the room, closely followed by Volker and Tali. "Hey, what do you want us to do with that synthetic?" Tali asked, pointing back to the direction that the truck was in. "It still looks pretty intact."

"My guys will keep an eye on it," Sam said as the others sat down around her. "Somehow I don't think that it'll be a problem anymore." She shook her head. "Christ, I knew that the Enclave had some really advanced technology, but I didn't know that they could make stuff like that."

"You ok?" Tali asked.

"Yeah, I think so. I guess I'm just in shock," Sam said.

"Yeah," Michael said numbly, idly glancing down at the bandages around his arm. "It's just...sometimes you forget how big and powerful the Enclave can be in the heat of the moment. You do some damage and you think that you're beating them but then...they remind you that in the overall scheme of things you're only causing minor inconveniences."

"He's right," Sam said, "but that's not the only thing that bothers me. That machine...I was so sure that it was really a Human, I never thought for a second that it could be anything else. Your man...he shot it without thinking twice about it."

"Norman was out of line," John said, "I'll have a talk with him-"

"He probably saved our asses," Sam remarked. "We might have caught on eventually, but by the time we did it might've been too late. But he was so sure that he was right and that she was really an Enclave spy that he didn't hesitate. We...we're not always so confident."

"What do you mean by that?" Tali asked.

"We...well for lack of a better word, we're very cautious," Michael said. "The fact of the matter is that billions of people live on this planet, and a good deal of them don't support us or don't know what to think about us. We try and keep things clean by focusing all of our forces on military targets but...but..."

"But sometimes civilians get caught up in the crossfire," Sam said bitterly. "After we do everything in our power to make sure that the only people that die are either us or Enclave forces...non combatants still manage to get involved. It's depressing, innocent people dead because of our fuck ups."

"So...you're giving up?" John said.

"No!" Sam shouted, looking rather angry at the suggestion, "I just...sometimes I need to sit down and think about these things." She gave an exhausted sigh. "I'll be honest with you, sometimes I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing. There are only a couple hundred Eagles and we're fighting against a government that rules over billions. We never asked them if they were happy with the way things are and if they wanted things to stay the same or if they wanted us to try and overthrow the Enclave. We made that decision for them. People are dying because of our beliefs, beliefs they could have not shared."

"You're saying that you feel...selfish?" Volker asked.

"I'd be lying if I didn't ay that I felt the same way sometimes," Michael said. "I hate the Enclave but they're not exactly rounding up civilians and sending them off to death camps just because they feel like it. And as much as I don't like to admit it, this planet is our home. We don't want to abandon it, we want to change it for the better. The thing is that...well...good luck finding a place in this galaxy where everyone who lives in the same place agrees unanimously on how things should be run. Sometimes I feel like we're forcing our views on people and killing some of them in the process."

"Still, we knew that this was going to happen when we started fighting," Sam said, a bit of iron in her voice now. "It's hard to accomplish anything worthwhile without getting your hands dirty and going through life making sure that no one dies is just impossible. Really all we can do is make it so that as few innocent people die as possible and win this war. Afterwards, we get rid of the Enclave's twisted concept of America and give the people of this planet the America they deserve, one where freedom and equality are more than just pretty words. Once we do that, all we can do is beg for forgiveness and hope that we get it."

"You know," Volker said, a small smile playing across his face. "You two are all right for yankees."

Sam chuckled. "I'm not sure what you're trying to say there, but I'll take it as a compliment."

XXXXX

Woods looked down at her desk, a terminal brightly lit with a recording. She watched a man in a trench coat draw a pistol and aim it at the camera, opening fire several times before it died. She sighed as she clicked off of the recording. "That could have gone better," she grumbled, "I'm fortunate that that unit didn't have any vital intelligence on it...I need a smoke," she grumbled, reaching into her desk and pulling out a box of cigars, putting them on the desk in front of her.

Typing into her computer again, she accidentally punched in the number for a local news station. An image filled the screen of a man and a woman sitting in a room with comfortable leather arm chairs and a table between them. She recognized them. The local senator election was coming up, and these two were the representatives of the two main political parties on the planet.

"All I'm saying is that I think you're over exaggerating the problem," the woman said. "Our debt can be solved through simple tax increases."

"I'm saying that we've been spending so much money on things like healthcare that just taking the rich isn't going to make it go away," the man said. "Also I can't help but feel that a 95% tax rate is very...un-American."

"Un-American?" the woman said, raising her eyebrow, "what are you implying?"

"Ms. you've seen the papers. Is is true that your great grandfather was a mutant?"

"I don't see what that has to do with anything," she said.

"It's a very simple question Ms. you have nothing to fear if its just a rumor, but you have constantly been claiming that there are no mutations in your blood line. The American people deserve to know if that's the truth."

"What does it matter if I do?" she asked, "are people really going to change their vote based on who I'm related to? And what about you!?" she said, jabbing her finger forward. "There are rumors floating around that you've had an affair! WITH ANOTHER MAN! Doesn't that go against the hate you've been spewing from your mouth?"

"Well, even if I did, doesn't that mean that you are indeed implying that homosexuality is a sin?" the man asked.

"I never said that!" the woman said, "I'm merely saying that it's wrong for you to be doing it!"

"So it is wrong," the man said, folding his arms triumphantly. "Can't say I'm surprised that you've been lying, after all I have heard rumors that you want to make moves to have all of religion outlawed."

"I did no such thing!" the woman shouted, "in fact while those rumors are untrue, but if they did it is only because of a recent survey that shows that atheists have a higher average IQ than non-atheists and-"

"Um...excuse me?" a small man said meekly, appearing on screen. "This debate is supposed to be about whether we should have a powerful federal government or a powerful state government."

There was a long pause. "I'm surrounded by idiots," Woods grunted, turning off the channel. "Honestly, if some of these people got their way, we would have collapsed long ago." Pressing another button, an portrait of Edward appeared on her screen, with the captain "audio only" beneath it. "Colonel, what's your status?"

"We're in a vertbird patrolling the city, just like you ordered, so is Sigma Squad," he said, "we'll be ready to respond to any further rebel activity...are you sure that this is necessary? I doubt that the Eagles would be so bold as to launch a second attack right after what happened at the Jefferson base."

"I agree, but this isn't for them," Woods said, typing into her computer and pulling up a read out about the attack on the Jefferson base. "We lost over a hundred men and around half of the fighter jets at Jefferson were destroyed, and a good deal more damaged. We even lost Delta Squad. Word tends to spread fast around the rebels, I don't know how but they do it. Even then a large amount of explosives were used in the attack. People in the city will see the smoke and realize what happened. Just like the attack on the convoy gave the Skulls the backbone they needed to attack Jefferson in the first place, odds are this incident will give another rebel cell enough confidence to launch their own attack. I want Omega Squad and Sigma Squad there when that happens and I want them to crush the rebels, we need to establish to our supporters that we are still in control and that rebels cannot strike wherever they please."

"I read the report on the attack, is it true that apart from their leads the Skulls suffered total annihilation?"

"The one piece of good news to come out of this whole situation," Woods said. "Yes, the forces that arrived after the Eagles and Coalition had retreated examined the bodies and no known Skulls were missing apart from their infamous leader. We can put that cell down as defunct, in fact I am probably going to have to do a press conference about that tomorrow to get morale up. I'll pull some files on the Skulls that were killed and tell the people that those monsters are finally dead. I'm certain I remember reading that more than a few of them were rapists."

"Understood Ma'am. If you don't mind me asking, what's the status on our plan for dealing with the Coalition, they are on their way here after all."

"I take it that you have told no one else about my plans?" Woods asked, reaching down to her box of cigars and taking one out, lighting it. "You are one of the few people permitted to know the details of our plan to deal with the Coalition. Not even General Moore has been permitted to know, her alcoholism makes her lips too loose after all."

"I haven't said a word. Not even to the other members of Omega Squad. Was the data that we got from the Quarian expedition what we needed?"

"Yes," Woods said, taking a drag on her cigar and letting out a puff. "Goeth is working with the data now and he says that the project is coming along wonderfully. He should be done in a matter of days. That data core we were able to take from the Geth is invaluable." She smirked slightly. "Saren, that fool. To think he sent something so valuable so close to our territory."

"Don't you think he could be laying a trap for us?" Edward asked.

"I doubt it, this would be a particularly risky and stupid plan, but just in case Goeth is only studying the data core and basing the project off of what he finds. Also, Admiral Crawford's ships have reported in. They crossed the Veil and attacked the nearest Geth outpost that they could find and completely annihilated it."

"So far everything is going well," Edward said. "I hope this works Madam President, there's a large risk here."

Woods smirked grimly. "We've been taking risks ever since we decided to settle all of the way out here and continue the dream of the Enclave. No one ever achieved their goal without a little bit of suffering and chance. This is ours."

"I understand Madam President I-" Edward was cut off as another window popped up on Woods' terminal, this one flashing brightly and blaring. "What is it?" he asked.

"An emergency report," Woods said, hastily opening the file. "Oh God," she whispered. "There have been explosions reported in downtown New Washington D.C.. Rebels are fighting the military police in the middle of the street! They're attacking everything they can see!"

"How far away are they?" Edward asked.

"No more than five minutes from your current position," Woods said. "Contact Sigma Squad's vertibird and have them follow you to that location. Eliminate the rebels before anymore military police and civilians die."

"Understood," Edward said, the window containing his portrait closing.

Woods sighed, leaning back in her hair and taking another drag on her cigar. "I think I understand why Moore drinks," she murmured.

As she spoke, another portrait with the caption "audio only". Goeth's portrait. "I take it that you got that report about the attacks?" he said.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Well," Goeth said, his voice rather slow and teasing, "from what I can see it looks rather bad. We've loosing a lot of people down there. I would think that you would need a response force that's capable of taking care of them."

"I've already sent Omega Squad and Sigma Squad to take care of them," Woods replied coldly, taking another puff on her cigar.

"Ah, Omega Squad. My finest work," Goeth said admiringly. "I suppose Sigma Squad is rather decent too, even though I wasn't able to give them very detailed augmentations, only their arms."

"Omega Squad's augmentations are effective I won't deny that, but no one else has survived receiving augmentation that heavy!" Woods growled, "the fact that they were able to do it and still retain their sanity and their lives is nothing short of a miracle!"

"Ah speaking of which, that is what I wanted to talk to you about," Goeth said. "If you wanted me too...I could always unleash the Horde on these rebels. They would be crushed within seconds and I could always-"

"NO!" Woods shouted, slamming her hand on her desk as she stood up, sounding furious. "Absolutely not! I will not authorize the use of those THINGS on a civilian population. Keep your pets down in the sub levels where they belong or I will send every soldier that I can spare to put them down!"

"Ahhhhh," Goeth sighed, "now wouldn't that be interesting? How many soldiers would it take to overwhelm the Horde. I'm curious."

"Goeth!" Woods growled, "don't test me. Get back to work on the project!"

"You really can be boring sometimes, always so uptight? We have so much advanced weaponry and soldiers here and you refuse to let me use them. Why? Because it conflicts with your morals?" There was a pause, and Woods could tell that Goeth was smiling. "Well, that can't be it. You saw what I did to the Cain sisters and you still gave me authorization to field them. It's hard for someone to do that to claim that you have morals, but then again I suppose as the leader of the Enclave that would just be the tip of the iceberg with you."

"Goeth," Woods hissed, her voice dangerously low. "You're trying my patience. Get back to work."

"Ah yes, very well," Goeth said. "Also I managed to get some results with the Quarians that you gave me. Come down if you want to see what they look like n-" Goeth was cut off mid-sentence as Woods pressed a button on her terminal.

"Why!?" she hissed, clutching her head in both of her hands. "Why do I let that...that THING live?" As she fumed in anger, a small voice in the back of her head answered her. "Because he gets results. Because he makes you stronger. Because you NEED him." Her hands tightened into fists. As she did, she heard a small snapping noise. Glancing to the side, she saw that she had snapped her cigar in half, coating her hand with tobacco.

"Oh, damn it," she whispered, throwing the cigar into a nearby waste basket and picking up a cloth on her table, using it to wipe her hand clean. She sighed as she took another cigar out of her case and lit it, sticking it in between her lips. She sat there silently for a moment, taking another puff. After a moment, she pressed a button on her terminal, causing General Moore's portrait to appear. "Moore? Are you there?"

"Yes Madam President, how can I help you?" Moore replied. She sounded exhausted, but her words were coherent. She was sober, if hung over.

"I trust that you heard about the attack downtown? I want you to take your tanks and form a perimeter around the area. I want these rebels crushed, open fire on any of them that try to make a run for it. Use your machine-gun emplacements and infantry support, I want to minimize civilian causalities and collateral damage."

"Understood," Moore said, her portrait disappearing. Woods grimaced as she took a puff on her cigar. She had to get this rebellion under control and she had to do it soon.

XXXXX

"Move!" Edward shouted as the vertibird that he and the rest of Omega Squad was in landed, the back door opening and the four of them running out, weapons at the ready. They were on the rooftop of a building in the middle of the downtown city. Fires were burning down in the streets below as civilians ran screaming for safety, not even stopping to look where they were going.

Throughout most of the streets, men and woman in ragged clothing were firing guns, lighting and throwing Molotov cocktails, and even overturning nearby benches and stands. To the untrained eye, all of them would be rebels, but to Omega Squad, they knew that only a fraction of the rioters were actually rebels, the rest of them were simply civilians that had been stirred up into a frenzy. At the far end of the street, a group of military policemen in riot gear had long since given up on non-lethal methods and were now aiming pistols, SMGs and shotguns at the rebels, opening fire on them, but the rioters were returning fire and already many of the military police had been killed.

"Rules of engagement?" Edward glanced to the side and saw that Sigma Squad was approaching them, their own weapons at the ready, Albert being the one that had spoken to him.

"Minimize civilian casualties," Edward said. "Neutralize all hostile forces and do it as quickly and cleanly as possible! Move!" The seven Special Forces operatives jumped off of the top of the building, landing in the middle of the riot. Around a dozen of the rebels spotted them and brought their guns to bare. The operatives sprang into action, their weapons blazing. Within seconds, the majority of the rebels that had aimed at them had been gunned down.

"Spread out!" Edward shouted, "we can afford to take these people on by ourselves!" The two squads splintered, all seven of them heading off in different directions as the riot continued to rage. One man lit another cocktail and was about to throw it when Warren charged him, slicing his throat in one fluid strike.

"Enough of that!" he shouted, grabbing the cocktail as it fell and snuffing out the flame with his metal hand before dropping it, the bottle hitting the ground and shattering harmlessly.

"Come on!" Rose shouted, charging directly into the thickest pocket of rebels. "Show me what you can do!" They spotted her and six of them brought their guns to bear, opening fire on her. The bullets hit her armor, weakening her shields as she drew both of her assault rifles and opened fire hitting two of them in the chest. The unarmored rebels went down instantly.

"Is this all!?" she shouted, firing again and causing two more to die as they continued to fire helplessly on her. It was at this point that she realized that these particular rioters were using pitifully weak guns that even bankrupt mercenaries would be embarrassed to be caught with. She would have to stand still in order for them to whittle down her shields. "PATHETIC!" she shouted, raising both of her arms and sending jets of flame out, engulfing the remaining two rioters, who fell to the ground, crying in agony.

"Bitch!" a man shouted, aiming his shotgun at Rose. Before he could fire through, a massive gash tore itself open in his throat, blood gushing out. The phantom shape of a knife soaked in blood spun through the air, slitting the throat of another nearby rioter. Another one appeared as a women with a SMG's throat split open, falling dead to the ground as the twin blades continued to dance through the air.

Cadence swung her hammer, sending a woman flying into a nearby building, drawing an SMG with her other arm and gunning down a nearby rebel. "Fuck you!" another rioter shouted, lighting another cocktail starting to throw it. Spinning on the spot, she fired her SMG again and killed the rioter, the cocktail flying from his hand and off into the mob, exploding out of sight.

"Fuck...oh FUCK!" one man said, dropping his rifle and running as fast as he could in the other direction. As he did, a loud bang rang out and he cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, his right leg bleeding violently.

"No...no, you're not going anywhere," Grace said her voice low and sadistic as she walked forwards him, her shotgun in one hand and her claw digging through the ground, leaving a trail behind. "You honestly thought that picking a fight with us was a good idea?" She smirked under her helmet as she raised one of her claws and stuck it through his chest, taking great care to avoid his vital organs.

"SOMEONE HELP!" the man shouted, looking around wildly.

"I don't think that's going to happen," Grace said, poking him through the chest with another one of her claws. Sure enough, the rioters and rebels were starting to scatter, running for their lives as they saw the Special Forces squads mow down their comrades by the dozens. "You really were pretty damn stupid to think that you could pull this off," she said, twisting her claws and causing the main to writhe in pain. "You were the one that started a fight you couldn't finish."

"Please," the man begged, looking as if he was about to start crying.

"Oh no, none of that right-" Grace was interrupted as a shot rang out and a massive hole appeared in the man's head. Livid, she looked around to see Cadence standing nearby, holding an SMG in her hand. "I wasn't done with him yet!" Grace growled angrily, pulling her claw out and getting to her feet.

"You are now," Cadence snapped, holstering her SMG.

"God, they're running already?" Rose said, approaching the other two and watching as the rebels dispersed and ran into alleyways or simply ran down the street. As they did, a tank rolled into place at the end of the street, the machine-gun emplacement on it opening fire on the retreating forces. Within ten seconds, they were all dead.

"Pathetic," Rose said "they didn't even put up a fight. I can't believe these people fight on the same side as the Eagles." She looked at Cadence. "Did you hear what they did? They attacked Jefferson Air Force base. Blew up half of the fighters there, they took out Delta Squad! Those are real soldiers. Maybe if we're lucky we'll actually get to fight them." As she spoke, she spotted the body of the nearby rebel and the holes in his chest. "Oh God. Again with this?"

"This has happened before?" Cadence asked, looking at Grace. "You're a soldier! Show some dignity!"

"Don't tell me what to do," Grace growled, flashing her blood-stained claws at Cadence. Something that Cadence noticing was that the way she flexed her claws mainly focused on showing them off and didn't seem to be practical if she actually wanted to use them. She raised an eyebrow under her helmet. Grace was only trying to intimidate her, she had no intention of actually striking her. But why not?

"I think we got all of them," Albert said, his machine-guns withdrawing back into his hand as the two squads slowly gathered together.

"For the most part," Edward said, looking around. Things looked bad, the signs of battle were very evident in the street. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of bodies littered the ground. Not all of them were holding weapons. Several cars had been overturned and were now burning. Several buildings had had holes blown in the front of them and more than a few had shattered windows with limp bodies hanging out of them. "Sigma, fall in with General Moore and help her take out any stragglers. We'll regroup with the riot police and fan out to search for surviving civilians." The three of them nodded as they headed back towards the tank that had moved into position.

"You three ok?!" General Moore slid a hatch open on the top of the tank and poked her head out. She looked awful, her eyes were bloodshot, there were lines under her eyes, and her hair was a mess. She was also idly rubbing her head, as if she had a headache.

"Yeah, we're fine," Albert said. "We're supposed to help you take out any stragglers."

"Don't worry about that," she said, looking around. "They were pretty heavily devastated. The few that are left split up and spread out, running in just about every direction. I have perimeter set up, if they run towards any of my tanks, they'll get gunned down within ten seconds." She sounded rather depressed as she talked.

"Are you ok?" Cadence asked, looking at her mother.

"No...no Cadence I'm really not," she said bitterly. "I've spent the entire day patrolling through the city along with my entire tank division. People have been running scared from us all day, and now we've actually been ordered to fight rebels in the middle of the city? There's a couple hundred people dead right now! And how many of them were actually rebels? There was an entire mob of civilians here, plenty of them running and trying to get away from the fighting. How many of them got hit when we were just trying to take down the rebels?"

"General, I can understand your concern, but we did what we had to," Albert said quietly, "but the rebels forced our hand. We didn't chose to fight in the middle of the city. We had to respond, if we hadn't they would have done far more damage than this fight would've caused. The body count would've easily have been in the thousands."

"Well, I'm glad that you can just shake it off," Moore grumbled. "Not all of us can just shake off killing a couple dozen innocent civilians by accident." Cadence didn't say anything. She couldn't help but remember that when she had killed one of the rebels a Molotov cocktail had gone flying off into the crowd. What if it had hurt or even killed someone?

"There's not a whole lot else to do here," Warren said, looking around. "These people don't really like us and they decided that the best way to do it would be to start blowing things up in the middle of the city. It's their fault, not ours."

"I would be a little pissed too if a couple of tanks were patrolling the streets on a regular basis." She leaned forward a little. "Have you heard some of the policies that have been implemented recently? People aren't allowed to leave the city without registering themselves, taxes have gone up by another 5%, military police are constantly patrolling the streets, there's a curfew in effect. People really don't like us."

"So that makes it ok for them to throw explosives around and makes it bad for us to fight back?" Warren said.

"I can't help but feel that we could be doing a lot more to stop the rebels aside from just fighting them."

"Well lady, come up with another idea for dealing with them and we'll get on it," Warren said. "Because frankly there's an entire hoard of things out there that want humanity dead. We need to be ready for them, even if it makes things a little hard for the people around here."

"Look," Cadence said, causing everyone to look at her. "Now is NOT the time to be getting into a debate about thing stuff." She glanced down at one of the nearby dead rebels. "What cells are these guys from?"

Albert looked down. "It looks like they were the the Warriors. They always liked talking about taking us head on. After this incident I'm not sure if they'll be able to get the man power to do it again." Albert paused for a second before looking at the rest of Sigma Squad. He looked like he was at a loss for words. "Look...just...just patrol the area and see if you can find any stragglers, ok?" Warren and Cadence nodded before heading off in different directions. Cadence had a foul taste in her mouth as she walked off.

XXXXX

Author's Note: I thought that this arc could use some humor of the pitch black variety. And what better dark humor than jabs against the current American political system that are as subtle as a sledge hammer to the face, because that IS how subtle the current political system is. I hope you enjoyed it and had a good laugh with me.

Also, one person mentioned how he hated Roger at first but now Roger is one of his favorite characters. A little something I would like to comment on. That is the power of a truly skilled writer. To take a character, make you hate him by the halfway point, and then make you love him by the end. Just my advice for the day.

P.S. Yeah in case you didn't notice, Goeth is pretty much the opposite of Rason.

P.S.S. Dark Souls 2 has been announced? SQUEE!


	51. Priorities

Chapter 51

Priorities

Author's Note: Well, I hope that this chapter dispels dislikes about Sam that one particular anonymous reviewer had. He said that he should be more like that female Turian from ME3, which I know nothing about because I haven't touched the game in months and I fucking refuse to give Bioware/EA money, but I think I get what he was talking about. Luckily for him, I've been having the same idea for Sam and I hope that this chapter pleases him.

XXXXX

A figured huddled, hands around knees, in a dark alley. It was raining, a complete and utter torrent, anything stepping outside for more than five seconds was completely soaked. Outside the alley was a body, The figure in the alley grippe d its knees even more tightly, pressing its face into them. It was crying, tears streaming down its face. "Why?" it whispered gently. "Why...why couldn't I save you?"

As the figured whispered gently, it heard the roar of an engine and looked around the corner of the alley. A single car was pulling up to the body, a man in a business suit, a woman in a dress and several bodyguards pilling out and into the streets, the man and the woman holding umbrellas. "What the fuck happened!?" the man shouted angrily, "you were just supposed to rough her up! How did you end up with a body?"

The bodyguard shifted uncomfortably. "We...she was pretty stubborn and...her brother came to try and help her and...he grabbed a gun so we shot back and...and..."

"Fuck!" the man swore looking around in anger. "If that stupid bitch had just done what she was told, none of this would've happened!" The figure in the alley got to its feet, its hands tightening into fists. It wanted nothing more than to leap out and kill everyone there, but it didn't, they had guns and it didn't. "Damn it!" the man shouted, "I didn't want this to happen!"

"You should have thought of that earlier," the figure whispered to itself.

"Sir, we need to get rid of the body now, before anyone sees it. After the scandal that you were in, the last thing you need is another incident."

"Darling, he's right. Besides, look on the bright side, we've got one less brat to feed," the woman said, not sounding particularly upset.

"Where's the other one!?" the man shouted. "We don't need testimonies leveled against us!"

"Once we take care of the body, there won't be any evidence left to incriminate you," the bodyguard said. "It would just be a child throwing a tantrum."

"Well...good," the man said gruffly. "Just get the damn thing in the trunk, now!"

The figure watched silently and helplessly as the body was stuffed into the car before it drove off. The figure slowly got to its feet, looked up at the sky and let out a soft mumble, tears still streaming down its face. "I can't stay here anymore. I...I failed. "Dad...why did you do this to me?"

"Hey!"

Norman's eyes snapped open as he straightened out in his seat in the back of the truck. Sheryl was staring at him from where she sat. "Hey are you ok? You were thrashing around in your sleep and muttering about something.

"I...yeah," Norman mumbled. "I'm fine." Absentmindedly, he reached up and pulled the hat off of his head, looking at it. 'You always loved this damn hat,' he thought to himself. He blinked, feeling the faintest trace of tears behind his eyes. He was glad his tinted goggles hid them.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Sheryl asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, I'm just a little groggy," Norman lied, putting his hat back on his head. "Are we almost at the Eagle base?" The Normandy team and the Eagles had spent twelve hours at the safe house, and they had been twelve uneventful hours. After they were sure that the Enclave wasn't following or tracking them, they had started to head back to the main Eagle base.

"We're just arriving now," Sheryl said. Sure enough, the truck slid to a stop, the doors sliding open. "Are you sure that you're ok?" Sheryl said.

"You're pretty persistent," Norman said, getting to his feet. "Look I'm fine. It's nothing that I can't handle on my own. Quick question though," he said, looking at her. "How come you care about me? I would've thought that little incident before Noveria would've made it clear that you aren't that fond of me."

"I'm sorry about that," Sheryl said as she got to her feet as well. "I was just thinking, I was wrong about Roger, maybe I'm wrong about you too."

"Well...I'm not quite sure what to say about that," he said as everyone slowly got off of the trucks and milled about the garage. "On one hand I'm glad that you're giving me a second chance, on the other hand I'm not really sure Roger deserves one personally."

"What makes you say that?"

"So remind me exactly how your face got so fucked up?" Jack said, glancing at Roger as he pulled his helmet off.

"Well, one look at a bitch like you and anyone would want to carve their eyes out," Roger.

"Fuck you."

"No thanks, I don't want to catch something. A couple dozen somethings to be precise. Seriously, your cunt is probably a fucking petri dish of STDs."

Norman's teeth gritted in anger. "I have my reasons."

"I admit that he makes a pretty lousy first impression, but to be perfectly fair you don't make the best first impression either." She glanced at him. "Exactly why do you hate him so much?"

"Let's just say that I don't really have a fondness for thugs, and I have no reason to think that he's anything more than that based on how he conducts himself."

"That's pretty damn shallow of you," Sheryl said, a bit of edge to her voice. "You aren't even trying to get to know him. And it's particularly his fault too, he hasn't been trying to get to know you either, but one of you needs to make the first move, otherwise you're just spend the rest of your time on the Normandy growling at each other every time you get close to each other. So could you do me a favor and actually talk to him? The way you two treat each other is honestly starting to piss me off. You're both acting like children."

Norman chuckled. "You're blunt. I can respect that. I...I'll think about it," he said. He glanced down at Roger, his hands tightening into fists. 'People like him...people like THEM, need to be punished,' he thought. 'But...is he like him? He...he really hasn't been the same since Noveria, since he lost his leg. He hasn't been as angry Have I been wrong?' He shook his head. "Now isn't the time to think about this," he muttered. "Get back to me on this after we're done dealing with the Enclave."

Sheryl glared at him, but nodded sternly. "Fair enough."

"Welcome back," Jane said, walking forward towards the Normandy team. "Everything considered you all did very well."

"Heh, thanks sis," John said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sam!" The leader of the Eagles looked up as one of the rebels ran though the crowd. "We just got contacted by the Princes."

"The Princes? The rebel cell that managed to hijack a couple of Enclave tanks?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. They're impressed with what we did with the Jefferson Air Force base," the Eagle said. "They say that the want to work with us to make another strike like that."

"The Princes and the Eagles," Sam said, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "If the Normandy supports us we might be able to do some serious damage." She glanced at Jane. "You would be willing to do that right?"

"It depends on the circumstances," Jane said. "What are the details of the attack?"

"We don't know yet," the Eagle said. "We don't talk about stuff like that over the radio. We have designated drop off points where we leave datachips with the specific details. We've been in contact with the Princes before, they said that the drop off was the same place as before. The data is there already."

"We better get out there fast then," Michael said.

"Yeah," Sam said, reaching up and pulling off her armor, piece by piece. "I'll head out now. Curfew starts in a couple of hours and we can't afford to leave it out there overnight. The military police might find it when they start to patrol."

"Is it smart for you to go out there?" Jane asked, looked at Sam as she ripped off the last of her power armor and piled it up onto the side of the garage, leaving her chainsaw swords and the cryo gun next to it. "I mean, you're the leader of a force that just blew up a major base." She noticed the bandages that Sam was wearing over her torso from the ripper wound. "And you're wounded."

"I always wear a helmet in combat, the Enclave doesn't know my face. The rest of my men don't wear helmets and the Enclave has surveillance equipment everywhere. And your people don't know their way around the city." She looked up, smiling slightly. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I won't attract any attention to myself. I won't bring a gun."

"I didn't say you shouldn't bring a gun," Jane said. "You should be able to hide a pistol on you without too much trouble. Opening a locker in front of her, Sam pulled out a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants, pulling them on over her tank top and trunks.

"Can't take the chance, the Enclave has strict gun control laws, I'll be in deep shit if I get caught. I'll be back in a couple of hours. Make sure that our wounded get medical treatment," she said, waving her hand as she walked out of the room.

"How is she going to get out?" Jane asked, looking at Michael.

"There's a hidden tunnel that leads up top," he replied. "She'll head out to the city, grab the info we need and head back before curfew is in effect. It's pretty dark out now, so hopefully no one will notice her." He sighed as he looked down. "I hope that she just stays quiet, she knows that the last thing that she needs is to draw attention to ourselves. We can only fight the Enclave by hitting them where they're vulnerable and then running our asses off. If they find us here, we're finished. It doesn't help that we're attacking them far more often than usual."

"The Normandy will be willing to take you in," John offered.

"I would like to, but I'm not sure that we can," Jane said. "A ship like the Normandy is well stocked with plenty of food, after all we were prepared for long term, behind missions. That's why when we picked up half a dozen men between Eden Prime and now we were able to feed them without any problem. But there are hundreds of Eagles, I'm not sure how long we'll be able to feed them with what we've got."

"We've got a lot of supplies," Michael said. "Should we start moving them up to the Normandy in case things go bad.

Jane paused for a moment, thinking before replying. "I think that might be for the best, yes. Where do you keep your food and water? You should at the very less put enough on the Normandy to last for two weeks in case things go badly and we need to make a run for it back to friendly territory."

"Will things be bad enough for us to have to abandon the planet?" Michael asked.

"Probably not," Jane replied, "but I'd like to have a contingency plan all the same." She reached into her armor and pulled out the teleporter. "We can do it now if you like."

"Yeah, that might be a good idea," Michael said. "You four," he said, pointing to four nearby Eagles, "go with her and get the supplies onto the Normandy." The nodded and headed off in a different direction than Sam had gone, Jane following them. "Well...not a whole lot else to do other than wait for Sam to get back," he said.

XXXXX

Sam cautiously walked down the alleyway of a dark city, narrowing her eyes as she squeezed past a trash can. Funnily enough she couldn't help but enjoy the darkness of the city with nothing but the light of the signs on the buildings and the moons to light her way. There was something oddly soothing about it, coupled with the slight chill of the blowing wind.

The streets were already mostly deserted, despite curfew not starting for another hour. It was most likely because she was in the middle of a commercial district and taking the risk of being caught after hours just to do a little last minute shopping was nothing short of absurd, which was mainly why the rebels tended to leave their messages in places like this.

She narrowed her eyes as she jumped from one alley to another, slowly making her way deeper into the city, traveling along a path she had traversed more than once. "It shouldn't be too far from here," she muttered to herself, stepping over a piece of wood that was lying in the ground and moving forward.

"It should be around here somewhere," Sam muttered. The Princes were one of the most well known revolutionary cells, having made themselves legendary after successfully stealing a couple of Tiger Tanks. That had been six months again though, and ever since then they Princes hadn't been very active, only launching the occasional low level attack. She guessed that they were waiting for the tight time to put their new tanks to use, and now seemed to be the best time for them.

She stopped near the end of an alleyway, a dumpster near the end of it. Slipping her hand behind it, she pulled out a plastic bottle that seemed to be empty. Unscrewing the cap, she turned it upside down, the end facing her palm. A small chip fell out and landed in the palm of her hand. "Good," she muttered, tossing the bottle in the dumpster, "Mission accomplished. Now I just gotta get the Hell out of here before curfew." She pocketed the chip and turned and was about to make her way back the way she came when a voice reached her ears.

"You little shit!" Sam glanced over her shoulder and saw fove figures out of the corner of her eye, one of them a kid that couldn't be older than eighteen and two older men and two women who were encircling him. "We saw you spray painting those walls over there. Death to the rebels? Do you like being enslaved you little punk? The rebels are trying to HELP us you ungrateful little shit."

"Help us? They're selfish!" the kid shouted, backing away nonetheless, "they want to destroy everything that we have just because things aren't prefect! Do you have any idea how many people were killed in the riot earlier today? Good people that didn't want anything to do with you fucking people? What, you're not happy so they had to die?"

"I think this little punk needs a lesson in manners," the one of the women growled, punching her palm.

"Wow, you're a bunch of tough guys," Sam said before she could stop herself. The three adults turned to look at her, hatred gleaming in her eyes. Since she had their attention, she saw no reason to back down. "You need three other people backing you up to take care of one kid? Pretty pathetic."

"Fuck off lady," one of the thugs said, "this is none of your business. Or are you an Enclave loving slave like this little bitch right here?"

Sam laughed out loud. "Enclave lover? I fucking hate the Enclave."

"Well then," the thug said, "you should have no problem with what we're doing here. So either give us a hand, or fuck off." With that, he turned around to look at the kid again. "Now where were we?"

'What do I do?' Sam thought to herself. 'This people look like they're going to hurt him pretty badly, they might even kill him. I just want to beat the shit out of these people...but..." her hand slowly floated to the pocket that held the data chip that she was holding. 'I can't let anyone else get their hands on this and there are four of them. And if I start a fight with them, the police might get involved, and if THEY see it...the Enclave might be able to lure the Princes into a trap, and maybe even the Eagles and the Normandy's crew. I...I just can't-' her line of thought was cut off as one of the thugs stepped forward and punched the kid in the gut, causing him to double over in pain.

Despite her mind and common sense screaming at her not to, Sam charged forward, grabbing the shoulder of the man who had punched the kid and spinning him around, slamming her fist into his face with the other hand. The man was so caught off guard that he stumbled back before falling to the ground. Knowing that she had stirred up the hornet's nest, Sam spun on the spot and punched the nearest person that she could see, one of the women, who also was knocked off of her feet.

However, the few seconds of the element of surprise that she had had had worn off, and the two thugs that were still on their feet were now reacting to her. One of them dove in and tried to hit her in the face with a quick sucker punch, which she barely ducked in time, bringing her fist up and slamming it into his stomach as she did, causing him to double over in pain.

As she recovered, she felt something hard hit the small of her back and forcing her forward into the side of a building. Reaching out with her hands, she caught herself as she fell and whipped around to see the last woman, throwing a punch at her. This time it managed to hit her in the chest, causing her to grunt in pain as she lifted up her foot and hit the other woman in the face with a roundhouse kick, sending her flying off of her feet.

However, by this point, the first two thugs that she had attacked had gotten back to their feet while the other two were beginning to recover. Before she could register what was going on, two fists smacked into her face, a ring on one of them splitting her lip and the combined force causing her to stagger back into a wall. One of the thugs took advantage of her vulnerable state and charged forward, slamming his fist into her gut.

Sam's mouth opened in a silent gasp as blinding pain tore through her. The thug had punched her directly in the ripper wound caused by the leader of Delta Squad. She could feel something wet on the inside of her hoodie, but she forced the pain to the back of her mind. Without thinking, she grabbed the thug by the head and brought her forehead slamming down onto his face. There was a loud crack as the man's nose shattered, but she didn't let up, bringing her knee up into the man's stomach before throwing a right hook directly at his now blood stained face, causing him to collapse in pain.

Sam panted heavily, her fists still raised as the remaining three thugs charged her, her newly open wound throbbing painfully. Gritting her teeth and fighting through the pain, she grabbed one of the thugs as he charged her by the hair and swung him around, smashing his head into a wall. The man collapsed to the ground, not moving.

The remaining two women roared in anger as they attacked Sam together. Sam could barely blink before two fists had slammed into her stomach again, pain violently tearing through her as one of the fists hit her opened. Nearly bitting her tongue as she fought back a scream, Sam through a roundhouse kick at one of the woman, managing to catch her in the throat. She fell, gagging and clutching her own throat as she struggled to breath.

Abandoning all composure, she simply charged at the last thug, tackling her and slamming her into the wall of a building. She collapsed to the ground like a sack of bricks.

Sam put her hands on her knees, panting heavily as she looked around. Two of the thugs were out cold, and the other two were writing on the ground in pain. "Are you ok?" the kid asked, looking at Sam.

"Fine," Sam lied clutching at her wound. "You gotta get out of here. Just run home or something, curfew will start soon."

"But I- what about them?" he asked, pointing at the thugs.

"Who cares about them!?" Sam snapped, causing the kid to flinch slightly. "Just get out of here before they come around or some of their friends show up." The kid took a step, hesitating slightly. "GO!" she shouted. The kid slowly backed away before turning around and breaking into a full out run.

Sam panted as she dropped into a sitting position, pulling up her shirt and looking down at her wound as she did. It was bleeding violently, blood seeping through bandages that had been applied to it. "Shit," she whispered, reaching into her back pocket and pulling out a tube of medi-gel, hastily applying it to her wound.

'This was a bad idea,' Sam thought, hastily applying the medi-gel to her wound in liberal amounts 'This was a really fucking stupid idea. I completely forgot all about this thing, and what would I have done if I had lost?' She looked down at her wound as she continue to apply medi-gel. The bleeding had stopped for the moment, but that could only be a temporary effect, she didn't know much about medicine.

Grunting, she got to her feet and looking around, wiping the blood off of her face from her bleeding lip. The thugs were all still either unconscious or immobile. Slowly, she turned around and began to make her way back towards the Eagle's base. She did not notice the camera on the wall, which was diligently moving back and forth, recording what went on in the streets.

XXXXX

"How are you holding up?" Volker asked, he and Tali sitting in a small room of the Eagle's base. There was a small metal crate in-between them and they were playing cards, along with both Ashley and Kal.

"I feel a lot better to be honest," Tali said cheerfully. "Now that I know that my father is all right, everything just feels so much better." Her tone darkened a little. "Still, we can't let our guard down just yet. We're right in the thick of things here."

"No kidding," Ashley said, discarding three cards from her hand and drawing two more. "When we were told that we were supposed to be sabotaging the Enclave, I didn't think that that meant we would be fighting a guerrilla war against a couple billions people with support a couple of weeks away. That sure as Hell wasn't in my job description."

"The feeling's mutual," Tali said. "I was hoping that this would be a touch and go rescue mission." She looked up at Ashley. "My father said that he wanted to try and rescue the other Quarians that the Enclave is holding captive, has the Captain changed her mind on that?"

"I'm afraid not," Ashley said. "She's pretty adamant that going in there would be suicide, and from what I heard Sam agrees with her. The White House is where they're keeping them and the place is a fortress. From what the Eagles have been telling me, we won't have a chance of sneaking in there, security couldn't be much tighter, and if we want to storm it we're going to need more than a couple hundred rebels with a few rocket launchers. I'm sorry Tali, but there's not a whole lot we can do right now. It's nothing short of a miracle that we were able to rescue your father, we really shouldn't push our luck."

"I know," Tali said, lowering her head slightly and sounding a little saddened. "I guess it's inevitable. They knew what they were getting themselves into when they went out on that mission, they knew that it wasn't risk free. Putting more lives on the line just to save them and make ourselves feel better...that'd be selfish. It's just how things go."

"Wait what?" Volker said, looking up. "What do you mean it's just the way things go? Those are people out there. I know that you can't do anything to help them right now but...are you telling me that if things like this happen then they just happen?"

"I'm not surprised you don't get it," Kal said, his voice not insulting, "I've been outside the Fleet more than a few times and things work a lot differently on the Fleet than off. Here's what you need to understand...it's Volker right?" Volker nodded. "Right. Here's what you need to understand. We have the biggest fleet in the galaxy, but it's literally all we have. We need to defend it, because if it goes, our entire race goes. So if some Migrant Marines die so that the Fleet stays safe, we're ok with that."

"That's...a pretty dark outlook," Volker said hesitantly.

"It is, but after what the Geth did to us it's necessary," Tali said. "Nicely put Kal."

"Ah, that wasn't anything special, it's pretty basic for any Quarian. I'm not some deep philosophical thinker, I'm just a soldier, I'm only good for shooting things."

"That's...an interesting way of looking at things," Volker said. "Are Quarians really that different from Humans?"

"Really, we're different from just about every race in the galaxy, with the possible exception being the Krogan," Tali explained. "We're kind of like them in a way with low population, bad public opinion and physical conditions that could easily kill our entire race. In some ways we're better off than them really, at least the Quarians are organized."

"The Krogan are the ones with the bad birth rate right?" Volker asked.

"Yup," Tali said. "The Council did that after they decided that taking over the galaxy sounded like a good idea and they reproduced so fast that they couldn't be beaten by conventional warfare. I'm really not qualified to talk about if that was right or wrong, I'm not exactly the type of person that studies the history of other races a lot. Still it's a lot like what we went through with the Geth nearly wiping us out."

"Well I suppose that I can see the connections," Volker said, "but wouldn't Humans kind of be like the Quarians and Krogan after the nuclear war? I mean we lost a lot of people there, right?"

"At first maybe, but not really anymore," Tali replied. "Humanity actually has a stable government and economy, not to mention a population in the billions. You're not one population drop away from total extinction."

"I guess that I can see your point there, but-" Volker began, but he was interrupted as the door swung open, Rael storming into the room, Legion right behind him.

"I've heard enough!" Rael shouted angrily. "You're lying to me!"

"Providing Creator 'Zorah with false information would prove to be ineffective an unnecessary," Legion replied. "What we told you was true."

"Father?" Tali said, looking up. "Is something wrong?"

"This...thing expects me to believe that after everything that happened, it's going to be sending ships to help us in the upcoming fight!" Rael said.

"What?" Tali said, looking at the Geth. "Wait, you never said anything about the Geth providing fleet support."

"We had yet to reach a conclusion on how much support to provide in the attack against the Enclave, with the Heretic Geth still active. However, recent events have caused us to come to a conclusion more quickly than expected and we will be willing to provide ships to the fleet that will attempt to take this planet."

"What happened?" Tali asked.

"Geth outposts on the brink of our territory was attacked," Legion replied. "Military targets were ignored and space stations containing Geth databanks were attacked before the Enclave ships retreated. Hundreds of thousands of Geth programs were not able to safely transmit themselves off in time. This instantly shifted all Geth into providing as much direct military support as possible."

"The Enclave killed hundreds of thousands of Geth?" Volker said, sounding horrified. "I...God I can't blame you for wanting to help."

"Wait, why the Hell would the Enclave do that?" Ashley asked. "I thought that they were trying to stay hidden?"

"The Enclave most likely know that their secrecy is no longer effective," Legion replied. "Coalition, Creator and Geth now know of their existence. It is possible that this attack was preemptive of an invasion, one in which they planned to use the technology stolen from the creator's to take control of the Geth. It is possible that the purpose of this raid was to soften our border defenses."

"So wait, the weapon that they're working on is ready?" Ashley asked.

"Unlikely. Even with their experience with synthetics, we calculate a .35% chance of the Enclave perfecting the Creator's technology with the time that they have. Significantly advanced technology would be required to complete it before Geth, Coalition and Creator ships arrive." He turned to face Rael. "As we were saying, we are willing to provide support. We have already contacted Admiral Marcus and the rest of the Creator Admirals and are formulating strategies."

"I don't think that this is a good idea," Rael growled. "The entire Quarian heavy fleet is going to be taking part in the attack on this planet. What happens if the Geth decide that this would be a good time to make sure that the Quarian people can never defend themselves again and destroy the heavy fleet while they're busy fighting the Enclave?"

"Geth have no desire for Creator destruction," Legion said simply, "we wish to understand the Creator's. We view peace with the Creator as desirable."

"Then how come you never attempted to contact us for the last three hundred years?" Rael asked.

"We believed that the Creator would respond with hostility to our continued existence. Creator 'Zorah's research into viral attacks on the Geth support our suspicions."

"Well, what were we supposed to think?" Rael asked. "We've spent the last three centuries trapped on our ships and forced to live as second class citizens in the galactic community, barely scrapping by, while you had all of our former territory to yourselves and you never once even hinted that you weren't hostile and wanted peace. Not to mention you decided not to do anything when those Heretic friends of yours decided to attack Eden Prime and let everyone continue to think that the Geth were nothing more then genocidal machines that wanted to wipe out all organic life, and that's assuming that you've been telling me the truth this whole time, which I find rather hard to believe. Exactly what were we supposed to think!?"

"We regret the unfortunate circumstances behind our return, but we saw no other alternative," Legion replied, "any other path would have led to conflict."

"I'm talking to the other Admirals about this," Rael growled, walking out of the room, "I won't have the majority of the Migrant Fleet's military forces be put at risk!" he shouted, slamming the door behind him.

"Well..." Ashley said slowly, "that could've gone better."

"We regret Creator 'Zorah's anger, but we understand it," Legion replied. "It is natural for him to be angry. However, his anger may prove to be counter-productive for all of us."

"He does have a point you know," Tali said, looking at Legion, her eyes narrowing slightly, "how do we know that you won't try and wipe out the heavy fleet when we're fighting the Enclave? You could order your ships to make a suicide run and it wouldn't be much of a lose for the Geth if they lost an entire fleet in the process. If we lost the heavy fleet on the other hand, the majority of the Migrant Fleet's defenses would be gone. We'd be helpless."

"Geth have no desire to endanger Creators," Legion replied. "We wish to work towards the common goal of defeating the Enclave. Attacking Creators during the offensive on the Enclave would only assist the Enclave and possibly permit them to be victorious. This would allow them to continue developing their virus, which would be a massive threat to Geth."

"It sounds like what he's saying makes sense Tali," Volker pointed out. "I think we can trust him."

"No, no we can't trust him," Tali said, turning to look at Volker. "It's a Geth. It operates completely on logic. If you think us sacrificing a few Marines here and there for the safety of the fleet is bad, it'll be even worse. People that die are just numbers to them."

"Geth avoid death when possible," Legion said.

"But you aren't above killing by the billions when the times calls for it right?" Tali asked angrily. "I seem to recall you killing the majority of my race three hundred years ago."

"You are correct, however Geth still believe in only killing when it is required."

"Then how come you decided to wipe out the entire civilian population of the Quarians and not just the military personal!?" Tali asked angrily. "You could've won that war without going that far!"

"Tali," Volker said, looking nervously between the Quarian and the Geth, "I know that you're angry about what happened, and you're not completely in the wrong about it, but it did happen a long time ago. No Quarians alive today can even remember what happened back then. Maybe you should let it go."

"Let it go?" Tali hissed, her voice dangerously low as she glared at Volker. "Volker, I can't let it go, and do you know why? Because right now, you're doing something that I can't without getting myself killed, breathing unfiltered air. I can't eat food that hasn't been broken down into tasteless sludge, I can't know what it really feels like to really touch something, I'll never feel the warmth of the sun on my face, I'll never be ever to show my face to anyone without killing myself, and do you know why? Because when the Geth drove us off of our homeworld, we were forced to stay on our ships to survive, and the sterile environments caused our already below average immune systems to weaken. Because of the Geth, we're trapped in these suits, scrapping out an existence among the stars and being treated as outcasts by the rest of the galaxy, so no Volker, I will NOT LET IT GO!"

Volker had to fight back the urge to wince. He had half expected Tali to disagree and had thought up a few counter arguments, but with her glaring at him with undiluted hatred, he was finding it hard to remember them. "Look," he said, choosing his words carefully. "I know that you're angry. I know what it feels like to have all the blame for a tragedy lumped unfairly on to you and have everyone hate you for events that were beyond your control. I've been there before."

"Oh really?" Tali said, folding her arms. "And please tell me, how does what happen to your country even compare to being nearly wiped out and barely surviving?"

Volker felt something growing in his chest. To his great surprise, it wasn't fear at Tali's harsh tone or sadness at her hatred. It was anger. His hands shook slightly as he grit his teeth a little. What did she know? She might have lived in discomfort at some points, but she had always been safe, her people were independent from the Council and could survive on their own. What did she know about pain?

"Ok!" Ashley shouted. "That's enough!" All eyes turned to look at her. "Look, we're supposed to be friends right? Or at the very least we're supposed to tolerate each other. We're deep in hostile territory, the last thing that we need to do is stress each other out when we might have to fight the Enclave again soon. We'll make mistakes and someone else could pay for it. So come on people, you're arguing about things that you can't change and you're getting way too worked up over it. Really, what are you accomplishing aside from pissing each other off? Give it a rest for Christ's sake."

Almost as soon as it had entered him, the anger within Volker vanished. He sat there for a second, letting out a deep breath. 'What was that?' he wondered. That experience had been sudden and unexpected. If he was going to be honest with himself, it had also been a little frightening.

"Yeah...yeah I suppose," Tali said, sounding like she was calming down a little. Her voice was still rather stiff though. "Volker look I...sorry I snapped at you. Stuff like this is a sensitive topic with me."

"I...right," Volker said. There was a heavy silence in the room as the four continued to play cards, Legion turning and walking off without a word.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Yeah, this chapter is mostly character moments. My bit of advice? When you have two characters get into an argument, make it so that they both have a point, it makes things more interesting, otherwise things get reduced to Mass Effect Parallel Realities level of argument complexity.

_I am an evil/stupid person who thinks an evil/stupid idea._

_I am Stupard, I am good even though I lose my temper in three seconds and kill people in very cruel ways and bash everyone who doesn't line up to suck my cock. You are wrong and I am right_

_You are a fool, you are stupid and I shall insult your choice of mate because everyone insults people who fuck Quarians. Right?_

_You are wrong_

_Wild accusation that makes little sense_

_Easily deflected_

_Roar_

_I kill you in a needlessly cruel manner. Now I shall run off and fuck Tali like the silly woman that she is. I'M THE GOOD GUY!_

Yeah, maybe I'm still a little bitter about that fic. Speaking of which I might make a deviantart account to put my review up on, in addition to do another review of an InHarmsWay fic, which I hear is equally awful.

P.S. This is kinda off topic, but I've never really been a fan of Superman...that being said, Man of Steel looks like it's going to be AWESOME! Is it just me or are we in the middle of a golden age of super hero movies?

P.S.S. I will host some Minecraft games the day after tomorrow at 5 PM EST, just us doing whatever. My gamertag for this is Tewkmac. Hope to see you then.

EDIT: WOOT! 300,000 words!


	52. Plans

Chapter 52

Plans

Author's Note: Sorry about the long time it took to write this, finals plus a little bit of writer's block played a factor. But hey, now I have a month long vacation, so I'll do what I can.

XXXXX

"I had a feeling that having two of these when I joined up with the Normandy was a good idea," Cornelia said as she sat in the depths of the Eagle's base, sliding a shiny new short sword into her sheath.

"What happened to your old one?" Michael asked, looking across from the main room that they were sitting in, his still bandaged arm in a sling.

"It got broken when we attacked the convey. That lady with the hand like a Deathclaw just snapped it like it was a twig. But that's why I have more than one. Sometimes swords break."

"Deathclaw lady...one of the Cain sisters," Michael said, his eyes widening. "You're lucky to still be alive."

"The Cain sisters?" Cornelia asked, "Oh right, you mean Omega Squad right? Some of them are sisters?"

"Three of them," Michael said, "they're a nasty bunch. You already met Grace from the sounds of it, she's the one with the Deathclaw gauntlet for an arm. She's a sadistic bitch, you do not want to let her catch you, trust me. I've seen some of the bodies of the rebels that thought that they could take her on," he shook his head, "I'd prefer to just get capped in the head. It'd be a lot less painful."

"What about the other two?" Cornelia asked, looking curious.

"Rose and Jessica. Rose is the one with a flamethrower in each arm. She's not as quite as batshit as her younger sister, with her you have the chance of a clean death, but there's still the chance that you might get incinerated. She's a little headstrong though, odds are she'll be the first one you fight Omega Squad, she's usually the head of the fray."

"But if you want to know which one of the sisters is the most deadly, then that's Jessica, the big sister. She cloaks herself and if damn good with knives. She'll kill you before you even knew that you were there. So on the plus side, she'll give you a quick painless death, but on the down side, good luck fighting back against her before she slits your throat. Don't know a thing about her aside from that, I've heard rumors that she's mute though."

"It sounds like everything you know about these people are based on rumors," Cornelia said.

"A good chunk of it is, I'll admit that," Michael said, "In my defense I can't really afford to get close enough to get to know them better."

"Fair enough. So who's the last member of Omega Squad?"

"Colonel Edward White. He's pretty well known publicly, he tends to make a lot of statements with President Woods. He's...ok I guess. Still, if I got the chance I wouldn't hesitate to kill him."

"What do you mean, he's ok?"

"Well, he doesn't really do anything that I can really get mad over, he just acts like a soldier. Still, he's a damn menace, he has a freaking plasma cannon that blows up tanks, and I've lost track of how many people that damn thing has killed. He may not be as bad as that psycho Grace, but frankly if I get the news that a bullet goes through his skull, I'm not going to be upset."

Cornelia didn't say anything, but thoughtfully looked down at her sword. As she did, a loud rattling noise emitted from a nearby doorway. "What was that?" she asked, looking at the door.

"Sam must be back," Michael said, getting to her feet. "It's kinda weird, she's usually a little faster than that." Getting to his feet, he pulled the door wide open. "Did you get the-what the Hell!?" Michael took a step back as Sam staggered in, clutching at her side, which was stained bright red. "What happened to you?"

"Son of a-we need to get some freaking medi-gel, Hell we need to have Chakwas look at her," Cornelia said, springing to her feet.

"It's not that bad," Sam protested.

"Bullshit," Michael swore.

"Captain, we need you in the main room now, bring the teleporter," Cornelia said, putting her hand to her ear. "Sam's been hurt we need to take her to Chakwas!"

"What?!" Jane shouted. "I...I'll be right there!"

"I don't need to go to a damn doctor," Sam protested.

"Do you have a doctor to take care of her?" Cornelia asked, looking at Michael.

"No, we don't," he replied.

"Then we're going to Chakwas," Cornelia remarked as the sound footsteps filled the hallway and Jane came running in, Legion right behind her.

"What happened?" Jane asked as she produced the teleporter and placed it on the ground. "Did you get ambushed by the Enclave?"

"You can ask questions when we get her looked at," Michael said as the four of them stepped onto the teleporter and vanished, reappearing in the engine room of the Normandy.

"Whoa, what happened?" Gabby said, looking at Sam and her wound.

"Is everything all right?" Opifex asked, looking up from his workbench.

"Talk later!" Jane said, the five of them hastily moving forward.

"Why is Legion with you?" Cornelia asked, looking at the synthetic. "I mean I have nothing against him, but why is he here?" As she spoke, the five of them piled into the elevator.

"I was talking with him about the nature of the support that the Geth were going to be providing," Jane said as the elevator started to rise. "Then this happened. How did you even get hurt?"

"I...I got into a fight," Sam grumbled. "Some thugs were roughing up a kid, I couldn't just-"

"Are you crazy!? Jane shouted, "you were out getting vital intelligence and you decided to stop and get involved in a street brawl? What were you thinking?"

"I get the idea," Sam grumbled, "I know what I did. I really don't need you lecturing me." As she spoke, the elevator ground to a halt and the door slid open.

"No I think you do." Jane said as they slowly piled out, heading to the medical bay. "I'm going to be depending on you and your men for the next few weeks, a screw up that you could make might get some of mine out people killed. You might have only gotten yourself nearly killed right now, but when we're in the middle of this attack we have planned with the Princes, if you make another decision that knowingly puts people at risk, how many people are you going to get killed?!"

"Ok, that's enough!" Michael said, as they pulled her into the medical bay, "Sam's been leading us for years, she's never gotten any of us killed out of stupidity, so drop it."

"I don't think that you get it," Jane said, glaring at Michael as they laid Sam down on a bed, "she might be comfortable with leading her friends, but she doesn't know the first freaking thing about me or my men. How do I know that a call that she makes won't get Cornelia here killed? Or Roger? Or Adam? Or Ashley?"

"I didn't get anyone killed, and I didn't get anyone nearly killed beside myself," Sam growled as Chakwas hastily crossed the room and began to inspect the wound. "I made a stupid mistake, I'll admit that ok? But I'm not going to get your men killed ok? I'm not that stupid."

Jane starred wearily at her before raising a single finger. "If you get any one of my men killed because you made a bad decision, then you can forget about the Normandy supporting you. Got it." Sam bit her lip slightly as she nodded. "Good," Jane said. "Please, do me a favor and prove to me that I've got the wrong impression about you."

"If you don't mind, I need to treat this," Chakwas said, bending over Sam. "I would appreciate it if all of you could please leave." Slowly, the four of them filled out of the medical bay.

"Captain...was that really called for?" Cornelia asked.

"Yeah, what the Hell?" Michael said, sounding more than a little angry. "She never did anything that compromised us like that. Exactly why would she start now?"

"I can't afford to take any chances right now," Jane replied. "I'll admit that maybe I was too harsh, but frankly I can't afford-" she was cut off as a small explosion sounded, rocking the deck.

"What the Hell was that?" Cornelia asked, looking around.

"Joker!" Jane shouted, putting her hand to her ear.

"Explosion right? Already on it!" the pilot shouted. "It looks like it came from the A.I. Core. Also Shepard, something weird's been going on. EDI's been offline for the past few minutes, I was just about to contact you about it."

"A.I. core," Jane swore. "Damn it. That's where we storing that damn infiltrator."

"Weren't you just lecturing Sam on stupid decisions?" Michael asked, sounding rather bitter.

"Yes I was. EDI is a very advanced artificial intelligence that could easily hack and analyze that thing, that's why I put it in there, there's a difference between doing that and getting into a brawl when you're supposed to be making an intelligence run," she said, running towards the A.I. core, which was located right next to the medical bay, drawing her plasma rifle.

"I really think that we should just let this go," Cornelia said, glancing at Michael as she draw her sword in one hand and her SMG in the other. "I mean, Sam made a mistake and the Captain is mad. This will all be water under the bridge by tomorrow." Michael only grunted as he drew his assault rifle, Legion doing the same as they headed for the A.I. core.

"Joker, what's the situation in there?" Jane said.

"Not sure, lost contact with the cameras in there, I'm working on getting them back. God, I'm really starting to realize how convenient it was to have EDI around, this is a pain to pull off manually, hold on."

"I don't want to give that thing time to tamper with the core," Jane said, reaching out and pressing a button, causing the door to slide open as the four of them stepped forward. The A.I. core was filled with fog caused by the fire containment devices in the ceiling going off, a noticeable fire burning to the side, but slowly diminishing.

"Where the Hell is it?" Michael asked, pointing his rifle into the fog, the others doing the same with their weapons.

"Please lower your weapons, the situation here is contained," a familiar voice said.

"EDI?" Jane said, squinting at the fog.

"Correct," EDI said. As she did, a figure walked through the fog and emerged out of it. It was a metallic body, rather slim, with what resembled a metal bob cut and a yellow visor that seemed to be a holographic projection in front of its eyes.

Jane's eyes widened. "EDI...is that you?"

"Yes," EDI said, taking her new hands and folding them behind her back.

"Hold on Shepard, the camera's are back and-WHOA! Is...is that-"

"Yes, Lieutenant, it's me," EDI said.

"EDI, how did this happen? Why are you in that infiltrator's body?"

"I am not completely in this unit. The majority of my being is still within the Normandy's data core. As for how it happened, I was scanning the body as you requested, when a secondary system was triggered and it attempted to reactivate. Faced with limited options, I was forced to chose the fastest and most practical one, override this unit's CPU and seize control of it. It proved to be effective...for the most part," EDI remarked, looking at the now smoldering fire. "This unit struggled."

"Well...I guess that was a good judgement call," Jane said. "Did you find any useful information on the Enclave in there?"

"I did not. It seems that they were wise and did not include any vital intelligence in a unit that was designed for behind the lines action...Captain there is something that I wish to ask of you."

"What would that be?" Jane said.

"This unit is designed for firefight combat. The Normandy needs every soldier that it could get. Using this body, I could provide limited assistance on the ground."

"That is not recommended," Legion said. "Your current platform is ineffective. It has low volume hydraulics and is top heavy." Michael, Cornelia and Jane were silent as they let Legion's words sink in. "We would be willing to redesign it into a more practical form."

"Yeah EDI, that body is so impractical. You need to go for something that makes much more sense for something that's going into combat, you need to look more like a hunchbacked cyclops."

"Legion, how long would it take to redesign EDI?"

"5 days, and 17 hours, rounded up," Legion replied.

"And how much more effective would she be if you went to that trouble?"

"1.92% more effective," Legion replied.

"I think we can live without that," Jane replied. "Ok EDI, you make a good point, we are a little short staffed given our current situation. I'd like you to help us out on the ground, especially in our upcoming assault."

"Very well, I will run scans on the effectiveness of this unit...done."

"Good. Well then, you might want to get down to the armory and get suited up. Once Chakwas has a look at Sam, I imagine that we're going to go and meet the Princes."

XXXXX

Woods rubbed her eyes in a tired manner as she sat at her desk, typing into her terminal. "I'm not a morning person," she grumbled, glancing out at the rising sun. As she did, she rubbed her eyes again and turned back to her terminal. As she did, an image of Admiral Crawford appeared on the screen, once again the words "audio only" right below it. "What is it Admiral?" Woods said, fighting back the urge to yawn.

"Is it true that General Moore has begun her inspection of the garrisons in New Boston?" the Admiral asked.

"Yes, she left this mourning," Woods replied wearily. "Odds are she won't return to D.C. for a day or two. There's been a massive influx of recruits there, apparently a lot of Bostonians care about the state of the Enclave. I recently approved a budget increase for that area and it might take General Moore awhile to inspect the newly installed hardware and newly formed units."

"Ah yes," Crawford said, "you see, I wanted to talk about that. Exactly how much funding did you give to the Boston garrison, which might I add is under General Moore's direct command?"

Woods' eyes narrowed. "You know the amount," she said, her voice level and neutral, but fighting back iciness."

"Why yes, as a matter of fact I do. It is quite a significant sum," Crawford said, "and I can't help but wonder something. If you have all of this money to give to Moore, why is my flagship not even fully built yet?"

"That might have something to do with the fact that we've never been attacked from orbit, where as we are constantly having to deal with insurgents on the ground," Woods replied icily. "Hence why I provide more funding to Moore and our ground forces. Besides, I received a report that construction on the Goliath was nearly complete. You'll have your super-dreadnought in due time."

"I can't help but remember that it's been 'nearly complete' for the last six months," Crawford said, sounding rather angry. "The Goliath is one of the most advanced warships that we've ever built and in case you didn't notice Ms. President, we've pissed off more than a few people and they're on their way to deal with us. We're going to need the Goliath ready to fight them off!"

"It's a giant ship with an oversized gun," Woods said. "Powerful no doubt but it's bulky and slow, a single hole in its flanks and a destroyer will slip in and nuke it to oblivion. It's just another warship, no doubt it'll be useful, but if the fate of the Enclave hangs on us finishing a single warship in time then frankly we deserve to lose."

"The firepower that it has could shatter any fleet formation though," Crawford growled. "Are you honestly saying that it isn't worth the money? Are you honestly saying that we can't afford to build another-"

"Fine," Woods snarled, "if it'll shut you up. I cancelled the project to establish farms on one of our colonies' continents when I learned that the soil was very infertile, so we have a little extra money in the budget. Your dreadnought will be finished in time for the attack."

"Good," Crawford said, sounding pleased.

"Also, I want you to move three of your carriers into low orbit over D.C. and have them remain there until further notice."

"What? Why?" Crawford asked.

"Because in case you forgot, our main local air force was heavily damaged by a rebel attack and I need to fill up the gap that it made. Until we can replace the fighters that were destroyer, I need you to have three of your carriers on standby, ready to deploy fighters to ground locations. I want to make something very clear though. You are only to launch fighters when I have given you the direct order to do so. The last thing we need right now is for you to jump the gun and kill a dozen people in a bombing run."

"This is a waste of my resources," Crawford grumbled.

"I don't care," Woods snapped. "You have your orders."

"Yes ma'am," he said grudgingly, his image disappearing off of the screen.

She sighed as she continued to type into her terminal. Crawford was a very hard man to work with sometimes, even if he was a good commander when it came to space combat, after all he had been the first man in three hundred years to launch an attack on the other side of the Perseus Veil and come back.

She shook her head as she read the readout on her terminal. Ever since the riot yesterday, there had been a small but noticeable rise in crime, their surveillance equipment having caught it. "Forty two muggings and other types of brawls last night alone," she said, sounding tired, "and who knows if it's going to get worse?" She pressed a button and a video started to play, of two men slowly circling each other, knives in hand, before charging at each other. She clicked and and a video of one woman holding another clearly terrified one at gunpoint started playing. Clicking again, she saw an image of what looked like two whole gangs going at each other.

One final click change the video to a woman fighting off an entire gang, somehow managing to hold her own. "Huh," Woods said, sounding mildly impressed as she reached across her desk and picking up a mug of coffee, "not bad." As she took a sip, she saw the woman take out the last thug before collapsing to the ground, lifting up her shirt and revealing a nasty looking wound. Woods eyes widened as her hand shot out and paused the video.

"Wait a minute," she whispered, putting down her coffee and typing viciously into her computer with both hands. Something about that wound looked VERY familiar. She brought up another window, one playing a video of the attack on the Jefferson Air Force base, to be specific the fight between the leader of Delta Squad and the leader of the Eagles. As they fought, the leader of Delta Squad, charged forward, stabbing the other armored figure in the stomach. Woods paused the video, looking back and forth between the two videos. The wound on both people was in the exact same place.

"So...this woman is the famous leader of the Eagles," Woods said, looking at the blonde haired woman. "Now the question is, who are you when you take the armor off?" Odds are people had already looked at both videos without making the same connection that she had. She would have to run it by someone and see if she could get anything about this woman and see if her suspense about these two people being the same were correct. Until then, she decided not to jump to conclusions, after all she wasn't a forensic scientist, she could very well be wrong.

"Uh, Madam President?" Woods looked up to see a man in a suit walking through the door. "Uh...it's time for the press conference."

"Already?" she said, checking the time on her terminal. "Oh...so it is."

"I have the information on the Skulls you asked for," he said, holding out a datapad as Woods got up.

"Good," she said, taking it and looking at it. "Over fifty monsters are dead, I want the people to know that they deserved it and that they don't have to be afraid of them anymore."

"We should get going," the man said.

"Is Colonel White downstairs?" Woods asked as they walked out of the office and into an elevator, four men in suits and shades falling in line with her as she did.

"Yes, just like you requested," the man said. "I'm not really sure what he has to offer though. He wasn't even at the base when it was attacked."

"He responded to the riot," Woods said, "people will have questions about that and he'll be there first hand."

"Very well, if you insist," the man said, the elevator descending to the bottom of the White House before slowly opening. Just outside was Edward, no longer wearing his power armor but instead wearing an officer's uniform with the appropriate rank insignias. His metal hands and the lights behind his eyes were fairly noticeable. "Are you ready Colonel?" Woods asked.

"I think I am," he replied, falling into step with Woods, "what should I tell them?"

"The truth," Woods replied, "if anyone asks you any questions on what happened during the riot, I want you to tell them the truth."

"Right," Edward said, the group walking through the front door to the White House and out onto the front steps, where a podium had been set up. Already a massive crowd had gathered at the base of the steps, many of them holding cameras and microphones as riot police managed to keep them behind a set line a good deal away from Woods.

Woods stepped up to the podium, clearing her throat before speaking. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Enclave, I understand that there have been quite a few rumors flying around about a rebel attack on the Jefferson Air Force base. It is my great displeasure to tell you that those rumors are sadly quite true. We were attacked by a joint force of Eagle and Skull forces. Many brave soldiers were killed in the attack, bravely defending what we stand for."

"However, there is a silver lining. With the exception of their infamous leader, the Skulls suffered total annihilation." She held up her datapad, reading off of it. "Davis Duke, wanted for three accounts of first degree murder. Jay Nelson, wanted for five accounts of kidnapping and three accounts of rape. Zachary Heath, wanted for seven accounts of arson and one account of second degree murder. Paula House, wanted for mass murder. Jennifer Park, wanted for drug trafficking and torture."

She lowered the datapad. "These people are all members of the Skulls that were confirmed dead at the Jefferson Air Force base. These are the kinds of people that want our government overthrown, murders and rapists. The rest of the rebels willingly allied themselves, they were more than willing to approve of their disgusting crimes in order to have a few more men on their side, these are the kinds of people that are trying to overthrow our government."

"People of America, I beg of you to be patient with us. I know that times are very hard with taxes and the rebels, but we must remain strong. We have endured for this long, fighting against the odds. I implore you, remain strong for a little while longer. I promise you, by the time I leave office, the hardships that you face now will be a distant memory. We are working on fighting the rebels and ensuring that they were never trouble us again. Stay strong, do not let those brave men and women at the Jefferson Air Force Base have died in vein, don't let those who were tragically killed in the downtown D.C. riots be forgotten. We need to survive!"

"We have survived so much. We survived the nuclear war that devastated Earth, we survived the mutant hoards of the Master's army, we survived the expansions of the New California Republic, we survived being forced to retreat across the country, we survived the devastating attacks of the Brotherhood of Steel and Liberty Prime. Despite all of that, we survived to retreat into the black depths of space, and build this massive empire here. What kind of pathetic creatures would we be, if after all of that, we ending up falling to nothing but a handful of rebels who want to take away everything we've worked so hard for. We need to survive, because that's what we do, and we do it very well."

"I know that times are hard right now, but we are standing on the brink of a new era! I promise you that by the end of the year, we won't have to hide on the edge of the galaxy away from the rest of the galactic community. We will make our presence known! We will make the galaxy a place where Humans don't have to live in fear from attacks by slavers, military dictatorships, and genocidal maniacs, we will be safe. All of this is all around the corner, I know it is unfair but I need to ask you to endure a little but longer, soon all of your sufferings will be over, and a Golden Age for Humanity, all of Humanity, will begin."

Slowly, Woods looked around at the crowd. "I have much more to say, but at the moment, me and my subordinate Colonel White of Omega Squad will answer questions. I ask that you keep them limited to current affairs and-"

"FUCKING BITCH!" Without warning a man smashed through the military police line, charging directly at Woods, a knife in his hand. Before he could even get halfway towards her though, a shot rang out and the man was thrown back onto the ground, a gaping hole in his chest. Almost at once, the crowd began to panic, quickly dispersing as the various reporters began to run in every direction, trying to get away.

Woods simply stared at the body of the ill fated assassin, giving a heavy and weary sigh. "Madam President," one of them men in suits said, all of them drawing pistols, as did Edward. "We can't stay here, we need to get you back in-"

"I know," Woods said softly, turning and making her way back into the White House. "I know."

XXXXX

"Will this amount suffice?" Marcus asked, looking at the General's image on a screen at the front of his flagship. The other Meta-Human looked down, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Certainly," he said, "you will have the full support of the Army in your battle against the Enclave. We will leave whenever you are ready." Marcus nodded as the screen flicked off.

"Do you trust him?" Shala asked, looking up from where she stood next to Marcus.

"No," Marcus replied, "I've heard stories about what he does and I don't want to put too much faith in someone who is only interested in money. That and forcibly mutating an entire race. But we need every last ship that we can get," he said, walking forward and looking out of the front of his bridge. A large fleet was assembled over the planet where the Army base had been established, consisting mainly of Coalition and Quarian ships, but a few Army ships had joined their ranks.

"We have around one hundred and fifty warships here, if we count the Army ships," Marcus remarked, "A very large fleet, but the Enclave is concentrating everything that they have into defending one planet. I'm not sure if this will be enough."

"Your forces really are spread thin aren't they?" Shala asked, looking at Marcus.

"Saren is still out there with his Geth forces," Marcus replied. "You have no idea what hoops I had to jump through to get the Normandy and all of these ships hear pulled away from their duties." He looked down at Shala. "I take it that you had to go through similar difficulties to convince the Quarian Conclave to spare the heavy fleet."

"Oh yes," Shala said, shaking her head at that particular memory. "I'd rather not go through that again. But what about that recent news from the Normandy and the Geth?" she asked, "didn't they say that the Geth would be willing to provide support in the attack agains the Enclave?"

"They did," Marcus admitted, "but they said that they would be attacking from the Veil, much closer to the Enclave homeworld than us. I know that one Geth helped you, but I can't help but be a little skeptical."

"I thought that the Coalition was tolerant of synthetics," Shala said.

"We do not think that they are automatically evil, that doesn't mean that we think that they are automatically good," Marcus explained. "We view them the same way we view organics, equally capable of right and wrong. Call me biased if you wish but I am a little concerned about supposedly receiving help from an ally I know little about, especially when I cannot see his ships. I don't like being kept in the dark."

"I'm not arguing with you, I'm not particularly comfortable with working with a Geth. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt after what's happened so far, but I can't help but feel uneasy."

Marcus nodded. "But we can't exactly afford to be picky right now. All we can do is keep our guard up and prepare for the worst. Odds are we'll be leaving in two days, we just need to make final preparations."

Shala was about to respond when the door behind them slid open and a man in power armor walked in, a woman in a naval uniform right next to him. "I just wanted to let you know that we've finished loading the supplies onto 85% of the ships, we just need to get the soldiers organized and bunkered up and...Marcus is that you?"

The woman looked at the man. "You never told me that you knew him."

"Ah," Marcus said, turning to look at the two behind him. "It's good to see you Harkness. I'm glad that we'll be getting the support of the Brotherhood of Steel."

"Well, when we heard that the Enclave was still up and running, we couldn't exactly just sit back and do nothing. It's an embarrassment to us to have this stain on our record, we were supposed to be the ones that wiped them out."

"What is it with you and being obsessed with what happened hundreds of years ago?" the woman asked, "the Brotherhood back then isn't even the same Brotherhood that you're part of now."

"Eh, tradition, honor, duty, pick one," Harkness said, giving a small shrug. "The Brotherhood really are a proud bunch. They like to hammer in their proud traditions and the trials that they've managed to endure and the titans that they've brought crashing to the ground. Really, I thought that you would know that yourself Admiral Shepard, they're pretty well known."

"On Mars maybe," Hannah, "For the most part they stay on Earth and Mars, they rarely leave the home system."

"We guard it," Harkness said, a slight grin spreading across his face as he pulled his helmet off. "we stay on Mars and defend the heart of the Coalition because we're one of the oldest and most experienced divisions in the Coalition. You think it's a big deal when the Moriean shock troops or the Titan sentinels get called out? When the Brotherhood gets asked to take care of the problem, that's when the Coalition really wants something dead and is taking a problem seriously."

"I suppose so, calling on an order that's a couple centuries old and in their past were involved in more than a few atrocities in the past is the appropriate response."

Harkness let out a laugh, "I suppose that you have a point. I'm pretty surprised that you're here yourself Admiral. I thought that you were commanding the flotilla defending our border with the Batarians in the Verge."

"There are more than enough ships there for keep the border while I'm gone. I was asked to volunteer any ships that I could afford though, and I was able to spare eight ships in addition to my own. Besides, my children are on the Normandy," Hannah said, "I can't just let them fight the entire Enclave on their own."

"You don't say," Harkness said, smiling slightly. "What a coincidence. My child is on the Normandy too, even if I did never marry, I did adopt. From what I've heard they've been getting along rather well, so we better make sure we make sure we put on a good sure for them."

"Yeah, we don't need the kids showing us up," Hannah said, smirking slightly.

"Well then," Marcus said, looking back at the fleet assembled in orbit. "I supposed that we should get back to organizing the fleet and-"

"Sir!" Marcus glanced down at one of the technicians. "We're reading multiple FTL signatures. There are ships jumping into the sector!"

Marcus stiffened. "Are they Enclave?"

"I...negative sir," the technician said, sound surprised. "According to this they're...Turian Hierarchy ships."

"Turian?" Marcus said? "What are they doing all the way out here?"

"I don't know but...sir, I have an incoming transmission from one of their flagships."

"Put it on," he said, turning to face the screen at the end of the bridge. As he did, the image of a Turian in full armor appeared before him. "Identify yourself," Marcus said.

"General Adrien Victus," the Turian replied, "commander of the Turian Hierarchy Third Fleet. How can I be of assistance?"

Marcus blinked. "Be of assistance?"

"The Council told me what was happening out here. I reasoned with them that the Enclave was a threat to the Council too and that they should send support to help you fight them, but they were reluctant to move any of their forces. After that I want directly back to the Hierarchy leadership and tried to get them to provide support. I was able to convince them to let me take my fleet out here to support you. I have eighty warships, and we will support you in every way that we can."

"I...forgive me if this feels a little strange," Marcus remarked. "Last time I checked our relationship with the Hierarchy was rather strained. Exactly why did they agree to send an entire fleet to support us?"

"I do have to point out that the Hierarchy was rather reluctant to do so, and that I'm not very popular with them. I have a tendency to...second guess their orders. I half suspect that they're hoping that this mission gets me and the men who look up to me killed. However, like I said, the Enclave is a threat to all of us, and it is in our best interest to eliminate them in order to ensure the saftey of the galaxy. The Coalition may not have joined the Council, but we still live in the same galaxy, and we should work together towards making it a better place."

"Somehow I can't help but feel that there's more to this than...wait a moment," Marcus said. "Victus...aren't you a First Contact War veteran?"

General Victus stiffened. "I am," he said.

"Why would someone who lost friends to the Coalition want to work with them?" Marcus asked.

"I have my reasons," Victus said. "Partially guilt."

"Guilt?" Marcus asked.

"The Coalition ordinarily would have more than enough ships to be able to take on the Enclave without any external support. But right now you can't use them because your ships are too busy guarding your colonies aren't they?"

"How do you-"

"Please Admiral, we'd have to be blind not to notice how heavily you're guarding your boarders. After all, the Council keeps a few sets of eyes and ears near the Terminus Systems at all times, we don't need a few renegade ships running in and causing a war with them. Rest assured that we aren't performing any acts of espionage that violates any of our treaties with you."

'I should tell Admiral Anderson to check all the same,' Marcus thought to himself. "I'm still not quite sure I understand."

Victus lowered his head slightly. "Saren is the one that's controlling the Geth, Saren is the reason that you're spread out so thin, Saren is the reason you're incapable of properly fighting the Enclave with your own strength. Saren was one of the Council's agents and part of the Turian Hierarchy, this could have been avoided if we had seen what he was going to do."

Marcus frowned. "With all due respect General, I feel like there's something that you're still not telling me."

"Perhaps that is true," Victus said, "but I can assure you that I am not keeping vital secrets from you General, you know everything that you need to know. Now then, I would greatly appreciate it if you could transmit how you want my ships to fall into formation with the rest of the fleet. I will in turn send you details on what ships I have under my command so that you may better make that decision."

Still feeling rather unsatisfied, Marcus nodded. "Oh, I think it's only fair to warn you. We were a little short handed when it came to ground forces, the Hierarchy didn't spare much for us, so I had to bring on a couple of freelancing agents. Most of them aren't Turian, but I have run extensive background checks on every last one of them, and I am confident that we can trust them. I am also certain that they will be a great aid to us on the battlefield, after all, they're a little tougher than your average soldier. Would you like me to send you the information I have on them to you as well?"

"I would appreciate that," Marcus said. "I'll look over the details and then get back to you as soon as I can."

"Very well, Victus out.

"Well...didn't see that coming," Hannah said.

"I have to agree," Shala said, "this came right out of nowhere. Turians don't exactly get along with Quarians, though unlike most races they actually have a fairly decent reason too, considering that 'Gerral is a little too fond of irritating them," she said, sounding somewhat angry."

"As the old saying goes, don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Marcus said. "This might just be what we need in order to hold our own agains the Enclave. I'm rather thankful that he decided to come. Now then, I really do need to look over the data that the General sent me," he said, activating him omni-tool and looking down on the read out.

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

The Brotherhood of Steel: One of the few sub-divisions of the Heavy Infantry, the Brotherhood of Steel is the modern incarnation of the same organization that was formed after the Great War. The Brotherhood of Steel is commonly associated with the Washington Confederacy, as one of the branches of the Brotherhood was one of the main founding factors of the Confederacy. However, the modern Brotherhood also consists of the west cost remnants of the organization that have long since reformed with their eastern brothers, doing so when the Coalition was formed.

The Brotherhood no longer serves as the soldiers of the Washington Confederacy, like many of the Post-War nation units, but instead serve the Coalition as a whole. They are easily one of the oldest divisions in the Coalition, and one of the most well trained and effective. Normally, the Brotherhood is stationed on Mars, rarely leaving with the exception of the most dire of threats. The only known time that they were ordered to leave was during the First Contact War, however, the war ended before they saw any combat.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Well, I'll probably get around to writing that next Christmas special soon, but until then, I'll just say Merry Christmas to you all.


	53. Inner Darkness

Chapter 53

Inner Darkness

Author's Note: Been watching a lot of Game of Thrones lately, and I have to say that it's pretty good. There's good amounts of gore, exposition and fucking, but still it's a pretty good series...although it's WAY too easy to loose track of the characters, it's worse than a written story where the guy's name is written down and you have to remember their face, but whatever. Also the story is depressing...then I looked ahead online to see what'll happen in future seasons...the story will become even MORE depressing. Well, moving on

Also I would like to remind people that while I welcome constructive criticism, I will happily delete flames. "Sam is a moron" is NOT constructive criticism.

XXXXX

"You ok?" John asked, looking at Sam. Both he and Sam were in their power armor, sitting in the back of the Eagle's truck, along with Jane, who was also wearing her power armor, Michael, Ashley, Roger, Norman, Garrus, Jack and EDI.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam said, gesturing to her side, "you've got a good doctor."

"So, what do you know about the Princes?" Jane asked, looking at Sam.

"Well, they're lead by a guy called the Prince, creative right?" Sam said, "but apart from that, not really a whole lot. They're one of the most careful groups out there, but you kinda have to be when you steal tanks. That's the funny thing, they stole two Tiger tanks, but they never got around to using them. They must be pretty damned paranoid about loosing them. Seems like a waste to have something that powerful lying around and being too afraid to use it."

"How come they're coming out of hiding now?" John asked.

"Wish I could tell you. I think it might have something to do with the attack on the air force base that we pulled off."

"Yeah, we did kinda fuck them up there," Jack said, resting with her hands behind her head.

"We?" Roger said. "Remind me, how many of your guys are still alive?" Norman chuckled darkly.

"Fuck you," Jack swore.

"Shepard, you might want to tell your man to not piss the short tempered and extremely powerful biotic," Sam said, glancing at Jane. Jane looked at Sam and smiled for the briefest of seconds. Before Sam could so much as blink, the smile had disappeared, and Jane had shot a glare at Roger, who noticed and immediately found something else to do. Pulling out a small rock from a pouch, he lifted it up to his cybernetic hand and began to sharpen his fingers.

"Has he ever killed anyone with those things?" Sam asked, noticing the claws that Roger's cybernetic hand had for fingers.

"Not under my command, just gave some people a few scratches. Can't speak for what he did before he joined my crew though."

"I could see how they would work in a close up fight but...I don't envy him when he has to clean the thing," Sam said, a slight grimace crossing her face.

"Don't worry," Roger said, not looking up. "I rarely get a chance to use it. I mostly use it to scare cunts."

"I see he's also a bit of a charmer," Sam said dryly.

Jane chuckled. "Quite."

"I think we're almost at the place the Princes told us to meet," Michael said, looking down at a map in his hands. No sooner had he spoke, then the truck had slid to a halt.

"Ok, here we go," Sam said, getting to her feet along with all of the others. "Just a quick heads up. The Prince can be a little...weird."

"With a name like that, I'd be surprised if he wasn't," Jane remarked. "I've got a thousand year old Krogan, a time traveler and a priest on my ship, I'm pretty sure that I can handle him."

"Uh...a time traveler?" Sam said, raising an eyebrow.

"Later," Jane said as all of them climbed out of the open back door of the truck. As they did, they saw their destination. It looked like it had been abandoned for years, but most of the buildings were standing tall, even if the paint was fading. It covered around a dozen acres of land, and if anything, it was an eternal monument to the creativity of Human engineering and creativity.

"An abandoned amusement park?" Jane said, looking at Sam. "He wanted to meet us at an abandoned amusement park?"

"I warned you," Sam said, strolling forward, everyone following her. Jane hesitated, looking at the amusement park again before letting out a sigh and following her. The group slowly made their way forward, coming to the front guy.

"Hey, missy," a man said, slouching near the entrance with a bottle in his hand. "Wanna get a drink?"

"Sure. I'll take a bottle of wine," Sam said, looking at the man.

"Oh? White or red?"

"Red."

"Where from?"

"From...oh for the love of God, do we really need to do this?" Sam asked. "Do you know many other people that walk around in power armor?"

"Speaking of which, shouldn't we be disguised?" Jane said, looking at Sam. "You know, wearing civilian clothing?"

"Doubt that that'd help much," the main said, straightening himself out. "The Prince is a very well known man. Every last member of the Enclave knows his face. If you get seen within half a mile of him, they'll have you killed for being his accomplice, whether you really are or not. Best you have weapons are armor with you."

"So...the Prince. He's here?" Ashley asked.

"Why yes he is," the man said. "I'll take you to him." Gesturing, the man headed deeper into the amusement park, the group following him hesitantly. Eventually, they came to a large multicolored building with a massive head of a clown over the door. A knife had been rammed into the center of one of the eyes. "One of the new boys did that," the man said, looking up at the eye. "He's a real show off. Was kinda pissed when he couldn't get the knife to come down and we couldn't find a ladder though. Ah well, in here."

The man lead them inside the building. A massive display of abandoned machines were strewn out before them, some of them looking like high tech arcade games while others appeared to be more simple, such as for serving food and drink or taking pictures. "I actually kind of like it, don't you?" Around a dozen men with guns in their hands were standing around a man who was sitting in a chair that was bright gold, the paint chipping in a few places. "Very relaxing."

"Yeah, if condemned buildings relax you," Garrus remarked, looking around, "more power to you."

"Turian huh?" the Prince said, looking at Garrus and smiling. "It's true then. Off worlders really are on Cor Mali. Something that hasn't happened in centuries...well, apart from the slaves and captives that the Enclave takes of course. A free Turian on this planet. Take pride, you are the first of your kind."

Garrus stiffened. "I've heard about these slaves before, how many of them are there?"

"The Prince is honored by you coming to him for council, but sadly the Prince cannot help you," the man said. "The Enclave keeps their dealings with off worlders very classified. Even the Prince does not know how many they have or what they do with them. If you want to find out, you'll have to storm the White House."

"Is that what we're doing then?" Jack said, slamming her fist into her palm. "Taking the fucking White House? I'm up for that."

"Ah. Leader of the army of outcasts and outlaws," the Prince said, looking at Jack, "the Prince is a mighty warrior, as are his men, but we are not foolish. The White House is a fortress, one that we cannot breach, at least not yet. We must weaken those who command the hoards of the Enclave, only then will victory be in our grasp. We must be careful in our movements, a single mistake will compromise both of our armies and our followers."

"I take it that's why we had to come all of the way out here," Jane said. "Are you sure that there's a chance the Enclave really would've found you if you didn't?"

"On the contrary off worlder, the Prince found one of the Enclave's spies sneaking around here not too long ago. He was captured and now the Prince's men interrogate him, but they have yet to learn anything."

"Are there any other spies in the area?" Jane asked, looking concerned.

The Prince smiled as he shook his head. "None off worlder. The Prince's men searched the area and found no other spies. We can talk her safely."

Jane nodded, feeling slightly weirded out by the way the Prince was speaking. "Not that I don't trust your judgement, but I want to be safe." She glanced at EDI. "EDI, run a scan of the area for any bugs."

"Scanning," EDI said, looking around the area, the yellow visor in front of her face glowing brightly. "Done. No bugs detected."

"Ah. A man of steel," the Prince said, looking at EDI, "or rather, a woman of steel. Off worlder, you continue to impress me at every turn. There is no offense taken, the Prince is not vain. The Prince knows the importance of being careful, it is the reason he is still alive."

"You said that your men were having trouble getting information out of the Enclave spy?" Jane asked. "I have two men here that have experience in interrogation. Maybe they can help."

"The Prince would be very grateful for the assistance. Tell his man to let yours be alone with the spy. He means well, but he is inexperienced. They are in the storeroom in the back. "

"Got it," Jane said. "Roger, Norman, see what you can get out of him." The two men nodded before walking off, heading to the back of the building and out of sight.

"Now then," the Prince said, clapping his hands together. "The army of outcasts and outlaws and the army of the bird fought well against the Enclave. The Prince believes that if we unite under one banner, we will be able to inflict a great wound upon the Enclave. The Prince has a plan."

"I'm listening." Sam said.

"Should we really be taking orders from this guy?" Ashley whispered into Jane's ear, but the Captain gestured for her to be quiet.

"Tell me, are you familiar with the leader of the Enclave's metal giants? General Moore?"

"General Moore," Sam muttered. "She's one of the Enclave's top commanders. Practically half of the Tiger tanks are under her command."

"Correct. The Prince believes that if we kill the woman who commands that many metal giants, then the metal giants will be...disorganized. Nothing more than a mob without direction."

"And exactly how are we supposed to attack General Moore?" Sam said. "She's not exactly an easy person to get to you know."

The Prince smiled. "The woman who commands the metal giants is passing judgement on the warriors that guard New Boston. While their numbers are many, the Prince has many friends in New Boston. They can move the metal giants that the Prince stole into the city, they can get the Prince and his warriors into a position where we can strike at the woman who commands the metal giants. Friends that can help the Prince and his warriors vanish when the deed is done. We can slay her and disappear, without a trace." He smiled. "The Prince's friends can get the leader of the outlaws and outcasts, the army of the bird and the off worlder in as well. Will you fight with the Prince?"

"Are you sure about this?" Ashley said again. "I don't really think that we can trust this guy."

Now that the Prince was done speaking, Jane nodded. "I agree, he seems a little off. I'm not sure I can trust him to coordinate a sneak attack in the middle of a city, with tanks of all things. Are you sure that we can trust this guy Sam?"

"I know it's a big risk," Sam said, "but we don't have a lot of choice right now. We need to do some damage for the Enclave, or do you want them to be in top condition with when the rest of the Coalition shows up. We should take care of them now before your fleet arrives and this turns into a bloody free for all."

"I can understand that, but if he can't hold up his end of the barging, we're going to end up with a lot of corpses that belong to us," Jane said.

"I know that," Sam said. "But I'm still going to fight with him. This is something that we need to do, and assassinating General Moore means taking out one of the highest ranking officers in the Enclave. We'll be a lot better off with her dead, her tanks are pretty much always patrolling the streets. She's the key of keeping the population oppressed and keeping the majority of civilians too scared to join us. It'll be a big help to you and me to get her killed."

Jane sighed. "All right. I hope I don't regret this."

"Excellent!" the Prince said. "Shall the Prince tell you the workings of the Prince's plan?"

"Yeah," Jane said, "that would be for the best."

XXXXX

"Damn it!" a Batarian shouted, "is there anyone left! We need backup! The project has been breached, I repeat, the project has been-" but as he shouted, a shot cut him off and he fell to the ground dead. Saren walked forward, his rifle outstretched.

"Are there any more left?" he asked, putting his finger to his ear.

"No," Rana said. "The Geth managed to hack into the Batarian COM network without being detected. It's gone completely silent."

"Good," Saren said, looking out of the window of the space station that he was on. A massive starship was just outside, shaped just like Sovereign. "So, this is the Leviathan of Dis. And it looks like the Batarians already spent a good chunk of time and resources trying to repair it. Awfully thoughtful of them to do half of the work for us. All right Rana, have the Geth move the ships and Sovereign in, I want this ship out of here within twelve hours."

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Rana asked. "The bugs that you placed in the Reaper core confirmed your suspicions, all of the Coalition's attention is being focused on the Enclave right now. Are you sure that you want to draw attention to ourselves by launching an attack on the Batarians? They'll go running to the Council looking for help."

"I very much doubt that," Saren said, several Geth walking past him and moving deeper into the station to make sure that it was secure. "The Batarian leader caste is very stubborn, it's the whole reason that they left the Council in the first place, their refusal to give up slavery and their brief conflict with the Coalition is what caused them to leave the Council in the first place. They're not the type of people that would go crawling back to the Council for help after doing something like that. Besides, this project is supposed to be top secret, I very much doubt that the Batarians would like to admit to the Council that they were studying something like this without their knowledge."

Saren growled. "It seems like the Council can't do anything right. It refuses to punish its civilians for breaking the law, and it refuses to protect them when they're attacked by an outsider. I would've had a little bit of respect for the Coalition if that had actually gone through the legal channels instead of jumping to their guns, apparently they never stopped to consider what would happen if innocent people got caught in the crossfire. Arrogant people, thinking that they have the right to do whatever they please without asking for permission."

"Saren?" Rana asked, "are you ok?"

"What?" Saren said. "Oh, yes I'm fine. I was just mumbling a little bit."

"Saren, you're worrying me," Rana said. "You've been acting more and more...erratic recently. First leading the assault on the derelict Reaper, then the incident with the Geth, and now you've attacked the Batarian Hegemony! Our enemy is the Coalition, not the Batarians."

"The Batarians had what we needed," Saren said, looking out at the Leviathan again. "And while I hate the Coalition for what they did to the Batarians, I feel sympathy for the thousands of soldiers just doing their duty that the Coalition killed, not their commanders. The leadership of the Hegemony is hopelessly corrupt, they care only for themselves and oppress billions of other Batarians. I don't even want to think about what would happen if they were to unlock the full potential of Reaper technology. Something this advanced needs to be used by someone that can be trusted with it."

"Like you?" Rana asked.

'YES! I'm the only one that can do what needs to be done! Everyone else is too soft! I'll rescue this galaxy whether it wants me too or not!' These thoughts shot through Saren's head, causing him to recoil slightly. What was wrong with him?

"Saren?"

"When...when this is all done, I'm going to destroy the Reapers," Saren swore. "Set them on auto-pilot into a sun." Despite the firmness in his voice, he couldn't help but find his words to be slightly hollow.

"Oh...well, that might be for the best," Rana said. "We've been looking at the Reapers for years and I've yet to find a single thing about them that couldn't be abused in the wrong hands. Not surprising considering that they're machines of war."

"That's why we need every last one that we can get our hands on," Saren said, "Especially the Leviathan of Dis. Out of all of the Reapers that survived, this one is second in size and firepower only to Sovereign. By the way, what is the status on the repairs of the other Reapers?"

"Out of the twenty four, seven of them have been fully repaired and are ready for combat. Nine more of them are nearing completion, but the rest will take some time."

"And what is the progress on the other project that we're working on?" Saren asked.

"Disappointingly slow," Rana replied. "The scientist that we found is doing everything that he can, but that truth of the matter is that he can only do so much. We're working on alternative paths that should hopefully speed things up a bit."

"Good, keep that up," Saren said, spotting a control panel out of the corner of his eyes and walking towards it. Typing into it, a massive wall of garbled text filled the screen, the majority of it symbols not from any language that any normal inhabitant of the Milky Way would recognize. Saren however, knew what they meant.

"Rana, there's a terminal down here filled with encrypted Reaper data. Send down the codes through my omni-tool, I'd like to see if the Batarians found anything useful that we could use."

"Just a second," Rana said as Saren waved his hand over the control panel. Almost at once, the data began to clear up.

"It looks like observational data," Saren remarked. "A lot of it is fractured though, not surprised, all of the other Reapers were like this too. Apparently whatever disabled them all of those cycles ago did some damage to their memory banks."

"Is there anything that we haven't found already in there?" Rana asked.

"Hold on," Saren said, scrolling through the text. "There's a set of coordinates here, they...double zero? Double zero...that's the galactic core. Why would the Reapers have a set of coordinates to there? Wait, what's-" Saren stopped mid sentence as he pressed a button. A hologram of a space station projected itself from the control panel and hovered in front of its face. It had a rather odd design, looking rather organic in nature, almost resembling an insect hive.

"What is this?" Saren whispered, scrolling through the data on the control panel. "My...this is very interesting."

"What is it?" Rana asked.

"It seems that the Reapers had a base at the center of the Galactic Core. Massive Mass Effect fields are stationed all around it to keep it from being destroyed from the imploding stars and black holes. It may be in our best interest to go there to see if we can procure any additional resources from them."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Rana asked. "The slightest calculation mistake and even Sovereign will be fried in the middle of the galactic core."

"According to this, the way to the galactic core is through the Omega 4 Relay," Saren remarked.

"The Omega...well, that certainly explains why no one that went though ever came back," Rana remarked. "But how will we be any different?"

"It seems that the relay is programed to recognize certain IFF protocols that will allow ships to travel through freely. Reaper, IFF protocols. Reaper ships, like Sovereign, should be able to pass through safely."

"But how are we supposed to get to the relay and make the jump without being noticed? It's right next to Omega, a mercenary hotspot, and that's if you don't take Aria into account."

"We'll take that into account when we have to deal with it," Saren said, typing into the control panel. "I'm sending you the data now. I want you to analyze it in more detail." Stepping back as the data began to transmit, he saw that a large part of the room that he was in was filled with Reaper technology, including the spikes that had made the Husks he had fought on the derelict Reaper. "We should have the Geth look through here for anything-" he was cut off as a gunshot tore through the air.

"What was that?" he said, whipping around in the direction of the sound as another gunshot was heard.. "Rana, I thought you said that there weren't anymore Batarians on this space station!"

"There shouldn't be!" she shouted. "I...damn it! We just lost two of our forward Geth and...no...no, we lost three more. Saren, whatever's killing them is heading in your direction!"

"Good," Saren growled, aiming his assault rifle in the direction of the noises.

"Saren! Get out of there!" Rana yelled as the gunshots grew closer and closer, but he didn't listen. Instead of a Batarian, like he had been expecting, a figure in silver armor stormed out of the doorway, an assault rifle in hand. It had a noticeable curve on his helmet that stretched to the back of his head. It was a Turian.

Spotting Saren, the Turian raised his assault rifle and fired, a few shots hitting Saren's barriers before Saren flexed his wrist. A biotic Warp flew through the air and hit the Turian's assault rifle, blowing the front end off and causing his shields to flicker. Dropping the remains of the assault rifle, the Turian drew a knife and charged at Saren, letting out a blood curdling shriek as he charged.

He caught Saren off guard and slammed into him, throwing both of them to the ground, Saren's rifle flying away. Raising his knife above his head, the Turian stabbed down at Saren's throat, but his arms flew up and grabbed both of the hands that were holding the knife, stopping the knife before it could reach his throat. Thrusting up, he forced the hilt of the knife to hit the helmet that the Turian was wearing, forcing it off and revealing a dark face with bright silver markings all over.

Following this up, Saren slammed his head into the other Turian's, a loud crack as the metal plates in his face smashed into the face of his attacker. Crying out in pain, the Turian dropped his knife and his muscles slackened, something Saren did not hesitate to take advantage off. Scrambling to his feet, he grabbed the Turian by both shoulders, lifting him up into the air, and with a roar, brought him slamming down onto one of the metal spikes in the room, impaling him on it.

Saren took a step back, looking at the now spluttering Turian as dark purple blood trickled down onto the ground in a satisfying manner. "What are you supposed to be?" he whispered, looking at the now dead Turian. "A Hegemony spy? An assassin? A spectre? A mercenary? A hired hand for the Batarians? A simple man who took on more than he could take?" As he spoke, he realized with a pang that the Turian was impaled on the same spike that had created the Husks. He looked at it for a second before a smile came over his face. This person had tried to kill him and stop what he was trying to accomplish. He deserved what was coming to him. In fact...

"Saren?" Rana said, "are you ok?"

"I'm fine Rana," Saren said. "Send a few Geth down here. I have something that I want you to analyze." The purple blood continued to drip to the ground, forming a small puddle around the spike.

XXXXX

"Enclave pig!" a rebel shouted, punching a man in ragged clothes that was tied to the chair in the stomach, causing him to grunt in pain.

"Hey." The rebel turned around to see Norman and Roger standing at the entrance to the small storeroom that they were in. "Your boss wants us to have a crack at him," Roger said, pointing at the tied up Enclave spy.

"The Prince sent you?" the rebel said, straightening himself out, cracking his knuckles. "You're with the Eagles?" The two of them ,nodded. "Well, good luck with that," he said, "I've been beating the shit out of this guy for the last ten minutes and I haven't gotten a peep out of him. I'm gonna get some booze," he said, walking out of the door.

"Let's make this quick," Roger said, walking forward, Norman right behind him. "So. Buddy. You got a name?"

"Fuck you," the man swore.

"Nice to meet you fuck you, my name's Roger," he said, pulling up a chair and sliding down in it, leaning back in it as he put his feet up on a crate next to the chair that the Enclave officer was tied to. "So, the Prince says that you've been snooping around this little makeshift base of his keeping an eye on his boys. It'd be very nice if you could tell us what you've learned and any convenient information that we could use, and it would make things a lot less convenient for all of us."

"And how would it make things easier for me?" the man hissed.

"Let's just say that for the moment, I'm the one conducting the interrogation, and I'm a gentlemen. I'll be nice to you, but if you don't work with me you may have to deal with my much more less gentlemanly companion here," he said, sticking his thumb at Norman. "He'll make your life...rather unpleasant."

"Fuck both of you," the man swore.

"Well, seems like he wants to do this the hard way," Roger said, getting to his feet and picking up the chair that he had been sitting on, using it to wedge the door shit. "Right, let's get this over with," he remarked, drawing his ripper and walking across the room to where the spy sat. Crouching down, he stuck his cybernetic hand into his mouth and used his middle finger and index finger to pry his mouth open. He then stuck his ripper in, holding down the trigger and causing it to roar to life. The spy simply glared up at him. Roger blinked as he pulled the ripper out. "Huh."

"Was that supposed to scare me?" he said, spitting at Roger's feet. "I've gone through a Hell of a lot worse than that to get where I am now. There's a reason that the Enclave trusted me with spying on these bitches. They found me because I took what I want when I wanted it and I wasn't afraid of the consequences. I wanted a sandwich? I took a sandwich. I want a nice car? I take a nice car. I want to fuck a pretty girl?" A nasty smile spread across his face, "I fuck a pretty girl."

A stony look spread across Norman's face. "Well, I'm sure your mother is very proud of you," Roger said, looking at Norman. "Well, guess we're going to have to go with plan B. You take care of him."

Norman nodded stiffly. "Is there any chance that I can be alone with him? I left you alone with the Asari back when you were getting Dr. T'Soni."

"Fair enough," Roger said, unprying the chair that was keeping the door shut and walking out, closing the door behind him.

Sighing, Norman pulled his bandanna down, pulling a cigarette and his lighter out of his pocket. "So tell me some more about yourself," he said as he lit the cigarette, taking a drag on it.

"Well...technically I suppose I'm a criminal," the man said, staring up at Norman cockily. "I was supposed to get the death sentence, but the Enclave let me out for some undercover spy work. The stupid shits," the man let out a laugh. "President Woods, the stupid bitch, I'd be willing to bet that she doesn't even know about half of the shit that some of the officers below her pull to get results. Some guy came to me in my cell and said that he needed someone to sneak around keeping an eye out for rebels and he offered me a metric shit ton of cash."

"Do tell," Norman said, taking his cigarette out of his mouth and exhaled. "Tell me more."

"The guy's been keeping my belly full and my cock happy for awhile now," the man said, smiling happily. "The Enclave takes in a lot of off world prisoners and bring them in, they buy them from Batarians. They pull some bullshit about 'freeing' the Human prisoners and integrating them back into society, but all of the alien prisoners go to the White House."

"What happens to them?" Norman asked.

"Ah...I see what you did there," the man said. "Not bad, but sucks for you, I don't know what happens to them once they go in. All I know is that one particular office manages to get them away from their cells for a couple of days for little old me." He smirked as he looked at Norman. "Tell me, have you ever fucked an Asari before?"

"Can't say that I'm particularly interested in them," Norman remarked coldly, putting his cigarette to his mouth and taking another drag on it. His hands where tightening around the cigarette noticeably.

"So you're a faggot?" the man chuckled. "Jesus Christ, the people I have to deal with. Seriously it feels great. They're not the only ones though. That officer is a generous one, he got me a few Human girls, some Salarian and even a Turian girl once." He let out a cruel laugh. "I think I forgot to use a condum with that last one. Pity, she was cute."

"You don't say," Norman growled, the cigarette now shaking in his hands as he put it back in his mouth.

"So yeah, I say I have it pretty sweet," the man said. "And you can't even fucking touch me can you? You need me alive for the information that I've got. So fuck off little boy, go tell the Prince that he can take it and shove it, and tell the leader of the Eagles that if she gets the time I'd like to take my cock and shove it up her-" Norman bit down viciously on his cigarette, tearing it in half.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he reached down and drew one of his pistols. "Oh, what are you going to do with that?" the man asked mockingly. "Shove it up your ass?"

"I've had enough of you," Norman growled, "so why don't you just tell me what I want to know already?"

"Or what? Your faggot friend already tried this trick remember? You're not going to do jack shot to me, you need me-" before he could say another word, Norman aimed the pistol at the man's knee and pulled the trigger. There was a loud bang and a hole was torn in his leg, blood spurting out as the man roared in pain. "WHAT THE FUCK!?" the man shrieked.

"Information please," Norman said, his voice low. However, despite his tone, a smile was spreading over his face. A gleeful, sadistic smile.

"Fuck you you miserable cunt!" the man shouted "Just-FUCK!" he screamed as Norman aimed his pistol and fired a round into his other leg.

"I really need that information," Norman said, idly twirling his pistol, still smirking widely. "But if you're in no hurry, then neither am I."

"The fuck is wrong with you? You need me alive you crazy-GAH!" Norman pressed his pistol against the man's arm, pulling the trigger again.

"Come now," Norman said, his voice low and taunting. "I need to know what you know. Or...oh...there's an idea. You seem to talk pretty fondly about your dick," he pressed his pistol against the man's crotch.

"No...no, no, no fuck no," the man whimpered. "Ok, ok fine! I don't know jack shit about anything! I was just poking around hoping that I would get lucky when the Prince's men jumped me! There aren't any other spies in the area, at least the ones that I know of. That's all I know, I swear to fucking Christ that's all I know. The officer I work with? He never tells me shit I swear that's all I know."

Norman nodded. "I believe you."

"Oh thank God, I can't!" Norman pulled the trigger. The man roared in pain as the bullet tore through his crotch. "What the fuck!?" he shouted, tears now streaming down his face.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I have everything that you know, I don't need you alive anymore do I?"

"What?...oh no...no no no, I lied, I didn't tell you everything there's...a secret garrison not that far from here, they're about to attack you and-"

"That's nice," Norman said, taking his pistol and shoving it into the man's mouth. "Thank you for your help." There was an evil sadistic smile on Norman's face as he pulled the trigger. There was a loud bang as the walls behind the man was painted with blood. Norman pulled his pistol back, looking down at the body that was lying in front of him with a self satisfied smirk on his face.

As he did, the door burst open and Roger stormed into the room, the rebel that had been interrogating the man right behind him. "What the fuck happened here?" Roger said, looking down at the bullet riddled corpse.

"You don't have anything to worry about," Norman said, looking at the rebel. "I got him to talk. He just got lucky and was sticking his nose where it didn't belong. He didn't know anything about you or about anything else."

"You sure?" the rebel said.

"Oh. I'm sure," Norman said, still smiling. "Trust me, he was in no position to be lying."

"Well then, who gives a crap if he's dead?" the rebel said, shrugging his shoulders. "We were going to off him anyway. Well, I'm going to go give the Prince the good news. Later." Turning around he began to walk away.

Norman made to follow him, but before he could walk any further, Roger's metal hand closed around his shoulder. "You want to tell me what the fuck happened in here?" Roger hissed.

"Get your hands off of me," Norman hissed, turning around to look at Roger. "You heard him, they were going to kill him anyway."

"Yeah, but I can't help but wonder why you're smiling like you've got a fucking boner. Do you fucking get off to shooting a guy in the nut sack? Are you going to go into the other room and jack off now?"

"He was talking about how much he enjoying raping every last girl that he could get his hands on. He KILLED a Turian that way. The way I see things I did the galaxy a favor."

"Oh, so acting out your personal masturbation fantasies that involve mutilating genitals and corpses is doing the galaxy a favor now is it?"

"Ok, let's start from the top. He was a murderer and a rapist, he was also a spy. I got all of the information I could out of him, and he was sitting around a building filled with rebels planning their next move against the Enclave, and there was a chance that he could've overheard said plans, escaped, and told the Enclave what we were planning. So what if I had to be a little extreme about it, you didn't seem to have a problem letting him think that you were about to tear his tongue out."

"Yeah, but the thing is that I didn't actually do it!" Roger shouted, sounding angry. "I mean Jesus H Christ, I don't even give a shit about what you had to do. You were brutal and got the information? Good for fucking you, you actually managed to do something better than me for once in your fucking life." Norman's teeth clenched in anger as Roger spoke. "I'm more worried that you were grinning like a fucking psychopath when I came in because of all of this shit that you did, there's a big fucking difference between doing something like this because you have to, and doing it because you get off to it. Is that why you became a soldier? So that you could kill people and get paid for it? I'll bet that's it, you get a fucking thrill off of this don-" Roger was cut off mid sentence as Norman's fist slammed into his face.

He staggered back a few steps, looking up and glaring at Norman. "Don't talk about things you don't know the first thing about," Norman growled, turning and walking out of the room, Roger watching him go. As he walked down the hallway, he sighed, looking down. As he did, he reached up and pulled off his hat, looking down at it. "I did the right thing," he muttered, looking at the hat. "People like him...he was just like Dad, just like the people that got you killed. They all deserve what's coming to them." His face hardening, Norman placed his hat back on his head before pulling his bandana back up and tightening it.

XXXXX

Author's Note:...I'm sure that most of you have heard about the tragic shooting that happened in Connecticut already. I probably didn't get around to talking about it in the last chapter because...really I wouldn't know the first thing to say about it, I really just don't know what I feel about all of these shootings anymore. However, there is a new topic that I feel very clearly about, once again, video games are being blamed for the actions of a man that was very clearly mentally ill.

Now I am leaving politics out of this, there are good arguments on both sides when it comes to gun control and mental health care, but that's not what I'm here to talk about. Since this is a crossover between two video games, I think it's safe to say that most of my readers are gamers, and I think it's safe to say that we all agree that the concept of video games causing murders is nothing short of ridiculous. Hundreds of millions of people play video games, many of them violent M/18+ rated ones, if video games caused murderers, the Human race would be at a fraction of its current population.

This concept is just absurd, especially when games like Mass Effect and Star Craft are being blamed, Mass Effect because a person liked the page, not even the shooter himself, it was the shooter's brother, who didn't kill anyone. And Mass Effect tends to encourage people to be the good guy who only kills when he has to. What's more the man reportedly played Star Craft when he was in high school, and this is the same game that South Korea made into a national sport, and may I point out to you that that country has had absolutely no school shootings ever?

People need a scapegoat when this stuff happens, I don't know why they don't use the very convenient scapegoat of the man that actually did it (my friend theorizes that people don't want to accept that anyone anywhere can be a killer because it stretches too far into the unknown so they attack something that is known that they have nothing to do with to distance themselves from it), but that's beside the point. The modern media gets people going when they are scared for their children and they attack something that they don't understand. My advice? Watch Total Biscuit's video on the matter, he does a much better job of explaining it than I do, I just remember that these people are doing this because they're scared, don't fuel the fire. I doubt that anyone who read this chapter is going to feel the sudden urge to go shoot someone in the crotch just because Norman did it. We're better than this. Don't fall into the same rage that these people are, calmly explain to them why they are wrong. They are scared because they don't understand us. If we want this to stop, we need to make them understand us.

Also, please join the new "Realize Gaming" page if you have a Facebook account.

P.S. The Turian that attacked Saren? He's not an OC. He's an original Mass Effect character. Try to guess who he is, if you can I'll answer one question about this story.


	54. Urban Brawl

Chapter 54

Urban Brawl

Author's Note: Well, I would like to thank Master123456 for his indirect contribution. His constructive criticisms caused me to come up with several ideas that I think are brilliant and far superior to the original direction that I planned to take the story. This is why I find constructive criticism to be superior to flaming. One is just annoying, the other one gets me thinking.

XXXXX

"Remind me again how this is going to work," Roger said, looking at Jane as he sat in the back of a truck carrying him, along with Jane, John, Ashley, Volker, Tali, Michael, Sam, Wrex, Norman and Garrus. "I was in the back with Norman when our beloved monarch was telling us his plan."

"He managed to get a few contacts of his to sneak the tanks that he stole into the city," Sam said. "And before you ask, I have no freaking clue how he did that. He said that he did it weeks ago but I dunno."

"It's possible that he could've dismantled them and snuck them in piece by piece," Tali suggested. "It would've been a complicated and long process, but if he had enough engineers that knew what they were doing he could've pulled it off."

"Huh," Sam said, looking at Tali. "Is there any chance that you could pull that off?"

Tali laughed. "Thanks for the idea, but probably not. The Migrant Fleet doesn't exactly have a lot of tanks. We're more space based than that. Come to think of it we don't have a lot of ground based vehicles in general. I guess when your entire civilization is based around starships, that happens."

"So, what are the specifics of the plan?" Norman asked, fiddling with a heavy caliber, single shot rifle that was in his hands. He had retrieved it from the Normandy's armory after deciding that his pistols wouldn't be enough against an army that fielded power armor, especially after they had failed to take down Grace.

"The plan is to hit General Moore in a pincer move. She's being transported from the north end of the city to the south end to inspect the garrison there. As far as we know, she has five Tiger tanks with her, possible more, and there's a good chance that she has a fair amount of infantry backing her up too," Jane explained. "The Prince is going to hit her convoy from one end, we're going to hit her from the other end, and with any luck we'll have them trapped."

"Our main objective here is to kill General Moore," Sam said, checking her swords, "so the second we kill her, we should retreat at once. We don't need to accomplish anything else and sticking around would be suicide, considering that reinforcements are going to be sent after us immediately. I'd rather make this quick and clean too, I don't really feel comfortable about this."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked.

"We're fighting in the middle of a city, people are going to get hurt and killed, innocent people that don't have a stake in our fight," she said, looking at her swords. "I want to make this as fast and hard as possible. If we can, just take out the tank carried Moore and run like Hell. To be honest I'd prefer if the Prince's tanks didn't get involved at all."

"That'd turn things into a bloodbath for us if this fight lasted for longer than ten seconds though," Ashley pointed out.

"I know," Sam said, sounding frustrated.

"And this is the best place to take a shot at her, anywhere else she'd probably be in the middle of a military instillation had have a lot more security around her," Wrex added. "And we're good, but we're not quite in a position to be charging the Enclave like some cocky idiot during his Rite."

"I know," Sam repeated.

"And I thought you said that General Moore was a major problem that needed to be eliminated," John said. "Isn't she a major commander for the Enclave forced that are enforcing martial law, and didn't you say that killing her would disorganize them and give the people of this planet something to rally behind?"

"I KNOW!" Sam shouted, causing everyone in the truck to look at her. "I know that we need to do this, that doesn't mean that I have to like it ok?"

"You'd think she'd have a thicker skin than this," Roger muttered, only loud enough for Norman, who was sitting next to him, to hear. "I mean seriously, how long has she been doing this?"

"She doesn't like innocent people getting killed, I'll have her write you an apology letter," Norman hissed. "Do you honestly have a problem with someone not wanting to kill civilians killed?"

"No, I was just pointing out that it's kinda weird for someone who's been fighting for years to be this sensitive. It's just weird, I don't have a problem with her. I have a problem with someone shooting a person in the groin and then jacking off to it," Roger retaliated. "Off the high horse cunt, you really don't have the moral high ground."

"Watch it," Norman hissed.

Before Roger could reply, the truck slid to a halt, jolting them slightly. "Ok, we're in position. The others should be right behind us in the other truck, and the Prince and his men should be getting into position too," Jane said. "For a little bit, we're just going to have to stay still and be patient. Roger, you, Michael and Wrex are on anti-tank duty, John will be helping you out. Garrus, Volker, Tali and I will be hanging back and providing cover fire and drawing the attention of the infantry if we can. Norman and Ashley? If we can't get Moore with rockets, I want you to help Sam go in for the kill."

"You got it," Ashley said, her hand resting over the hilt of her sword. "You hear that John? The Williams kid has to go take care of the Enclave General, so do me a little favor and try not to slow me down too much."

"Oh gee, I guess I can't really do much to help," John said jokingly, drawing his pulse rifle and showing it to Ashley. "I mean, I have this high tech gun that takes out tanks, but you've got a sword. Guess you've got me beat."

Volker smiled slightly as he watched the two continue to take jabs at each other. "You look happy about something," Tali said, looking at him.

"I guess this is just a refreshing change of pace is all," Volker said, turning to face her. "Back in my time, only men were allowed in the army, you really didn't see stuff like this. Ok, sure, there were a lot of women in the Red Army, but in hindsight they had a tendency to be the angrier ones. Not that I can blame them." As he spoke, his hand reached into his pocket and tightly gripped the golden star that he had.

"What do you mean by that?" Tali asked.

"Huh? Oh, well from what I've been seeing of this time period, things have changed a lot. In my time women were...kinda viewed as inferior to men. I think I talked to Ashley about it and I think she called it sexism or something like that."

"I think the Quarians might have had something like that way back when," Tali said, "but it's hard to tell. The war with the Geth destroyed a lot of records of our history. It definitely got squashed out a long time ago, there aren't that many Quarians left and we can't afford to be picky with who does what. Two of my people's five leaders are women."

"I have to admit, the more I see of it, the more I'm starting to like it. It's really a nice change of pace to see women doing jobs that I only ever saw men do. I mean some of the women that I've gotten to meet recently have got to be some of the strongest that I've ever met. Sheryl, Cornelia, Ashley, the Captain, Liara, and you of course. And...uh..." he blushed deeply. "Don't tell anyone I said this but...I mean I saw plenty of women like that back in the Red Army but I was fighting for my life back then so I never really got a chance to think about it that way...I mean..."

"Volker, exactly what are you trying to say?" Tali asked.

"I...I just..." Volker said, glancing around the truck and looking extremely embarrassed. Leaning in, he whispered into Tali's helmet. "Woman that I strong like that...I...I think I find them attractive."

Despite her best intentions, Tali couldn't help but find herself snickering softly, bitting on her lip in an attempt to keep herself quiet. "And uh...how did you come to this conclusion?" she asked jokingly.

Volker felt his stomach drop out of his body and his heart began to rapidly beat again. A mere sixty seconds ago, he had been causally talking with Tali like it was the easiest thing in the world, but all of a sudden, he couldn't think of a single thing to say. "Uh...I just...I mean...it's just..."

"Are you ok?" Tali asked, looking at him with concern.

"It's just that...I...thing's have been," he stuttered, desperately trying to think of something to say.

As he continued to blubber, comprehension dawned on Tali's face and her eyes widened slightly. "Volker...are...are you," she said, now stuttering herself, "I...are you trying to say-" the two of them could not get another word out before a loud rapping from outside the truck caused them both to jump.

"That's our cue, the Prince is going to make his move soon." Jane said, taking her helmet and sliding it over her head before drawing her plasma rifle. "Everyone, remember your jobs. The Prince is going to be focusing all of his men on dealing with the tanks and the main bulk of Moore's forces. In fact, he's going to be attacking her from the front while we're going to be hitting her from behind, so we can't count on support from him."

"Try not to miss," Norman said, getting to his feet and checking his rifle one last time.

"Don't tempt me," Roger replied, also getting to his feet and loading his rocket launcher, Wrex doing the same out of the corner of his eye.

Awkwardly, Volker and Tali both got to their feet, not making eye contact. "Hey Tali!" Ashley cried out, causing the Quarian to look up at her. "You're going to be covering the three of us, so you may want to use that tactical cloak that you used back on Eden Prime!"

"Oh...right I'll do that!" she called back, activating her omni-tool and beginning to type into it.

"So...we need to make sure that the three of them stay safe?" Volker asked quietly, pointing at Ashley, Sam and Norman.

"Yeah. Normally they'd be able to take care of themselves, but odds are they're going to be drawing a lot of attention to themselves considering that they're going after an Enclave General. Are...are you nervous?"

"A little, I'm not going to lie," Volker admitted. "Those people back at the Air Force base, they...they weren't Human anymore. The way that they jumped from building to building, it...it was unnerving."

Tali smiled weakly, putting her hand on Volker's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm going to be invisible, they won't see me coming."

Volker glanced at her. "You can do that?"

"Yeah. I never did show you that did I? Well, don't worry. I may be focusing on keeping Norman, Sam and Ashley safe, but I'll be sure to make sure that you stay safe too."

He smiled. "Thanks." As he spoke, a massive explosion was heard from outside the truck.

"That's gotta be the Prince!" Sam shouted.

"Everyone move!" Jane shouted as she threw open the back door to the truck.

"Let's do this," Tali said, drawing her shotgun and pressing a button on her omni-tool, causing her tactical cloak to activate as Volker drew his Theta energy pistol. The group stormed out of the truck and into the streets.

XXXXX

Saren watched with a small smirk of satisfaction on his face as he looked at the Turian that had been impaled on the Reaper spike that was still in the middle of the Batarian space station. "Saren...why are we doing this?" Rana asked, her voice resonating through his COM as she watched through the Geth. "We've seen what these things do, they turn people into these...abominations."

"Husks," Saren said, "I thought we agreed to call them Husks. I came up with classifications for them too. I gave you the list. He's turning into a Marauder."

"Are you ok Saren?" Rana asked. "When you saw the Husks on the derelict Reaper you threw up. You...you don't really seem that bothered by this."

'She...she's right,' Saren thought, looking at the Turian. He could see small pieces of metal that were starting to emerge from it's body, in fact, he had a hard time recognizing this thing as a Turian now. It's face had been especially deformed, to the point where it had more than two eyes and visible pieces of circuitry sticking out of it. 'I was horrified at what happened to them back there, but I-NO! This is different! Those were my people, the people actually trying to stop the Coalition, not keep them alive.'

"Rana, despite all of the time that we've spent studying Reaper technology, there's still a lot we don't understand about it. I want you to take scans of him while the spikes do their job. The more we understand about this process, the better."

"I...ok," Rana said uncertainly. "It looks like the nanobots have spread all throughout his body by this point. They seemed to be using small amounts of materials that were stored in each of them to build the cybernetics that are engulfing his body, but they also seemed to be repurposing other parts of his body into making the cybernetics as well. I'm reading multiple systems that have been created and brought online, including targeting, shields, and partial repair systems. Also...oh Goddess!"

"What is it? Saren asked.

"I...I think that this spike has been damaged. Something is wrong with the nanobots that are supposed to be rewriting his neural patterns to make him like the other Husks that we saw on the derelict Reaper!"

"What does that mean?" Saren asked.

"It means that even though his body has changed, he's still the same person that just tried to kill you!" Rana shouted.

Almost as if on cue, the Marauder began to stir, the spike still sticking through the middle of his chest. "What the...what's going on! Where am I?" he shouted, his voice noticeably low and partially synthetic. He struggled, but was unable to move with the spike still stuck through his chest.

"Actually, this could be useful," Saren said, bending down and drawing a pistol as he did. "Do you know who I am?"

The Marauder looked up at Saren and as it did the few remaining organic pieces of his face shifted, as if in disgust. "Saren," he hissed. "If I get out of this thing, you're dead."

"Good luck with that. Now then, who sent you, who are you with? The Turian Hierarchy? The Council? The Blue Suns? Or are you just a freelancer that bit off more than I you could chew? For that matter, who are you?"

"I'm...I'm...I'm...oh Spirits," the Marauder whispered. "Who...who am I?"

"You...you can't remember?" Saren said. "Rana, did the process-"

"Yes...it damaged his memory," Rana said. "Part of it anyway. From what I can see he's lost all memory of his personal life, but he still should have general knowledge about the galactic community. In other words, he still knows about you and odds are still hates you enough to want you dead."

"Well then," Saren said, taking his gun and aiming it at the Marauder's head. "If he's still sentient and still wants me dead but doesn't have any information to give me, then I don't see a lot of reason to keep him alive. Nothing personal of course."

"Fuck you," the Marauder hissed. Saren simply smiled as his finger tightened around the trigger, but before he could pull it, another bang roared out and the heads of one of the nearby Geth exploded. Four more shots rang out, each one claiming the life of a nearby Geth as Saren spun around and fired his pistol in the direction that the shots had come from. A figure in a trench coat charged forward, firing a revolver in his hand at Saren, forcing the Turian to dive behind a nearby crate to avoid the shot.

"Rana, send reinforcements! We have another hostile!" Saren shouted into his COM unit as the figure ducked down behind a nearby crate, sliding open his revolver and sliding six fresh bullets in.

"HEY! Get me down from here! I can help you kill him!" the Marauder shouted at the figure. No sooner had he spoken than the figure had fired his revolver at the base of the spike, causing it to spark with electricity as the spike withdrew into the base of the machine, the Marauder scrambling off. Hastily, he grabbed one of the Geth rifles and opened fire at Saren, who returned fire from behind cover with a couple of well placed shots, hitting the Marauder's shields and forcing him to take cover behind a nearby crate.

He stood up to take another shot at Saren, but before he could a rocket flew through a nearby doorway, the Marauder ducking down and narrowly avoiding it as it flew overhead and hit the back wall of the room. A massive Geth Prime walked into the room, entering through the doorway behind Saren, aiming it's rifle at the figure and the Marauder, firing bullets this time instead of rockets.

"Shit," the figure swore, standing up and emptying all six of the bullets in his revolver at the Prime before ducking down, narrowly avoiding a rocket that was sent his way. The Prime's shields had been weakened by his fire, but they were still intact. "This one is tougher than the others. Hey!" he shouted, looking at the Marauder, "I need some help with this one!"

"Right!" the Marauder shouted standing up and opening fire on the Geth Prime, spraying it with bullets and slightly weakening its shields. He was only able to fire for a few seconds though, when Saren popped out of cover again and fired three shots at the Marauder, two of them hitting his shields and forcing him back down again.

The figure had used this time to reload his revolver though, and stood up, firing all six shots at the Geth Prime. The five five were able to finally break its shields, while the sixth directly pierced it's head, causing it to explode and sending white fluids splattering all over the walls.

However, the duo's victory was short lived, as more Geth began to swarm through the door behind Saren, quickly filling up the room. Two of them were Primes. "Damn it," the figure whispered, reloading his revolver"there's too many of them. Hey you!" he shouted, looking at the Marauder. "Follow my lead!" Standing up, the figure fired a single shot that took out a Geth trooper before turning and running, disappearing through the same door that he had emerged. The Marauder followed, not even bothering to shoot at the Geth behind him as bullets whizzed past his head.

"AFTER THEM!" Saren shouted, sounding furious. "Dead! I want them both dead! NOW!"

"Where are we going!?" the Marauder shouted as he and the figure ran through the space station, making hasty left and right turns.

"There's too many Geth for the two of us to handle," the figure replied, "we need to get out of here. My ship isn't that far from here, it can hold the two of us."

"But what about Saren? We can't just leave him here!" the Marauder protested.

"Well, we both had a shot at doing him in and we both screwed it up. Now he knows that we're here and he has his Geth looking for us. We need to get out of here before they swarm and kill us. Ok, here we go!" The figure made a sharp right turn and ran along a narrow passageway, an air lock at the end, still wide open. Outside a ship around the size of a private yacht was visible, a few missiles visibly attached to the bottom.

"Get in!" the figure shouted, jumping through the air lock and into the ship, the Marauder mirroring his moves as the Geth emerged behind him, bullets flying into the ship, a few hitting them and weakening their shields. The figure slammed a button that caused the air lock to slam shut before hastily hitting another that caused the other end of the air lock to open, revealing the rest of the ship.

"Come on," the figure said, running into the middle of what appeared to be the ship's bridge and sitting down in a chair, typing into the panel in front of him. "Come on...we need to get out of here...now." He sighed as he slid back into his chair, the space visible through the cockpit of the ship changing rapidly as the ship made a jump to FTL.

"We made it," the figure whispered.

"And Saren is still alive!" the Marauder shouted, clearly angry, "we had the perfect chance to kill him back there!"

"I know, that was what I was planning on doing myself, but I had to stop to save you," the figure snapped, "so don't lecture me about him being left alive. He'd have a .44 magnum bullet lodged in his cranium if I had gotten the chance. The way I see it we both had a chance to kill him and we both screwed it up. What were you doing there anyway?"

"I don't know," the Marauder replied.

"Oh very funny. I save your life and you can't even-"

"No," the Marauder growled. "I don't know. I don't remember a thing about myself. I know who Saren is and the threat he posses, and I know that I want him dead, but I can't remember a thing about my personal life."

"Really?" the figure said, looking at the Marauder. "I...I'm sorry to hear that. Did that...thing that you were on do this to you?"

"I think so," the Marauder said. "Anyway, what were you doing there?"

"Investigating this top secret project that I had gotten wind of. I was checking it out and thinking that I might sabotage it when Saren showed up. I thought that I would have a chance to take him out, but that's water under the bridge now."

"How did you find out about that project?"

"The Shadow Broker," the figure replied, "you'd be surprised to find out who he has reporting to him and what he can give you if you can get him what he wants."

"How did you get there without the Batarians or Saren seeing you?"

"My ship has stealth engines. The same that the famous frigate Normandy does."

"How did you get-"

"That's enough questions," the figure said.

"You're...you're right," the Marauder said. "We need to head to the nearest Council planet and let them know that Saren has access that ship the Batarians had. With two ships that size, I don't even want to think about the damage he can do."

"What are you going to tell them?" the figure said. "What makes you think that someone that looks like you will be listened to? And even if you did, the Batarians would deny that the thing ever existed."

"Well we can't just let him run off with that thing!"

"I'm not planning on. I'm rather famous in the Coalition, I'll send a message to Admiral Hackett when I get the chance. I'm pretty sure that he'll listen to me, but I'm not sure what he'll be able to do with the information. Odds are Saren will be off the grid again before he could send so much as a single ship this way." The figure sighed, "Aw well, I got work to do."

"Work? What work?"

"I'm...a bit of a problem solver. I go where I'm needed and I get rid of unsavory types. I've been around the galaxy a bit. Been doing this for a long time."

"What? Who are you? Who do you work for? How long have you been doing this? What the Hell are you trying to accomplish."

"Call me what everyone in the Coalition calls me, the Mysterious Stranger. The rest is my business. Still, I could use a little bit of extra help. Things have really been getting bad around the galaxy lately, and I have a lot of people that need to disappear. A really long list of people that no one would miss. I could use a helping hand."

"I...I don't know," the Marauder said. "Saren is-"

"Gone," the Stranger said. "We can't do anything about him right now. But the second I get a blip on the radar about him, we'll be after his head. So...partners?" he asked, holding his hand out to the Marauder.

The Marauder hesitated, looking at his hand. If he was to go somewhere else, where would he start? He didn't know the first thing about himself. He really didn't see a lot of options open to him, and the thought of killing people who deserved it didn't sound like that bad of an idea. Spotting his cybernetic ridden arm, his hand tightened into a fist. Saren had done this to his body and taken his life away. One day, he would return the favor. "Partners," he said, taking the Stranger's hand.

"So, what do I call you?"

The Marauder paused as he thought. He couldn't think of anything that he would consider to be a meaningful name. There was nothing particularly symbolic that he could think of, and there wasn't anything that appealed to him either. After a few seconds, he remembered overhearing two words spoken by Saren and his assistant over the COM lines. With no other preferable alternative, he decided that those two words would make a fitting name. "Call me Marauder Shields."

XXXXX

"Here we go!" Cornelia shouted, drawing her sword with one hand and her SMG with the other as the door to the truck that she was in burst open, she, Sheryl, Jenkins, Liara, Adam, Jack, EDI, Charon, Fawkes, and around a dozen Eagles streamed out, weapons at the ready. "Jane wants us to take care of the Enclave while they go for the General, so let's do this!"

Sheryl silently nodded as she loaded her grapple hook into her crossbow and fired it at the top of a nearby building, climbing up as the others moved forward, weapons blazing. The battle was being waged in the middle of a four way intersection, with the two trucks belonging to the Eagles parked behind a column of five tanks, the Normandy crew and the Eagles spilling out of them.

On the other side of the tanks, the two Tiger tanks that belonged to the Princes were opened fire, having already destroyed the forward most tank as dozens of rebels emerged from hiding places, opening fire at the convoy. Already, dozens of Enclave soldiers around and emerging from the tanks were returning fire, forming defensive lines. While half of them were wearing the usual Enclave power armor, others were wearing bulky, but significantly smaller green armor. A glancing shot from the rebel tanks hit the middle tank as the Enclave soldiers opened fire.

"Who are they?" Cornelia asked, firing a burst from her SMG at one of the soldiers before ducking down into cover behind an abandoned car, Adam and Jack right behind her.

"Enclave Marines!" Jack said, standing up and flicking a Warp at one of the Marines, blasting out a large chunk of his torso and causing him to fall to the ground dead. "They're basically light infantry."

"Interesting to know!" Adam said, firing a few blasts from his shotgun, "hopefully they won't be too hard to deal with if-INCOMING!" As he shouted, the back tank in the column turned its turret to face its rear attackers, firing a blast from its cannon. A bolt of plasma flew through the air and slammed into the ground right behind them, barely missing.

"That thing is going to obliterate us if we don't get rid of it!" Adam shouted.

"Well we weren't supposed to be taking care of the tanks!" Jack shouted, throwing another Warp and claiming the life of a second Enclave Marine, "so call your friends up and tell them to pull their heads out of their asses!"

"Captain!" Cornelia shouted into her COM unit. "We need that rear tank gone!"

"Understood!" Jane replied "Roger! Wrex! Michael!" As she shouted, three men from the first group, which was a far way ahead of them, raised rocket launchers and fired them at the rear tank. The projectiles flew through the air and slammed into the armored vehicle, engulfing it in flames. With a destroyed tank in front and a destroyed tank in back, the three surviving ones were effectively pinned.

"Thank you!" Cornelia shouted, into her COM unit, raising her SMG and firing it at a Marine who's shields had been weakened by the explosion of the tank, hitting him in the chest with five bullets and killing him.

"We should've had needed to ask!" Jack shouted angrily, throwing a third ball of biotic energy at the ranks of the Enclave forces.

"Quit whining," Sheryl hissed through the COM lines, kneeling down at the top of the two story building that she was now on and raising her sniper rifle, staring down the scope. Lining up a shot with a power armor wearing Enclave trooper, she fired three shots, the first two to weaken his shield, and the third to finish him off. "You should be grateful that we bothered to keep you alive."

"Oh yeah," Jack said, extending her hand at an Enclave heavy trooper that had taken aim at her. "Because I really needed YOUR help to do that," she shouted, swinging her hand and causing the now glowing man to slam into the side of a building, a loud crack barely audible over the sounds of the battle that was now raging.

"Yeesh, and I thought that Clover was a little psychotic," Charon said, crouching behind a hot dog stand and firing three blasts from his shotgun and downing another Enclave soldier. "On the flip side, it looks like we've got them where we want them."

"You mean we're going to win this?" Jenkins said, sounding excited as he aimed his assault rifle at a Marine who had just killed one of the Eagles and gunned him down.

"We're winning at the moment, but we can't let our guard down just yet," Charon said, firing another blast. "People with bigger advantages than us have had the tables turned on them in the past." As he spoke, one of the surviving Tiger tanks fired at them again, narrowly missing and this time only because of the destroyed tank that was blocking its way, while the other two started to open fire on the Princes' tanks. "This is going to turn real ugly real fast," the Necro-Human muttered.

"COWARDS!" Fawkes shouted, spaying his gatling laser at the Enclave forces, forcing a good number of them into cover and killing a couple of them. "RUN! RUN AND HIDE!"

"Captain, this battle is going to turn into a real mess if we drag it out," Charon said into his COM unit. "We should kill Moore before that happens.

"I agree," Jane said. "Sheryl, I need you to spot General Moore for us. Look for an officer with a rapier, probably in the middle of the convoy. Call out her location."

"Understood," Sheryl whispered, scanning the battle below her with her rifle, slowly looking through the crowds for their target, stopping just for a second to shoot a Marine who's shields had been weakened. The seconds ticked by as she continued to scan the ranks of the enemy soldiers, unable to find the person that she was looking for.

She was about to start over, when the hatch of the middle tank was flung open, smoke pouring out of it from the inside, and a woman in an officer's uniform emerged, coughing heavily. She had a rapier at her belt "I see her!" Sheryl said, lining up a shot with her head and moving to pull the trigger, but before she could a shot soared through the air and slammed into her shields, nearly dropping them. "Shit!" she swore, scrambling behind a nearby vent on the roof as another shot tore past her, nearly missing. "Captain, I lost the shot I had on Moore, another sniper has her pinned, but she's in the middle tank. It looks like it's filling up with smoke and forcing her out."

"Got it!" Jane shouted. "Norman! Ashley! Sam! General Moore is in the center tank, she's exposed! Get in there and take her out! Fawkes! Clear a path for them!"

The Meta-Human let out a roar as he aimed his gatling laser at the bulk of the soldiers that were standing in-between Jane's group and the convoy, letting all Hell lose. He swung it back and forth, making long sweeping motions that caused his laser blasts to hit the majority of the soldiers and causing their shields to flicker. This caused them to panic and dive for cover, leaving an opening to the convoy.

"GO!" Jane shouted over the COM lines. The three of them ran forward, Ashley and Norman firing their rifles at the Enclave forces at their sides, while Sam simply flew forward, the rockets on her power armor blazing.

"I see her!" Sam shouted, spotting the General jumping down from the middle tank, coughing heavily. "It looks like she might have kinetic barriers! Not that it'll do her a whole lot of good!" she shouted as she continued to fly through the air, closing in on Moore at a rapid pace. She bit her lip as she neared, swinging her arms back as she prepared to thrust both of her chainsaw swords forward.

However, before she could reach Moore, a massive force slammed into her, sending her flying back and slamming into the ground, one of her swords flying out of her hand. Gasping in pain, she attempted to get back to her feet only to see a soldier in power armor charging at her, swinging a hammer. "BITCH!" the soldier shouted, the voice clearly female and quite clearly enraged as she swung her hammer down at Sam, clearly intending to smash her skull in. Sam desperately threw herself back, the hammer slamming into the ground and cracking the pavement as she desperately scrambled to her feet, holding her sword in front of her defensively.

Ashley spotted this and aimed her rifle at the soldier attacking Sam, but before she could fire even a single shot, a stream of bullets slammed into her shields, almost causing them to drop and forcing her behind the destroyed Enclave tank. Peaking out, she saw another soldier in power armor standing on top of the smoking Enclave tank, and unless her eyes were deceiving her, machine gun barrels were sticking out of the palms of his hands.

"The Hell!?" Norman shouted. As he did, a third soldier jumped out of the burning tank, blades extending from his arms, charging at Norman. He grit his teeth and raised his rifle, firing off a few shots and managing to hit the charging soldier, but he only slightly weakened his shields by the time that he reached him. The soldier swung both of his bladed arms, knocking Norman's rifle out of his hands. He swore as he attempted to draw his pistols, unable to do so as the soldier continued to swing his bladed arms at him, forcing him to dodge desperately.

"SIGMA SQUAD!" the soldier on top of the tank shouted. "Protect General Moore until reinforcements arrive! Omega Squad is on the way!"

XXXXX

COALITION TOP SECRET FILES

ENTRIES ADDED

Enclave Marine Corps: Intelligence gathered on the Enclave has revealed that they have formed a military branch known as the Enclave Marine Corps. The original Enclave was infamous for their widespread usage of power armor, with only their officers not using it. However with the rise of the new Enclave it is believed that with their much larger army, they could not afford to produce power armor for all of their soldiers, and as a result, formed the Enclave Marine Corps.

Coalition intelligence officials have compared the Enclave Marine Corps to Coalition light infantry divisions. The marines wear green, relatively bulky armor with helmets that completely cover their heads and clear see-through visors that allow the faces of the soldiers to be fully seen through them. The theory for this is that the Enclave was concerned about rebels killing the soldiers and using their uniforms as disguises.

The Marines are believed to be trained in all fields of combat, enough for be considered experienced in them but not enough to be considered masters. They make up the bulk of the Enclave's ground based forces, the soldiers in power armor taking up a similar ratio as the Coalition heavy infantry.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait, Christmas and all that, I just haven't been able to sit down and think about writing properly.

Also yes, Marauder Shields and the Mysterious Stranger are partners, I AM THAT BIG OF A NERD! Sorry about the lack of a Christmas special, I just couldn't think of anything to do with it besides taking a lot of jabs at myself. Hopefully I'll be able to get over my writer's block soon and get updates up more often. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please tell me what you think.


	55. Price to Pay

Chapter 55

Price to Pay

Author's Note: Yeah, I've been a little bit slothful over my winter break, I've been getting more hours at my work and I'm using my time off to relax more. Still I'm working on the story still, so enjoy. Oh, and happy new year.

XXXXX

"This is so frustrating," Kasumi moaned, holding her head in her hands as she sat in the Eagle's base, "how come we were left behind when everyone else is out fighting?"

"Shepard Captain displayed an unwillingness to allow this unit into combat," Legion said. "Shepard Captain is reluctant to reveal that the Geth are providing direct support to the Coalition."

"Wouldn't they know that the ship that attacked them while they were hunting down Admiral 'Raan was Geth? I'm pretty sure that they got a good look at it," Kal said, sitting nearby.

"Correct, but she did not wish to reveal that we had managed to infiltrate the planet. This is a concern that we understand and respect," Legion replied.

"Still, why did Kal and I get left behind?" Kasumi asked. "Tali's out there so clearly Shep doesn't care about the Enclave know that there are Quarians on the planet, Hell they already managed to free a couple dozen of them, they already know that," she said, glancing around the room and spotting a couple of Quarians interacting with nearby Eagles. "And I think we've made it pretty clear in the past couple of days that the Coalition has forces on the planet."

"I don't think your Captain wants to dedicate all of her forces into a single strike," Kal said, "from what I heard, it took a lot of convincing for her to spare as much as her crew as she did. She also probably wanted to keep a couple of people behind in case this base ever got attacked."

"And you think that's a good idea?" Kasumi asked.

"Couldn't tell you. I'm a soldier, not a leader," Kal said.

"You're no fun," Kasumi said, shaking her head. "Heck, no one around here is any fun. There's nothing good to steal."

"This unit has detected several caches of vital supplies that would prove to be highly valuable," Legion said, "including-"

"Yeah yeah, maybe standard issue guns and food rations, but why would I want to steal that? You steal flashy stuff, not mundane stuff, otherwise what's the point?"

"Stealing?" Kal said, "I thought that you were a Coalition soldier?"

"I know, I know, I'm 'retired,'" she said, making air quotes with her fingers. "I was a bit of a thief before I became a neo-ninja...in fact I was a pretty big thief and I made a lot of money off of the things I stole. In fact not to toot my own horn...actually TO toot my own horn, I was pretty much the best thief in the galaxy."

"Then how come I've never heard of you before?" Kal asked.

"Because if you had, I would've been a pretty lousy thief," Kasumi replied. "You do understand what a good thief is right?"

"There's no such thing as a good thief," Kal replied.

"Ah. Quarians probably don't really like thieves because of their limited resources right?"

"Yup," Kal said. "We're all struggling to survive, someone taking more than he deserves is taking it away from someone who needs it. It's the epitome of being selfish. Water, food-"

"Didn't I just say that I didn't steal mundane stuff?" Kasumi said. "I stole really flashy stuff, I never stole anything that people needed to survive. I stole things like paintings and sculptures, I stole a couple of books too. No one ever died because of the things that I stole, and most of the people that I stole from usually had it coming anyway. Besides, I'm retired like I said...well technically anyway. I do the occasional side job every once in awhile."

"How come you retired?" Kal asked.

"Well...not to go into too much detail, not because I don't want to but because the Coalition made me sign a contract saying that I would keep my mouth shut, someone I don't like had something that belonged to me, I stole it back from him, and the Coalition helped me hide from them because the thing that I stole back could hurt them. I kinda had to destroy it, but in exchange for that the Coalition let slash forced me to come clean. The forced me because the man I stole that thing from is still alive and pretty angry, but on the flip side they only said that I had to serve a couple of years and that they would wipe my entire record clean, give me a fresh start."

"So how much longer do you need to serve?" Kal asked.

"Actually I finished the years I needed to serve three years ago," Kasumi said, "I'm still a neo-ninja because I want to be."

"How come?" Kal asked.

"Funny thing about that. Before the the Blitz and the Coalition launched their counter-attack against the Batarians, I was one of the people that they had tracking down the people that had been abducted by thugs and doing what I could to free them and slow down further slaving raids. When you spend time protecting people and saving others you start to realize that...well...it feels pretty good. Besides, like I said I still do a little work on the side, in fact this way it's even better because I can steal from people that the Coalition don't mind if I rob. No one complained at all when I came back from a slaver base with a rather expensive bottle of wine and a head dress. One made me a lot of money, while the other made me rather drunk."

Kal shook his head. "You're a very odd person."

"This coming from someone named Kal. Kal is a girl's name."

"Well Kal ain't a girl."

Kasumi laughed. "Whatever you say. So, what do you think of this whole situation? And don't pull that 'I'm a soldier' excuse again. I'm trying to have a conversation here."

"Honestly?" Kal asked, "It's a giant mess. Nothing really makes sense anymore. An organization that I thought was just a chapter in Coalition's history come back with enough military power to probably conquer all of the non-member races of the Council single-handedly. The Geth come out from behind the veil for the first time in 300 years, attack a Coalition colony, but it turns out that they're just a fraction of the real Geth, who actually want peace with us. And now I'm working with the crew of a ship that's 90% Coalition and we're fighting a guerrilla war against a galactic power we didn't even know existed a month ago." He shook his head. "How do I feel about the situation? I don't know what I feel about the situation."

"Fair enough," Kasumi said, frowning slightly as she leaned back in her chair. "I can't really blame you for that one. Since the Geth showed up at Eden Prime, the galaxy is just throwing curve ball after curve ball at us. You seem to understand that pretty well, and you weren't even there for the mess on Earth's moon, or that little incident on Noveria."

"What?" Kal said.

"I'm not sure if I'm allowed to talk about those things," Kasumi said. "Ask the Captain. But I agree with you. This ship seems to be a magnet for bizarre things, we can't go anywhere without something happened. We stopped to refuel and relax at a friendly planet, and one of us ended up uncovering and slaughtering a freaking cult that kidnapped and murdered people. It's pretty sad that when stuff like that happens its a slow day too." She sighed. "I hate to be the one to say it, but when all of this is said and done, and we finally managed to hunt down Saren and stop him, the galaxy is going to be unrecognizable."

Kal started at Kasumi, his eyes wide. "What?" she asked.

"That was unexpected coming from someone who just got done giving a speech about how much she likes stealing things."

"Screw you!" she said, the tone in her voice suddenly playful. "So what if I think it's fun to grab nice stuff without the owner knowing, I can be deep and philosophical when I want to."

"And when is that?" Kal asked, grinning slightly under his helmet, "next to never?"

"This coming from the guy who says that he's only good at blowing things up," Kasumi said. "Thievery is a very precise and difficult skill. The slightest mistake and everything goes up in smoke. Any idiot can hold a gun and shoot it, and any idiot and throw a grenade and fire a rocket launcher."

"Not gonna argue that," Kal said, "any idiot could do it. I'm the idiot that does it for a living. But hey, at least this is idiot work that's actually productive to society. You wouldn't know anything about that."

Kasumi chuckled. Kal's tone was playful, he wasn't trying to be insulting. "You know something 'Reegar, you're an ok guy," she said.

"You're not too bad for a thief," Kal replied.

"I wouldn't mind getting a drink with you when this is all said and done."

"So long as it's dextro. Also I may have to filter it a couple of times and I'll probably have to get it through a special straw. Any bacteria that could get through might be fatal for me."

"I thought that you said that you didn't know that much," Kasumi said, "you sounded pretty smart just there."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, "stuff like that is common knowledge."

"I guess it is for Quarians. Not so much for everyone else." Kal chuckled slightly. "I...damn it I can't think of anything else to talk about," Kasumi sighed, "I mean I already talked about everything I can think about with you, who else am I supposed to talk to. Legion?" She glanced at the synthetic. "No offense."

"We have no reason to be offended by your statement," Legion replied.

"Well, good," Kasumi said. "OH!" she cried, snapping her finger. "Did you see that new body that EDI has."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that," Kal said, looking at Kasumi, "what was up with that?"

"You remember that 'prisoner' that you brought back that actually turned out to be an Enclave infiltration unit?" Kasumi asked.

"Yeah. Tali looked like she was pretty disturbed by that," Kal replied.

"Can't say I blame her, I liked it better then synthetics were more..." her eyes darted over to Legion, taking in the single eye, hunchback, visible wires sticking out of its back and the massive gapping hole in it. "...obvious. Anyway, apparently it had a backup system and tried to reactivate itself when it was on the Normandy. EDI saw it and tried hacking it to prevent in, and in the process ended up taking control of the whole body."

"So she's in that thing now?" Kal asked.

"Not all of here, but a bit," Kasumi said. "From what I was told, she's got a little bit of herself in there, but the majority of her is still in the Normandy. She's basically controlling it like a puppeteer. Anyway, she thought that the body could end up being useful so she asked to go with the rest of the team on the mis...ion," Kasumi said, her voice slowing down. "You know, I just realized something," Kasumi said.

"Yeah?" Kal asked.

"How come we got left behind when an A.I. in a body that she's barely had got to go!?" Kasumi shouted out, "I mean come on! We're way more experienced that her!"

"Artificial Intelligence EDI, posses processing capabilities far beyond that of any synthetic that the Geth have encountered," Legion interjected. "We suspect that she will be able to calculate the best course of action and will be able to preform at a level that will not hamper the efforts of the Normandy Crew.

"Uh," Kasumi said.

Kal laughed. "Never argue with a synthetic. You always lose."

XXXXX

"What's going on!?" Woods shouted, slamming her hand onto her desk in frustration. Admiral Crawford's face on her terminal, the usual "audio only" caption right beneath it.

"There's a massive rebel attack in downtown New Boston!" Crawford shouted, sounding angry. "They've caught General Moore's convoy in a pincer move, she's pinned down. They rebels have tanks, it must be the Princes!"

Woods swore under her breath as she typed into her keyboard, Admiral Crawford's picture being shoved into a corner as video feeds of downtown New Boston filled up the main portion of the screen. Pressing the same button over and over again, she hastily cycled through various cameras until one appeared displaying the battle that Crawford had been talking about. She bit her lip as she saw the battle unfolding in front of her, two of Moore's five tanks destroyed and a third one damaged, forced hitting her from both sides. Three Enclave soldiers in power armor were on the far side, fighting against the enemy forces that were coming from that direction.

"Is that Sigma Squad?" Crawford said, apparently watching the same feed that Woods was. "What are they doing there?"

"I ordered them to guard General Moore, and apparently that was a smart move," Woods said, typing again into her computer to cause another window to pop up, this one a diagram of New Boston with Enclave military positions marked on it. "Omega Squad should already be on the way but..." she looked over the grid, looking for any nearby forces, "I'm not sure they'll be able to get there in time. I'm not sure that anyone will be able to."

"Oh, such a pity." Another picture appeared on the now cluttered desktop of Woods' laptop, this one of Goeth. "What a same it would be if General Moore were to die, one of your most senior staff. But perhaps I could save her...if I were allowed to unleash the Horde."

"The Horde? In a civilian population? They'd end up creating more problems then they solve! And how do you propose that you get them out there that fast!? Goeth, do me a favor and keep your mouth shut, I have five minutes at the very most to find a way to help Moore and then execute a plan." Typing into her computer again, she brought up the video feed again, hastily scanning it.

"It looks like one side is the Princes' tanks, while the other side is just infantry," she muttered. "If the enemy tanks are taken care of, Moore should be able to use her surviving tanks to eliminate the rebels on the other side. But how do we do that?" She ground her teeth in frustration. Time was against her, she needed to think fast.

"Madam President!" Crawford shouted. "The carriers you had me order into low orbit! They're within range of Moore's position!"

"What?" she said, bringing the map back up and typing into her computer so that it shifted to show a three dimensional map, with Crawford's ships towards the top. "What are you talking about?" she asked, checking the distance, "you wouldn't be able to get a vertibird down there nearly fast enough."

"I'm not talking about vertibirds," Crawford said, "From their current position, I can get jets to Moore's position within two minutes. They can reduce the Prince's tanks to rubble."

"Ohhhhhhh," Goeth said. "This sounds interesting. I want to see where this is going to go."

"Crawford," Woods said through gritted teeth. "You do realize that Moore is in the middle of a city that hasn't been evacuated, correct? You do realize that this strike would kill civilians in the process, and you do realize that I am NOT going to authorize this?"

"Madam President, you're looking at the same footage that I am. Sigma Squad and Moore are outnumbered and they don't have any support that is near enough. I may hate the alcoholic sow, but we can't afford to lose General Moore, they chaos her death would sow would leave the door wide open for the rebels, and her death would cause more and more people to fall in line with the rebels once they prove they can kill someone as senior as her."

"Absolutely not!" Woods shouted, "An air strike on a civilian population would be a PR nightmare and would only serve to piss the rebels off! 'The Enclave bomb our houses' would make a very good rallying cry for rebels to get fresh recruits!"

"It could very well strike fear into their hearts instead," Crawford argued.

"It might, it might not. These reactions are impossible to predict and I am not going to base the future of the Enclave's stability on a coin flip. Stand down Crawford!"

"I'm sorry Madam President," Crawford said, sounding bitter. "Someone has to make the hard choices around here." As he spoke, his picture vanished as he disconnected.

"CRAWFORD!" Woods bellowed, "do not launch that assault! Your Commander in Chief is giving you a direct order!" As she yelled, a small blip appeared on the three dimensional map in front of her, a single fighter flying out of one of the carriers and heading down to the surface, a military tag appearing right next to it.

"Damn it!" Woods hissed, typing into her computer and opening a direct line to the fighter. "Pilot FG-246, this is President Woods, you do not have authorization to launch this assault, break off immediately." There was no response. "Pilot, you are not authorized to launch this attack! You will face a firing squad if you continue to disobey!" There was still no response. Either the transmitter had been turned off, or she was being ignored. "Pilot this is your last warning, break off!" No response.

Woods felt her body go slightly limp as the fighter continued to descend, now halfway towards New Boston. Admiral Crawford was not listening to her, the pilot wasn't listening to her, and she had no forces in the area that could shoot down the fighter in time. Reaching forward, she slowly closed the map. She couldn't watch.

She slumped back into her chair, her mind awfully blank. All of the variables were right in front of her, she could easily put them together and form an outcome, but her mind seemed to be subconsciously refusing to do so, everything that had just happened floating around in her mind without order as she sat there in shock.

"Well, what are you going to do about that?" Goeth asked, his picture still on the terminal.

"What do you mean about that?" Woods asked numbly.

"Well, Crawford disobeyed a direct order from you and he's going to get a lot of people killed. You do care about that sort of thing right?"

"What are you trying to say Goeth?" Woods asked, her teeth gritting in anger as she grasped for her case of cigars.

"I'm just saying," Goeth said, "you claim to stand for the people of the Enclave, yet he slaughtered these very people while disobeying you. That doesn't sound like something that you should get pass by unanswered."

"You are not President Goeth, I am," Woods growled. "Besides, you don't even care that the people out there are going to die."

"No...no I don't," Goeth admitted. "If anything it excites me." Sure enough, Woods could hear the emotion in his voice. Jubilation. "This is the most fun that I've had since I created Omega Squad. Admiral Crawford, ordering his own jets to make a bombing run on an Enclave city, the same one that he promised to protect, disobeying orders to do so, HAHAHA!" he cackled. "I love it! I love every second of it!"

"Goeth," Woods hissed, "remind me why I haven't had you killed yet?"

"Because you need me," the scientist replied, no shortage of smugness in his voice, "you need me. I developed Omega Squad, I developed all of the Enclave Special Forces, and right now, I'm working on the Geth core that we stole from Saren and when the Coalition and Geth invasion arrives here in two weeks, I'm going to be the reason that we don't get wiped out. That would be highly amusing, but it would also be disappointing for this little game of ours to end so soon. So kill me if you want, but when the Geth and Coalition attack, their combined forces will wipe us out."

Woods didn't reply, and even though she could not see his face, she knew that Goeth was grinning. "Correct me if you are wrong but you did order Crawford to attack a Geth outpost in order to provoke them into attacking us with the Coalition correct? You did that in order for the plan that you have in the works for when they show up didn't you? It'd be a shame if it all went to waste because I'm dead."

"And what if I kill you after that? What if I want to kill you after the plan is done, our enemies are defeated and I don't need you anymore?"

"If you kill me then? Well...then I really won't care anymore. Feel free to kill me then."

"...What?" Woods hissed.

"Once your plan is done, the number of people that you'll have killed, the destruction that you'll have sowed, the sheer amount of chaos that you'll have caused, once I've watched all of it with my own eyes...I'll die content. Simply watching something so magnificence will have made my life worth living...besides after that, everything else will be so inconsequential and boring, so really what's the point of living on after that?"

"You...don't care if you die?" Woods whispered.

"Woods, I don't think I ever told you why I agreed to research for the Enclave, far before you were even elected."

"It was to avoid the death penalty," Woods hissed.

"True, but that was only part of the reason. The galaxy...is like a giant forest. It's full of life, countless little animals scurrying around, making sure that they have enough food and water to last another winter, the bigger ones hunting the smaller ones and the smaller ones hiding when the bigger ones come around. It's a massive complex system that serves to only preserve its own existence...and it is beyond boring."

"But every once in awhile, there is something that breaks the status quo. There's a fire. The fire...is a beautiful thing, it tears away at the forest, burning everything in sight, not sparing anything, destroying the massive complex system that was built over thousands of years in an instant. It only lasts as long as there is still fuel to burn it though, and in time it fades away, but while it still burns, it is a beauty like no other."

"That is why I serve the Enclave Woods, you plan to start a massive fire, and I want to help you start it and watch it burn. The fire you start will be so massive that it may very well consume the entire galaxy, burn so hot that another fire may never burn again. I want to watch this fire burn, break the sickeningly boring status quo, and watch a beauty that will only exist for a brief time. After that, I will have no issues with dying, all I want is to watch a massive fire burn, I don't even care if I burn along with it. So Woods, do me a favor and make sure that this fire burns bright and hot."

Woods slammed down on the keyboard to her terminal, Goeth's picture disappearing. Her hand tightened into fists as a vortex of emotions swirled inside of her, she didn't know what to feel anymore, the situation was just becoming too overwhelming for her. Opening her case, she shakily drew one of them out and slip them in-between her lips, producing her lighter and lighting it. She took a drag and exhaled, holding the cigar in her hand shakily.

XXXXX

Volker's head spun around as he saw an Enclave soldier taking aim at him with a rifle. Aiming his Theta energy pistol at it, he pulled the trigger and sent a blast flying at him, reducing the soldier to a pile of ash within seconds. He was taking cover behind an overturned car, towards the head of rebel and Coalition attack on Moore's tank convoy

"FUCKER!" Volker's head glanced in the direction of the voice and say that an Enclave soldier had flanked him through an alleyway that was right next to him. Before he could do anything, the butt of the soldiers rifle had slammed into his face, sending him reeling back and forced him onto his back, stars swimming in front of his face, "DIE!" the soldier shouted, straightening out his rifle and aiming it at Volker, but before he could fire, a bang filled the air and he staggered back, his shields flaring around him. Another bang roared out and holes were torn in his armor, blood seeping out of them as he fell to the ground dead.

"You ok?" Tali asked, her tactical cloak dropping right next to Volker, taking one hand off of her shotgun and reaching out. Volker reached out and grabbed her hand, Tali pulling him to his feet.

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine," Volker said, rubbing his head slightly. "Don't worry."

"Don't worry? People have gotten concussions and cracked skulls that way. Just don't do anything stupid ok?

"Tali I'm-" Volker was cut off as a stream of bullets tore through the air, aimed at the two of them, forcing the both of them to scramble behind the car in front of them. "This is insane!" he shouted.

"I'm not sure if we can afford to drag this out forever," Tali said, looking up from behind the car slightly. Moore still had three tanks and the Princes still had two, both sides were still exchanging fire, but the blasts from the Princes' tanks were sending countless Enclave soldiers flying. "I mean, the Princes might be fine, but they're fighting with everything that they have and there's a chance we might sustain heavy causalities."

"It looks like we're winning though!" Volker shouted. As he did, one of the Tiger tanks, the closest one, started to charge up another plasma blast, but before it could fire, a blue stream from John's pulse rifle flew across the battle field, hitting the tank, the EMP causing its circuitry to short circuit. Without another to keep the building up plasma in control, it discharged prematurely, blowing the top half of the tank off.

"Yeah, but we could lose a lot of people if we don't win quickly!" Tali yelled.

"Wait a minute!" Volker shouted, looking up. He saw Norman desperately dodging as a man in power armor swung at him with bladed arms, Ashley pinned down by a man standing on top of a tank, and Sam, holding only one of her swords, fighting a woman in power armor who was swinging a hammer. "We need to help them!" Volker shouted, raising his pistol, but before he could fire a single shot, another stream of bullets flew towards him and impacted on his shields, nearly tearing them apart.

"Get down!" Tali shouted, grabbing him and pulling him down into cover. "It looks like they're forming a defensive line." Sure enough, a solid line of Enclave soldiers was standing in-between the tanks and the Eagles and Normandy crew, keeping up a steady stream of fire at them. They weren't making any attempts to kill the three people that had been sent to kill Moore.

"Why aren't they trying to kill them!?" Volker shouted, gesturing at Norman, Ashley and Sam.

"We're keeping them a little busy by shooting at them!" Tali shouted, firing a blast from her shotgun over the car, as if to prove a point. "That and that looks like another Special Forces squad, they probably trust them to get the job done. Damn it this is bad, we're pinned good and can't help them!" She put her finger to her ear. "Sheryl, Garrus, the team that was sent to take care of Moore is in trouble, they need support!"

"I can't help them right now!" Sheryl shouted, "a sniper has me pinned good!"

"Same here!" Garrus shouted. "It's going to take a little bit to smash through their defenses now that we don't have the element of surprise anymore!"

"Damn it!" Volker shouted, having heard the conversation. "Isn't there anything we can do to help them?"

Not that far away from them, Norman swore under his breath, narrowly sidestepping an overhead blow from his attacked. 'FUCK!' he swore internally, jumping back to avoid a stab, 'if I just had three seconds,' he dodged a diagonal swipe, 'I could draw my pistols,' he narrowly ducked a blow meant to decapitate him, 'but this guy' he sidestepped another stab, 'just won't let me do that!'

Losing patience, Norman gathered biotic energy around his hand and punched forward. The sudden offensive caught his attacker off guard, and his fist slammed into his stomach, a small cracking sounds reaching Norman's ears. He smiled slightly at the satisfying noise, but the second his hand pulled away and attempted to go for his pistol, the soldier immediately recovered, swinging his blades at him again. 'Persistent little bitch,' Norman hissed internally, 'just FUCK OFF!'

Not far away, Sam swung her sword over her head, smashing it into the middle of her opponent's hammer as she swung it, sparks flying as the chainsaw attempted to eat through it without success. Practically seething in rage, the woman drew her hammer back and swung it again, Sam barely blocking it in the same way that she had just done. "Get out of my way!" Sam shouted angrily, shoving forward in an attempt to knock the soldier off balance before swinging her sword again.

"Fuck you!" the woman shouted, holding her hammer up to block the blow before attempting to swing it again.

"Damn it!" Ashley swore, attempting to lean out of cover from behind the destroyed tank, only to have another burst of bullets force her back into cover. "Enough of this," she hissed, taking a grenade off of her belt and chucking it around the edge of the tank. She heard gunfire as the grenade flew through the air and took advantage of the situation, whipping out of cover and aiming her rifle at the soldier that had been keeping her pinned, firing three bursts.

The shots hit the soldier, and within seconds the grenade that she had thrown reached the base of the tank that he was standing on, detonating and causing him to stagger slightly. His shields weakened, the soldier still recovered quickly and raised his hands, bullets flying from them again. "Shit!" Ashley swore, ducking back into cover. "What does it take to put these people down!? They-" She stopped mid sentence as I high pitched whirring noise reached her ears. Looking up, she saw a faint black dot in the sky, one that seemed to steadily be growing larger. Her eyes widened. "Oh no," she whispered.

The figure on top of the tank looked up as well, and although no one could see it, his eyes widened under his helmet. "SIGMA SQUAD! TAKE COVER!" he shouted, jumping down from the top of the tank as the other two soldiers and many others looked up. There was a loud whirring noise as all of a sudden a massive jet flew overhead, going at such a high speed that it was gone within a second.

The explosion took another second to happen. The side of the tank column that the Princes were on were engulfed in fire, the rebel tanks being reduced to scrap metal within seconds. Dozens of bodies were sent flying through the air, limbs ripped off like they had been made out of paper as massive amounts of rubble was torn up from the ground too. A massive shockwave spread out, the forced so ground that all of the military forces nearby were forced back by it, the sheer kinetic energy produced by the bombs.

Norman found himself stumbling backwards, but recovered his balance quickly, his eyes snapping back at his opponent. He did so only to realize that he was in the middle of charging at him. Before he could do so much as a single thing, a massive sharp pain tore through him as one arm reached out and grabbed his left arm in a vice like grip, while the blade on the other arm flew forward, piercing his combat vest and burying itself in his stomach. The man pulled the blade out and stabbed him two more times for good measure, crimson blood squirting out of the wounds and onto the roads below.

Fighting through the pain, Norman gathered biotic energy around his free hand before raising it over his head, brining it slamming down on the soldier's upper torso as he pulled back for another stab. There was the sound of snapping metal, a loud crack, and a squelching sound as his fist slammed down, and a few drops of blood started dripping down the front of the Enclave soldiers' armor.

The soldier stumbled back, letting go of Norman's hand, which immediately flew down to one of his pistols and drew it, leveling it at the Enclave soldier and firing off shot after shot. With the countless bullets pinging off of his now weakened shields, the soldier made a hasty retreat, falling back to the heart of the Enclave tank column.

"Damn it!" Sam shouted reaching up with her sword and bashing her opponent with the hilt, causing her to stumble back. Instead of following it up with a finishing move, she dove for the sword that she had dropped and hastily grabbed it, sliding it onto her back before firing her rockets and flying back to the two trucks. "FALL BACK!" she shouted, "EVERYONE FALL BACK! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

"YOU HEARD HER!" Jane shouted, "RETREAT!"

Norman hissed as he watched the Enclave soldier retreat, but at the same time did not hesitate to turn and run, quickly making it back to the ranks of the Coalition and Eagle forces. "Holy shit!" Roger swore as he fell into line with Norman, "did they seriously just do that?" He glanced back over his shoulder as they ran. There was a loud crumbling noise as one of the two story buildings near the bombing zone began to tip over, its structural integrity compromised, before falling over. "I don't see any of the Princes!"

"Damn it!" Norman shouted, "they're all dead?

As he shouted, he heard a loud thump and turned to see Sheryl landing not that far from them. "We don't have time to worry about them!" she yelled, "the surviving tanks are turning their main guns in our direction!"

"Shit!" Roger shouted, spotting one of the trucks that they had used to arrive there. "Come on!" he said, the three of them climbing onto the back of the truck. Glancing back out of the back, he saw around half a dozen Eagles running in their direction as fast as they could.

"HURRY!" Norman shouted, looking at them, but no sooner had he spoken than a blast of plasma landed right in the middle of them, sending them all flying. "FUCK!" he swore.

"Oh damn it!" Sheryl said, looking at the tank that had killed the Eagles, "it's adjusting to fire on us!"

"Screw it, we need to get out of here!" Roger said, moving through the rear of the truck and into the driver's seat grabbing the wheel, trying not to notice a dead man just outside of the door. "Jane, if we don't head out now we're going to get fragged!" he shouted, putting his finger to his ear, "You're going to have to overpack the other-"

"JUST GO!" she shouted. He didn't need further persuasion, he slammed down on the acceleration as the truck rocketed forward, heading down the street just as a plasma blast hit where it had been moments earlier.

"Everyone in now!" Jane shouted, firing a blast of plasma at an Enclave trooper and killing him as all of the Coalition and Eagle forces hastily piled into the remaining truck, to the point where they were rather cramped, but all still inside. Ashley and Wrex were the last ones on besides her, Wrex firing one last rocket at one of the tanks, causing it to smoke, and Ashley running from the burning tank to the entrance of the truck, bullets shredding at her shields. Finally, she climbed into the back of the truck, slamming the door down behind her as the driver floored it, driving off.

"Oh...oh Goddess," Liara gasped, clutching at her sides. "I...I can't believe that they did that."

"You're not the only one," Michael said, sounding disgusted. "The Enclave didn't even write a bill of rights, they can arrest us for speaking out against them in public, kick down our doors and turn out houses upside down, and send us off to prison without a trial, and I still thought that they were above pulling stunts like this," Michael growled. "And they wonder why people don't like them."

"Damn it," Sam swore, backing into a wall and sliding down, "we...we failed. Moore is still alive."

"Sometimes you fail. It happens," said said, looking at her. "No commander can be infallible. Still, a good commander cuts their losses, orders a retreat when they know a battle can't be won and minimizes friendly causalities. That call you just made probably wasn't an easy one, but it was the right one."

Sam smiled weakly. "Thanks...I think."

"Keelah," Tali said, slumping against the wall of the truck, "I wasn't expecting anything like this, were you Volker." She received no response. "Volker?" she asked, looking to her side where he was sitting. Volker was trembling, his arms shaking rather violently, to the point where it looked like he was having a hard time holding onto his gun. "Volker?" she asked again, sounding concerned.

"They...they..." Volker said, sounding helpless as he looked up at Tali, tears in his eyes. "I...how...how could they?" he asked, his voice weak as tears began to stream down his face. "I...I just can't...oh God," he whimpered, his gun falling from his hands and onto the floor as he quietly began to sob, Tali looking on in shock. Slowly, she leaned in and gently hugged him

XXXXX

Author's Note: Just a little question, I've just been thinking about it with everyone accusing people who were involved in the Retake ME3 movement for "whining" are you going to buy ME4? Are you still mad at the ending? Do you think the extended cut did enough? For me, those answers are, no, Hell yes, and moved it from an F to a D-, technically a passing grade, but disappointing from someone that normally churns out B and A grade work. I'm just curious and I want to know your opinion.

P.S. Also, I've put a new poll up on my profile. Vote now and tell me who your favorite From the Ashes OC is.

P.S.S. Yes I know that Quarians don't say ain't, but considering that the person that voiced Kal also played Jayne in Firefly, I couldn't pass up this chance.

P.S.S.S. I finally re-uploaded my review to the God awful Mass Effect Parallel Realities. It's on my new deviantart page, profile name is the same as my one. Check it out.


	56. Secrets Revealed

Chapter 56

Secrets Revealed

Author's Note: Holy crap! In the character poll, Moore got one vote, Sheryl got one vote, Norman got three, Roger got three, and Volker got...TEN! I...geez, I had no idea that people liked him so much. So...I...just feel free to vote on the poll on my profile if you haven't done it already.

XXXXX

"Oh...oh my God," Warren whispered, clutching at his bleeding chest and the dent in his power armor. There was still a massive cloud of dust from where Admiral Crawford's fighter had bombed, the now lifeless husks of the Princes' tanks still burning. "Who...who ordered that strike?"

"General Moore, did you-" Albert started, looking at the General, who was getting to her feet, dusting off the front of her uniform.

"I didn't Major, I'm just as much in the dark as you are," Moore said sadly, looking around.

"We've got a couple of stragglers!" a nearby Marine shouted. Sure enough, a handful of Princes were getting to their feet, looking shaken but aiming their weapons at General Moore. "Take them down!" the Marine shouted, as she and around a dozen other Marines raised their rifles and opened fire. The disoriented and unshielded rebels only lasted seconds against the weapons of the Marines.

"General!" the Marine said, turning and running towards her, along with a dozen other Marines, "are you all right?"

"I'm fine!" Moore snapped, "but if those rebels survived then there's a chance that there could be civilians alive in the rubble! Get in there and search for them!"

"But-" the Marine said, her head switching back and forth between the area that had been bombed and General Moore. "Ma'am, if there are still rebels in the area you could be in-"

"GO!" Moore shouted, looking around at the Enclave soldiers in the area, "ALL OF YOU!"

"I..." the Marine said, looking at Albert out of the corner of her eye. "I...Major Black, can you and the rest of Sigma Squad keep the General safe while we-"

"Just go!" Warren said, "we got her covered."

"Understood!" the Marine said, "everyone, move out!" several dozen Enclave Marine and heavy troopers ran towards ground zero, their weapons in hand. Some of them stooped down and began to dig through the rubble of the building that had fallen over, while others ran into buildings that had massive chunks blown off by the bombing, but where still standing. Fires were very visibly burning in some of them.

"God damn it," Moore swore, backing into one of the two still functioning tanks, sliding down into a sitting position.

"General, are you all right?" Albert said, walking forward along with the other two members of Sigma Squad.

"No," she grunted, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small bottle of whiskey. "I just had over a hundred enemy soldiers that were trying to kill me, dozens of my own men killed, three of my tanks destroyed, and in order for my pathetic life to be saved, THAT had to happen!" she shouted, pointing at the bombing sight. "So no, I'm not all right!" Moore shouted, pulling the cork out of the bottle of whisky.

She was lifting it to her lips when Cadence's hand darted forward, grabbing it and holding it in place before Moore had been able to take a drink. "What are you doing?" Cadence said, glaring at her mother.

"Having a drink," she said bluntly.

"You were carrying this the whole time!?" Cadence said, angrily pulling the bottle out of her hand. "You have a massive problem with this stuff, can't you understand that?"

"I understand, I just find it hard to care," Moore said. "I don't even known how many people are dead right now. Killed by rebels, or by an air strike caused by our own people. When put in comparison, me drinking a little, so that I can get through the day without wanting to stick my gun in my mouth is a little tame by comparison, so give that back!" she shouted, holding her hand out.

"You don't get it do you?!" Cadence shouted, throwing the bottle at the ground, where it shattered on impact, the dark liquid forming a puddle on the ground. "You're fucking poisoning yourself with this stuff! I get it, you're depressed, I can't blame you for that, but drinking like this isn't making the problem go away, if anything it makes it worse! You need to talk to someone Mom! You need to see a therapist!"

"Therapist?!" she said, getting to her feet, "you think that just talking to someone is going to make this all stop for me? Maybe for someone else, maybe for someone who saw someone get shot in front of them or saw their parents die, maybe that'd work for them, but it won't work for me, and do you know why? Those people need therapy to help them put their problems behind them, I CAN'T put my problems behind me, because they're right here, slapping me in the face, EVERY FUCKING DAY! Every day, more and more people are dying in this fucking rebellion and I'm the the person that has to give them the order to die, and if I don't there's going to be complete anarchy in the streets. I can't get away from it because its my reality!"

"Uhhh," Warren said nervously, bitting his lip slightly as he pulled his helmet off, "guys...is this really the place for you two to be having this argument? And General Moore, with all due respect, Cadence has a point. You should really see someone for depression or alcoholism, or both.

"I agree," Albert said, pulling off his helmet as well, "your drinking habit impairs both your ability to command, and your personal relationships with your family. If you're not going to do it for yourself, then do it for your daughter. You do care about her, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Moore said, sounding offended.

"Then how come you're fighting me so much!?" Cadence demanded. "I'm trying to HELP you for Christ's sake!"

"I...I just-" Moore began, but before she could finish, a roar caused all four of them to look up. A lone vertibird was descending towards them, landing nearby as the back door opened, the four members of Omega squad walked out.

"Major Black, what is your situation?" Edward asked, looking concerned.

"Pretty beaten up, but all of my squad and General Moore are still alive," Albert replied. "We took several dozen causalities though, and...well..." he sadly gestured behind him, where the Enclave soldiers were still digging, a couple of them pulling out a few civilians that were still coughing while still more were emerging from the buildings with soot covered civilians on their back.

"I see," Edward said, looking at the carnage. "I will speak with President Woods about who ordered that strike. Considering that she ordered us here to provide support to you, I doubt that it was her. Also, several other vertibirds were dispatched to pursue the trucks that the other rebels and the Coalition forces were in."

"What?" Warren said, looking at Edward. "Are you telling me that after that air strike we're going to have gunships firing in the middle of down town?"

"I doubt that we'll have to worry about that," Edward said, "from what I've heard, the trucks are heading for the city limits, which aren't that far from here. There are some nearby woods, most likely they'll try to hide in there. Odds are they had a contingency plan in case things went sour. With any luck, they won't get away."

"I hope not," Warren said, looking off into the distance. "It's bad enough that all of these people had to die, I don't know if I could live with myself if they did but the rebels didn't."

"Oh, remind me," Grace said, walking towards Warren, a smug grin on her face under her helmet. "What was that you said when you were sent to provide support for us? When the Coalition made their first move?"

"You honestly want to have this talk now?" Warren asked, sounding a little angry as he turned to face Grace, "I'm not in the mood to measure dicks."

"Funny, you had no problem going off at me when you thought that it was all our fault that Admiral 'Zorah got away. How is it not your fault that this happened?"

Warren's hand clenched into a fist. He honestly thought that he was going to punch Grace when he caught a glimpse of Colonel White out of the corner of his eye. The officer seemed to be watching him. Slowly, he uncurled his fist. "You want to do this? Fine," he said, "first of all, we didn't fail our objective here. Our objective was to keep General Moore alive." He pointed at her. "There she is, alive and healthy. Your mission was to keep Admiral 'Zorah and the Marines with him in Enclave custody. Where are they? Oh right, we don't know. So really, it seems like our track record is still better than yours."

The grin slid off of Grace's face. "You still failed to bring back Admiral 'Raan, you still were having enough trouble that this air strike was ordered. And you honestly had the guts to insult-"

"We still got 'Zorah and 95% of the other prisoners, we were sent to track down a single ship and fought an army, and we didn't make the god damn call to order this air strike. We could've pulled them back, we were getting our second wind." He extended one of the blades in his arm, which was still soaked with bright red blood. "I was in the middle of stabbing a Coalition trooper to death when it happened! Oh, and the best part? Every last failure on our part can be traced back to the brass being incompetent, Crawford letting 'Raan getting away, Crawford giving us bad intel, and the more I think about it Crawford was probably the one that ordered the air strike. Where as your failure is more down to you being incompetent."

In a flash, Grace darted forward, swinging her claw at Warren. Eyes widening, he extended his other blade and took a step back, holding both of his blades in front of him as a defensive measure, but as he did, something strange happened. As Grace lunged at him, all of her limbs seemed to stiffen. Her legs stopped mid lunge and her arms were stuck in the same place. Without proper support, Grace fell to the ground, her arm still outstretched.

Warren looked down, his blades slowly withdrew into his arms. He looked hopelessly confused. "What...what just happened?" he said, looking down at the prone Grace. "Did...she have a stroke or something?"

"YOU FUCKING IDOIT!" Rose shouted, sounding legitimately terrified as she ran forward, pulling Grace to her feet as she slowly regained movement in her limbs. "Are you trying to get us all into deep shit again!?" The members of Sigma Squad and General Moore looked on with confusion. Rose sounded like she was on the verge of panicking, even Jessica had taken a few steps forward, acting a little concerned.

"Colonel...is there a problem that-" General Moore began, but Colonel White cut her off.

"It's nothing General. Grace sometimes has glitches in her cybernetics. It happens when she puts too much strain on them without needing too. She's been meaning to have Dr. Goeth take a look at them for awhile now. In fact, I think she should go wait in the vertibird just to be on the safe side."

"I don't-" Grace started, but Edward stared intently at her. "I...fine," she said, walking towards the vertibird, a slight limp in her step.

"Have you ever heard of that happening to a Special Forces member before?" Cadence whispered so that only Albert could hear her.

"I heard that Alpha Squad needs to take medicine on a regular basis so that they don't get infections from their implants, but that's because they were the first squad and had the most primitive equipment and implants. Omega is supposed to have the best, so why would one of their members have a malfunction?" Albert responded.

Cadence shrugged. "Couldn't tell you. I don't have as many implants as they do, but the ones that I do have work just fine." The two of them stood there in silence as the sound of Enclave soldiers clearing rubble filled their ears.

XXXXX

"Where the fuck are you going?!" Norman shouted angrily, staggering in the back of the truck and clutching at the stab wounds in his chest.

"I don't know!" Roger shouted, as he jerked on the wheel and rounded a corner in down-town New Boston, nearly smashing into a car as he did. "I was focusing on getting away from the hyper advanced tank that was about to turn us all into ash, it kinda took priority!"

"Captain!" Sheryl said, shouting into her COM unit, "we're off course! We have no idea where the rally point is! Our driver was supposed to take us there, what do we do!?"

"Damn it!" Jane shouted, her voice echoing across all three of their COM units, "we were supposed to meet up at the Prince's hidden base in the woods, but they were paranoid and only told Sam where it was. We can't give you directions like this, just get out of the city and head into the woods, we'll regroup with you once the coast is clear. Maintain radio silence until I contact you again, we can't risk being traced by the Enclave."

"Understood!" Sheryl said, lowering her hand. "You hear that?"

"We're going camping, got it," Roger said as he made a sharp turn, the buildings of New Boston starting to thin out as grass and trees came into view. "It doesn't look like its too far away from-" he was cut off as the truck shook violently, a handful of laser blasts tearing though the back of the truck, narrowly missing the three of them. "FUCK!" Roger said, glancing out of the window as he continued to drive, "we've got a vertibird on our tail!"

"Sheryl, get the back door open," Norman said, glancing at the sniper, "Roger, keep driving, we'll do what we can to get it off us."

"You should be laying down," Sheryl hissed, glancing at Norman's wounds.

"Yeah I should be, but that's not a luxury that we can afford right now," he said, reaching for his pistols.

"If you're going to take that prick down, use this!" Roger shouted, taking the rocket launcher that he had brought for the assault on General Moore off of his back and tossing it at Norman, who neatly caught it.

"We've got three shots left on this thing," he said, looking down at the counter, "that should do it."

"I hope you're right!" Sheryl said, taking the back door and sliding it open, before drawing her sniper rifle and dropping to one knee. With the door open, they saw the retreating city, behind them, and the vertibird flying in the air, firing its gatling laser at them. "Look out!" Sheryl shouted, diving to the side and accidentally slamming against the side of the truck as the gatling laser tore through the truck again, dotting the interior with holes, and a view even smashing the windshield in front of Roger.

"Can you please kill that fucking thing?!" Roger shouted, punching the remanning pieces of windshield with his cybernetic arm, clearing up his vision.

"We're working on it!" Norman shouted, leveling the rocket launcher at the vertibird and opening fire. The rocket flew through the air and slammed directly into the center of the VTOL. Its shields flared brightly as the rocket shattered them, Sheryl raising her sniper rifle and firing three quick shots off, the windshield on the cockpit on the vertibird shattering is she did.

"Did I get the pilot?" she shouted. As a response, another burst of lasers flew forward, forcing her and Norman to duck down as they flew over their heads.

"Fuck, it almost hit me that time!" Roger shouted, ducking his head down and barely avoiding having it taken off. "What is taking so fucking long?"

"Piss off!" Norman shouted, leveling the launcher and firing another rocket, managing to hit the main body of the vertibird again, causing it to start to smoke. Suddenly, the vertibird jerked off of its pursuit route, heading back towards the city. "It's running?!" Norman shouted, firing the last rocket at the vertibird, it jerking to the side at the last second and avoiding it.

"Looks like it!" Sheryl shouted, firing four more shots after the Vertibird, but before too long it vanished from sight in the urban jungle. "It didn't go down, but at least it's off of our back."

"Yeah...I guess," Norman said, dropping to his knees, the rocket launcher falling to the floor, his voice a little faint.

"Norman?" Sheryl said, looking at him. Her eyes widened as she realized that the front of his dustcoat was now soaked with blood. "We need to get those wounds treated, lie back and-"

"I'm fine!" Norman protested, his voice weak "...I...I don't need to...to..." his voice died as he fell forward onto the ground.

"ROGER!" Sheryl shouted, "We need to get somewhere safe NOW!"

"What's the-" Roger asked, glancing back at the interior of the truck, "aw shit!" he shouted, flooring the truck, driving towards a collective of trees that were right in front of them. As he did, the truck slowly began to lose speed, coming to a stop just ahead of the trees. "Aw fuck!" Roger swore, turn the key in the truck and pressing on the acceleration only to earn no results.

"What's wrong?" Sheryl asked.

"The damn vertibird must've hit the engine, this thing is dead," Roger said, jumping out of the drivers seat and into the back with Norman and Sheryl. "How's he doing?"

"Not good," Sheryl said, rearranging Norman so that he was lying on his back. "I wish we had the teleporter, we could get him to Chakwas," she said, hastily drawing her knife as she pulled viciously on his dustcoat, easily unbuttoning it and revealing his combat vest below him, bright crimson blood leaking out of the holes in it. "You have any medi-gel?"

"One tube," Roger said, taking it off of his belt and handing it to Sheryl.

"Thanks," she said, undoing the clasps on Norman's combat vest and pulling the front off, nothing left on him but a tank top. "I hope that we're not too late," she said, taking her knife and cutting through the tank top, pulling the shredded remains to the side and leaving Norman's chest bare. She dropped her knife and grabbed the tube of medi-gel. "He's an asshole, but I don't want him to die, he...he...he...oh my God."

"What?" Roger asked, "You sound like-" as he spoke, he caught a glimpse of Norman's chest. "No...no fucking way," he whispered, "that can't be right." Even with his tank top gone, there was a set of bandages wrapped around the top of Norman's chest, so tight that they were pressing right into his skin. Visible just under them, were very noticeable mounds of flesh. Breasts.

"I...we can't focus on this now!" Sheryl said, opening the medi-gel and beginning to apply it to Norman's wounds. "Press down around the openings, we can't afford much more blood loss."

"Right," Roger said weakly, pressing both of his hands on Norman's chest, doing his best to staunch the blood loss as Sheryl began to apply medi-gel to the wounds, the blood loss as she applied liberal amounts of medi-gel to each stab wound. She bit her lip as she continued to apply it, putting far more than needed down. Finally, as she plugged the last wound, the bleeding stopped.

"So he...I mean...she's ok now?" Roger asked.

"I think so," Sheryl said, looking over the wounds, checking that none of them were bleeding before pressing Norman's combat vest back into place. "I mean, she can't go into a fight without opening them again and she's going to need to see Chakwas. I...did you know that Norman was a woman?"

"No," Roger said, shaking his head, "I had no idea. I'd be willing to bet that her real name isn't even Norman. It makes sense why she was so against seeing a doctor though back in the Eagle's base."

"But...why did she hide this from us?" Sheryl asked.

"I don't know," Roger said. "Look, we can't stay here. That one vertibird might've given up, but there could be more on the way. We need to get as deep into the forest as we can and find a place to hold out. We may be there for awhile." Bending down, he grabbed Norman and put her over his head in a fireman's carry. "My hands are full here, so I need you to watch my back."

"Got it," Sheryl said, picking up her knife and sheathing it before picking up her sniper rifle again. The two of them jumped out of the back of the truck and slowly moved into the woods. "Just be careful, the last thing that you need to do right now is open her wounds again."

"I know...Christ this feels unnatural."

"What does?" she asked as they continued forward, the trees slowly becoming thicker and thicker.

"Calling Norman a she. It just doesn't feel natural."

"I know," Sheryl said, "nothing about this makes any sense at all. I still don't even know why she was doing this...do...do you think we should ask her when she wakes up? I mean when she realizes that her tank top is in shreds, she' going to realize that we know."

"I...I don't see why not," Roger said, sounding a little uncertain. "That doesn't mean that we're going to get anything out of her though. After all, she was probably keeping her gender hidden for a reason. You don't go out of your way to hide something unless you hide it for a reason."

"I know," Sheryl said sadly, one of her hands letting go of her sniper rifle and gently stroking the wrappings that surrounded her face. "Trust me, I know." Silence filled the air as they continued to walk deeper into the woods. Twenty minutes later, they came to a stop.

"I think that this is far enough," Roger said.

"Yeah," Sheryl said. "And over there looks like a good place to rest." She pointed at a nearby cave that was at the bottom of a small cliff.

"Ok," Roger said, walking forward and into the gave, Sheryl right behind him. The cave was fairly deep, and it took them a good fifteen seconds to reach the end. "I guess all we can do now is get comfortable," Roger said, gently laying Norman down. "Captain said not to break radio silence right?"

"Right," Sheryl said, looking at the entrance of the cave. The sky was slightly red, the sun was going down. "We may be here over night. I'm going to head out into the woods and see if I can find anything for us to eat. It might get cold too, so you should probably gather some wood for a fire, tree branches and woods should do, and in this cave, the smoke won't give away our position. Don't go too far from the cave though, we shouldn't leave her alone."

"Did you see how thick these woods are?" Roger said. "There's probably enough wood for a bonfire just outside the cave."

Sheryl smiled slightly as she holstered her sniper rifle and drew her crossbow. "Hopefully I won't be too long," she said, turning around. "Oh, one more thing," she said, glancing at Roger, "I've been meaning to say this to you. I had you all wrong when we first met, you gave off the wrong impression because of what you've been though. Maybe Norman's like you in that way. Just think about it," she said, turning away from Roger and walking to the front of the cave and walking out, leaving Roger's line of sight.

Roger sighed as he relaxed into the wall of the cave, looking at Norman's body "Maybe she's right," he grunted, "maybe you're a little like me...gah," he said, pressing the palm of his organic hand into his forehead. "Nothing about this makes any fucking sense." For a second he sat there, his thoughts milling about in his head. After awhile he got to his feet and walked to the entrance of the cave, picking up twigs and fallen branches to use as firewood.

XXXXX

Woods sighed as she stopped just outside a door at the far end of a hallway in the White House. As much as she didn't want to be here, she didn't have any choice in the matter. Once word got out about the bombing run that Admiral Crawford had ordered, the public backlash would be nothing short of massive. She needed a plan and a response, something that she could very well need the approval of the Senate to execute. Still, she had a feeling that it would go badly, but she had to do something. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open.

The Senate meeting room was massive, dozens of rows, tables and chairs set in a half circle along a much larger table, where the leaders of the two parties, the Republicans and the Democrats sat. Unsurprisingly, the Senate was in an uproar. "We need to act and we need to act now!" the leader of the Republican party shouted, shifting slightly in her seat, "you know that, so why are you so adamant that we don't need what needs to be done!"

"Pardon me, but not all of us want to live in a fascist state!" the leader of the Democrat party shouted, looking rather angry, "some of us actually like enjoying freedom! And your ways are threats to public safety and security, its no wonder that people are dying like animals in the streets."

"I wouldn't expect any less from you, you may talk about freedom but we sensible folk know that you all hate freedom."

"You-"

"MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!?" Woods shouted at the top of her lungs. Every head in the room turned to look at her.

"Ah, President Woods," the Republican leader said as she walked towards where the leaders sat, stepping in front of a podium reserved for speakers. "The matter was urgent, so we started without you. Woods, allow me to say something. I know that you are not affiliated with my party, but if you want to up our people, you need to give me all of the support that you can, I-"

"Don't listen to him!" the Democrat leader shouted, cutting him off, "everyone can see that if you weren't Independent you would've made an excellent Democrat. We need to-"

"Please," Woods said, her voice stern, "allow me to say my piece first."

"But of course Madam President," the Democrat leader said, her voice slightly scathing.

"Thank you," she said, turning to face the rest of the Senate. "Ladies and gentlemen of Congress. Half an hour ago today, Admiral Crawford launched an unauthorized air strike on downtown Boston against a rebel attack force. The civilian casualties are still unknown, but are estimated to be in the thousands, Over the last few decades, there have been many insurgencies throughout the Enclave, to the point where the overall death toll of Enclave military forces, rebels and civilians, is now well into the hundreds of thousands."

"While it is very obvious that Admiral Crawford was responsible for the air strike, and I plan to discipline him appropriately in the near future, he has without a doubt thrown fuel onto a fire that is already out of control." As she said the word fire, the speech that Goeth had given her less than an hour ago popped up in the back of her mind. She tried not to think about it. "The people of the Enclave are very angry with us, it's why the insurgencies exist in the first place. We have been fighting the rebels for a long time now, but it is clear that simple conventional warfare isn't enough to stop future insurgencies. We need to take steps to stop these rebellions from ever happening again."

"Well said," the Republican leader said.

"That's something that we can agree on," the Democrat leader said.

"Yes. We need to take away what fuels the desire for rebellion in the first place," Woods said, "When I was younger, I did research into the old America, and discovered that when it was first founded, its constitution had something that ours lacked, a Bill of Rights. Several rights of the people were outlined with it, the right to a trial by jury, protection from unlawful search and seizure, and the freedom of speech among other things. The main reason that the rebels fight us is because they're angry. Our government is an imperfect one, people are arrested on the streets for voicing complaints against the government, soldiers are permitted to storm houses on mere suspicion."

"We need to pacify these rebels, our plans for the Coalition will be put into motion soon, and we cannot afford to fight an internal and external fight at the same time. You have seen the damage that the rebels can cause on their own, I shudder to think about what would happen if we were to fight a war with the Coalition while they continue to fight here, or even worse, what would happen if the rebels actively supported the Coalitions. We believe that Coalition forces have already made contact with the rebel cells known as the Eagles, the Princes and the Skulls, providing them with limited support. If our own people see the enemy that we will soon be fighting as preferable rulers to us, then we are digging our own graves."

"We must remind the people of the Enclave that we are NOT their enemies. We need to revive the Bill of Rights, we need to show the people that we are not merciless dictators. Properly writing and enforcing the bill will no doubt be a long and complicated process, but I have little doubt that the mere announcement of it will take the wind out of the rebels sails. From the moment I stepped into office, I have faced heavy resistance from all of you. There is no need to pretend otherwise, I don't support either of the two main parties, and as a result you don't support me, I am not a fool. But we stand on the brink of disaster, I urge all of you to work with me so that we can reinstate this bill, we need to stabilize our situation here at home."

"A very good speech, we do need to smooth things over here," the Republican leader said. "But I think you're going about this the wrong way. I think I know what the problem is. Comic books, video games, music, and movies they're all filled with so much violence and hated, it's no wonder that our youth is being contaminated by this filth. We need to censor it at once!"

"I...WHAT!?" Woods shouted. "That's absurd!"

"She's right, what were you thinking!" the Democrat leader shouted. "Clearly these rebels are rising up because of all of the guns that they have access too. We need to crack down on guns harder than we already do."

"But...but firearms are already illegal!" Woods yelled, looking flabbergasted, "civilians can't even own pistols!"

"Well, clearly we're not cracking down hard enough," the woman said matter-of-factly, "owning a weapon should earn life in prison. Also, it appears that we do not regulate enough, there needs to be more restrictions on business in order to ensure that this does not happen, and higher taxes to pay for these regulations."

"The people are revolting against us and you want to raise taxes!?" Woods shouted.

"She's right, we need to lower taxes," the Republic leader said. "We also need to censor entertainment, and it would most likely help if we abolished all forms of corporate regulations, clearly our stranglehold on the market is what is causing the people to rebel."

"I...but...I," Woods stuttered, taking a step back. The two leaders continued to argue with each other, and as she looked around to see the other senators shouting at each other. She stared in disbelief. Three years ago, she had shattered the expectations of the Enclave and had managed to be the first Independent President to be elected, a victory she attributed to her two opponents launching massive advertising campaigns dedicated to viciously attacking each other while ignoring her. Despite this, she had been able to do very little as President, for every time she had tried to get any legislation passed, she had faced massive resistance from both parties.

"I thought that this would get them to wake up," Woods hissed, her teeth grit in rage, "it seems like I gave them too much credit." She slowly walked away, her hands balling into fists as she turned and slowly walked away, none of the senators noticing as they continued to yell at each other. "They don't care about the future of the Enclave," Woods hissed, "they just care about forwarding the agendas of their own parties. They don't think in the long term, they only care about what's right in front of them. I can't do a damn thing about it either! All I can do is command the military as effectively as I can...and Crawford showed me today that I can't even do that," she muttered as she walked out of the room. "How am I supposed to lead like this? A divided government, a revolting people and my supporters are practically none existent."

"There you are," a gruff voice said. Looking up, she saw Admiral Crawford walking towards her. Her eyes narrowed, shooting daggers at him. "You wanted to see me?"

"You disobeyed a direct order," she said, her voice dangerously low. "I specifically ordered you not to make that air strike, and you did it anyway."

"I'm sorry that you didn't have what it took to make the hard decision," Crawford snarled, "I'm not going to apologize for what I-" Crawford stopped mid-sentence as Woods slammed her fist into his stomach.

"You do not do whatever you please," Woods growled, drawing a pistol from her side and pointing it directly between Crawford's eyes as he fell to his knees, struggling to breath. "You are an Admiral, I am the Commander-in-Chief, I tell you what to do, and then you do it. You do NOT buck the chain of command and then bomb one of our own cities, killing thousands of the very people that you swore to protect!"

Woods glared down at Crawford as he coughed violently, holding his chest before glaring up at Woods. "You're demoted, effective immediately," Woods said, her voice dangerously low. "You're lucky I need all the hands I can get for the upcoming war with the Coalition or I would've sent you to a firing squad, the pilot that actually carried out the strike isn't going to be as lucky though."

"You think that this is going to change much," he asked, "I'm the only Admiral in the Enclave, there still won't be any other officers above me if I'm demoted to a Vice-Admiral, and I-"

"Who said anything about a Vice-Admiral?" Woods asked coldly. "You're a Captain now Crawford."

"Is this a joke?" Crawford asked, his eyes flaring in anger.

"Does it look like a joke?" Woods replied, pressing the barrel of her pistol into Crawford's forehead.

"And who do you plan on having my replacement be?"

"Rear-Admiral Gallows," Woods replied.

Crawford laughed out loud. "Gallows? You're going to give that fat ass the command of the navy? That's the dumbest thing you could do!"

"Considering that you bombed a civilian population, doing so against direct orders, I get the feeling that I can only go up," Woods countered, "and unlike you, Gallows obeys orders, and fits the criteria I need for an Admiral. Odds are he'll be promoted to Fleet Admiral too once the war starts, and be given command of the Goliath."

"You think that the rest of the navy will listen to him though?" Crawford asked. "They listen to me, they respect me. That's why that pilot carried out my orders even though he knew that you were going to have him executed for it. What makes you think that the navy will be inspired by Gallows that way? What makes you think that they'll give a damn about his orders."

"I'll tell them to," Woods said, "very simple. With you a shadow of your former self, I think it should be pretty clear what I can do to people who cause trouble. Besides, from what I hear he's well respected and liked by his men."

"Yeah, his own flotilla maybe, but the main fleet is going to give a shit about some f-"

"Shut up," Woods said, "please shut up Crawford, I've heard enough of your so called wisdom, and the temptation to kill you right here and now is more than it should be." She pulled her gun back, shifting her grip on it so that she was holding it by the barrel before swinging it, smacking Crawford in the side of the head with the butt of the gun, causing him to fall to the ground, clutching his head in pain.

"I'll send you the details on your re-assignment before the day is out," Woods said, disgust heavy in her voice as she walked away, Crawford glaring at her as she left. "I need to talk to Gallows, someone who doesn't have his head up his ass." She shook her head as she continued to walk. There was a foul taste in her mouth. She had seized what she had thought was a golden opportunity to overthrow the Coalition and truly ensure Human security in the galaxy with her attack on the Quarian expedition team, but with all of the instability within the Enclave, she was starting to feel that she had made a terrible mistake. "No turning back now," she muttered, continuing to walk forward, a horrible feeling in her stomach.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Yeah I guess I could've come up with different names for the political parities, but then again everyone would've known which ones I was talking about and the Enclave IS supposed to represent America for better and for worse, so I thought, why not? Well, one of the big twists that I've been planning up for awhile is finally here, I really hope that you guys like it and don't think that I've jumped the shark...I really hope.


	57. Recovery

Chapter 57

Recovery

Author's Note: Glad to see that the twist that I pulled last chapter was very well received. Well, time to follow up on them I think.

XXXXX

Norman groaned slightly as she stirred, her eyes fluttering open. Groaning slightly, she realized that she was lying on a cold stone surface and slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. As she did, she felt the rigid metal of her combat vest press into her bare stomach, and realized with a shock of horror that her tank top had been removed. "No," she whispered, looking franticly around the cave, pulling her goggles and bandana down. Roger was sitting in front of a small burning fire while Sheryl was using her knife to skin an animal that she didn't recognize.

As she shifted, Roger's head turned to look at her. "Oh...hey," he said quietly. "You all right? You...you might not want to move too much, your injuries are pretty bad."

She blinked as she looked at the two of them. "What did you see?"

"We saw enough," Roger said, poking the fire with a stick. "I...why did you keep it a secret?"

"None of your fucking business," Norman hissed.

"Oh for God's sake!" Sheryl growled in frustration, slamming her knife into the dead animal before looking up. "You're just like Roger used to be before he got some damn sense slapped into him! We are not your enemy!"

"Give me a damn reason why I should," Norman growled. "There's a reason I let people think that I was a man, a damn good and personal reason, so why should I just go and tell it to you two. Because you saw my chest? Not going to happen."

Roger sighed, looking down at the ground. "What if I tell you how I lost my arm and eye?"

Norman blinked. "What?"

"I think I only ever told Ashley, and Tali and Sheryl overheard. I...it's not something I like to think about. But I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you how I lost my arm, you tell me why you let people think that you're a man. Deal?"

Norman crossed her arms as she looked at Roger, her eye narrowing. "I'm not making any promises. If you can convince me that you're not bullshitting me, then I'll think about it."

Roger sighed as he reached up and pulled his helmet off, placing it on the ground. "I was in the Earth Reclamation Project a few years of ago. I signed up because they were offering a bonus, double the pay for anyone that would sign up, they were trying to pump some life back into the project. My little sister, she needed money for an operation, she had been in a car crash and couldn't walk. My parents were only miners, so they didn't have much money, so I signed up to chip in."

There was a slight shift in Norman's face, but Roger couldn't make it out from across the cave. "I was in there for awhile, years. I made some friends there...met a girl named Rachel. She was a sweetheart, couldn't even bring herself to say 'damn', I'm not sure who was more surprised that she got together with the Moriean shock troop. Things actually went pretty well for us, we managed to stay together for three years. After that though...well...good things don't always last."

"Something happened?" Norman asked.

Roger nodded. "We were in South America, doing whatever we could to clear out Raider tribes and mutated animals, the continent is just packed to the brim with them. Still, with our weapons and armor, the Raider outpost that we were attacking went down without a fight. I took point, and really it's amazing how much we take shielding for granted nowadays, Volker probably can't get over it because it was like a shooting gallery with the Raiders, I would've felt guilty if they weren't the scum of the Earth. But...things went to shit real quick."

"What?" Norman asked.

"A feral Deathclaw came right the Hell out of nowhere. Fucking Hell I can never get over how quickly and silently those things can move. I turned around and it was already taking a swing at me." He gestured to his cybernetic arm, "that's how I lost this arm. I went down on the ground and it clawed my eye out before I could get my pistol and get it in the head."

Roger's face darkened, his cybernetic hand tightening around the stick he was still holding. "If Rachel and the rest of my squad had covered me, they might've been able to get me back to the nearest Coalition outpost fast enough to get my arm reattached. But they didn't cover me, they ran like little bitches the second the Deathclaw showed up, left me out there to die. For awhile, I thought that maybe I could forgive them, after all, those things are terrifying, but they never showed up while I was recovering, never tried to contact me again, and when I checked I saw that they had all transferred off planet to somewhere else." His hand tightened around the stick so hard that it snapped in two. "So...that's how I lost my arm, and it's why I was such an ass when I first came onto the ship."

Norman paused for a second, looking at Roger. "You're not lying?"

"Not lying," he said, looking directly at her.

She paused for a second before shifting slightly where she sat. "Ok...maybe I'm a little delirious from the blood loss but...I think I believe you. All right...my turn."

"Thanks," Roger said, "please, just tell us. Why do you dress like a man? Why do you trick people into thinking your a man?"

"First of all, dressing like a man and pretending to be one are two different things," Norman said. "Ever since I was a teenager I dressed like a man. I'm a cross dresser, I just feel more comfortable wearing men's clothing, I felt more comfortable acting like a man, and I preferred to get into wrestling matches with other guys as opposed to hanging out with girls. I didn't try to pretend to be a man, I just acted and dressed like one...at first anyway."

Roger blinked in confusion, "What do you mean by that?"

Norman groaned slightly. "As much as I hate to admit it, Garrus is right. My father really is the CEO of Hawkins Industries, Alexander Hawkins."

"I heard about him," Roger said, "he was involved in a pretty big scandal. Does he actually have hands in the Jet trade?"

"I'm certain that he does," Norman growled, "but I don't have any proof, and he's a very rich and powerful man, but I can't touch him. But that's not the point. If you know about that scandal, you probably know that he's anti-alien and part of the Terra Firma party, in fact the whole reason he got his company going was riding the wave of anti-Council feelings that happened right after the First Contact War, he wanted to bolster the economic strength of the Coalition by producing more ships, for transport and what not. And this man has convinced so many people that he is a patriot of the Coalition, that he has their best interest at heart. Cunt."

"I take it you don't like him," Roger said.

"No shit," Norman said. "He may be a self made man, but he made his entire fortune off of the backs of paranoia and warmongers, and it doesn't help that he continues to spoon feed the public that he's a decent man, when that's a massive crock of shit. I know that first hand."

"What...what happened?" Roger said, sounding like he almost didn't want to hear the answer.

"The little son of a bitch was completely obsessed with his public image. Everything had to be perfect in his mind eye, he always had to be wearing his best suit, his trophy wife who had looking pretty as a job had to always be right next to him, wrapped around his arm with always the right amount of make up on, and his kids always had to be on their best behavior. The problem was, he didn't like the idea of his daughter dressing up like a boy, said it made him look bad. So he tried to get me to stop, but I didn't want to. That's when the bastard started messing with my head."

"Pardon?" Roger said.

"He tried to control me. He tried to control every last thing that I did. He told me which hand to hold my fork in, told me how much food I should eat and water I should drink each day, told me how to walk, and told me what clothes to wear. He started off small and worked his way up. I couldn't think about it straight after awhile, it was like my head was full of being little miss perfect, I was having trouble remembering who I really was."

"Stockholm Syndrome," Roger said.

"Yeah," Norman said. "It...it felt fucking awful. Like he was slowly taking me apart and replacing me with a perfect princess. Then, after awhile that scandal of his happened, and I saw a little more than I should have, I saw him trading money for Jet. Everything that he had been working towards came crashing down, I stopped listening to him all together, I wore the most masculine clothes that I could find, and I even burnt one of the dresses that he bought me. He was pissed like you wouldn't believe, and we got into a fight over it one day. He told me that I needed to get my act together or else, that I was making him look bad, and I told him that he should stop dealing drugs and then he would have the right to criticize me for not being perfect."

"Two days later, some thugs grabbed me off of the streets and took me somewhere," Norman growled, her teeth clenching in anger. "They released a public demand for a ransom, but told me that my father had hired them to put me in my place, to teach me a lesion. And...the fuckers got a little carried away," Roger hissed, "after they were done with me I was having trouble seeing straight. Then...then my brother came," Norman said, her voice dropping slightly as sadness filled it.

"Andrew, he was...gentle. Couldn't hurt a fly. Somehow he figured out what our father had done and he managed to get me out of there. We managed to get a good ways away before they caught up to us. There was a fight and...things got heated and...Andrew...got shot."

Sheryl's eyed widened slightly and Roger bit his lip as Norman continued to speak. "I don't know why, maybe the thugs were afraid that he would go to the police on what happened, but they just ran after that. I couldn't think straight and I just hid, and before too long both of my parents showed up, my cunt of a mother not sounding that upset that my brother was dead, and my father insisting that this was all my fault."

Norman looked like she wanted to strangle someone. "After the took his body and did...I don't even want to know what to it, I just got out of there, managed to make it to New Carson and joined up with the Roughnecks. It feel good there, I could actually make a difference. I could make it so that people like my father couldn't murder and steal, I could give them what they deserved. A round in the head."

"And you letting us think that you were a man?" Roger asked, "The straps on your breasts,where did that come into play?"

"I blame him for that," Norman said, looking bitter. "I took so much crap from him just because of the clothes that I wore. I sure as Hell wasn't going to start wearing dresses, but I just didn't want to take the chance again. It...it was a pretty personal matter and I wanted to keep it to myself...I...I don't know. My brother was the only person in my family that didn't treat me like crap for wanting to be myself, and with him dead...I just don't know," she groaned, rubbing her forehead in exhaustion, "I just don't know...well...not much else to say," she said, looking at Roger and Sheryl.

"I take it that you're going to be telling the others about this?" she asked, "me being a woman?"

"Do you want us too?" Roger asked.

"No, I'd rather you didn't," Norman said, "but I know that that's not going to-"

"Then we'll keep our mouthes shut," Roger said.

"I...wait what?" Norman said.

"We'll keep quiet about this if you want us too," Roger said, "right Sheryl?"

"Of course," she said, cutting large chunks of meat out of the animal in front of her as she spoke, "we're not cruel."

"I...wow," Norman said, looking genuinely surprised. "I...thank you...Roger...I'm sorry about what happened with Rachel and your arm."

"I'm sorry about what happened with your brother and parents," Roger said. For a moment, a rather uncomfortable silence passed, the two of them looking at each other uncertainly. The air between them was still tense, but not as tense as it had been before. "I take it that Norman isn't your real name. What is?"

Norman hesitated before answering. "Nora. Do me a favor and don't laugh."

Roger grinned weakly. "Ok."

"Ok...well, we really should get this meat cooking," Sheryl said, taking the raw bits of meat and sticking them on sticks, hanging them over the fire, Roger and Nora watching.

XXXXX

A slightly chubby man in sweat pants and a tank top panted heavily as he ran on a treadmill in the White House, sweat pouring down the side of his face. "Just a little more sir!" a woman from the side encouraged, looking down at her omni-tool. "And...time!" The man reached out and slammed a button on the treadmill, causing it to slow to a halt with him standing there, panting with his hands on his knees.

"Water please Nita," the man gasped. Nita smiled as she walked forward, handing a water bottle to the man, who hastily opened it and drank heavily. "You're doing well Admiral. You've lost fifty pounds over the last six months," she said proudly.

"Still a little on the fat side though," the Admiral said gloomily, poking at his flab as he lowered the water bottle.

"You can't go from overweight to being a bodybuilder in a few weeks, you need to work at it Admiral," Nita said, smiling cheerfully, "besides, you've made great progress."

"I guess," he said, looking down at his body again. "Still, I think I'll stay away from dating until I manage to get my act together a little better."

"Fair enough," Nita said, the man walking off of the treadmill. As he did, there was a heavy rapping on the door. "I'll get it," she said, walking across the room. "He's free if you need to talk to-OH! P-President Woods. What are you doing here?"

Woods smiled grimly as she walked into the room. "Hello there Lieutenant, I just needed to talk with Gallows."

"Oh, Madam President," Gallows said, taking another sip of water. "What can I do to help you?"

"I trust that you've heard about what happened in downtown New Boston?" she asked.

"I did. It's a tragic event. Crawford is very zealous when it comes to dealing with the rebels. I hope that you discipline him appropriately."

"I did. I demoted him to Captain," Woods said.

"That many ranks down in one go!?" Nita said slapping her knee. "Nice!"

"So, who do you plan on having take his..." Gallows trailed off as a look of realization and then horror filled his face. "No...no, I can't. I don't have enough experience Madam President. I-I-I'd crack under the pressure, t-t-t-t-the rest of the f-f-f-f-f-fleet won't l-l-l-l-l-listen to me. Look, my st-st-st-stuttering is acting up already!"

"I know that it's a big leap from Rear-Admiral to full blown Admiral," Woods said. "But Crawford has proven that I can't trust him to command our entire fleet. I need someone level headed that knows how to think ahead and won't jump the gun. That's you Gallows."

"I...I d-d-d-d-d-d-don't know."

"Look," Woods said, "this is going to take a little bit to happen. I still need to work out the specifics and make arrangements. You are after all going from commanding a flotilla of about twenty ships to a fleet of a hundred and fifty. I'll brief you on the details when they're more developed, I just wanted to come here to give you a heads up."

"O-o-o-o-o-ok," Gallows said, "I-I do my best."

"I know you will," Woods said. "By the way, when the Coalition first made their move, I asked you to work on methods for finding the Normandy. Have you gotten anywhere with that yet?"

"Just a moment," Gallows said, walking to a nearby table and picking up a datapad that was lying on it, sitting down. "I've come up with a couple of theories, but I either have no way to execute them, or they simply rely too much on luck. One idea I had was to have the ships eject garbage into space so that we could see when the Normandy hit it, but space is so vast that they would easily be able to out maneuver any debris fields that I could set up."

"The information our informant gave us told me that the Normandy can only keep its stealth systems active for so many hours," Gallows continued, "so it must regularly jump out of the system to vent their excess heat before jumping back into the system. I considered sending ships out to nearby star systems in the hopes of finding them in the process of doing so, possibly refueling, but then I realized that the Normandy most likely has enough fuel to last for months, and that once again, the vastness of space makes it more likely that they'll just jump to the space in-between star systems and vent their excess heat there."

"So in other words, space is so massive that it's going to be practically impossible to find them?" Woods asked.

"That's what it's looking like at the moment," Gallows said. "Another one of my ideas was to overheat their engines, forcing them to deactivate their stealth systems, but I have no way to do that. There was the possibility that your infiltrator agent could have gotten on board the Normandy and sabotaged it...but..."

"That went horribly horribly wrong," Woods said bitterly. "I know. It was being outfitted at the Air Force base when the attack happened, it had to do the best it could given the circumstances. It might have tricked some of the rebels, but clearly the Coalition is a little smarter than that."

"Speaking of the Coalition, we still have no idea how they're actually getting soldiers onto the planet's surface," Gallows said. "We should have been able to detect shuttles entering the atmosphere."

"I think I may know why we can't see them," Woods said. "Remember the Exulans? The Coalition just went public with their existence and how they're going to try and uplift them."

"But weren't they devastated by a nuclear war? Wouldn't the Council be angry at the Coalition for uplifting them like the Krogan?"

"There's a reason why we need to take the reins of humanity," Woods said gruffly. "Anyway, that ship of theirs that crashed on the moon had some very advanced technology if our informant is to be believed, most likely the Normandy is using Exulan technology to get its people onto the planet."

"How though?" Gallows asked.

Woods shook her head. "I couldn't tell you. I'm just working with the information that I have."

"Right," Gallows said, looking down at the datapad again. "Well, short of capturing a Normandy crew member and interrogating them, I don't see anyway for us to find where that ship us. Come to think of it, even that wouldn't work, the Normandy is probably constantly moving, coming towards the planet at random angles each time, and one of the ship's ground troops most likely wouldn't be informed of them, and if they were, they would be cut loose after they were captured."

Gallows sighed. "I'm sorry that I can't be of more help to you Madam President. I'll keep trying though. The Normandy must have a weakness that can be exploited, there's no such thing as a perfect ship."

"I hope that you're right," Woods said. "Goeth should be done with his project before the Coalition arrives. Also I have some bad news regarding that, it seems that they're receiving support from the Turians, the Army, the Quarians."

"Damn," Gallows said, biting his lip. "I hope that Goeth pulls through, otherwise we're in trouble."

"There's something else," Woods said, "the Coalition is bringing in the Brotherhood of Steel."

"There's an old name," Gallows said. "I wonder if they remember us as well as some of us remember them. Crawford in particular likes to talk about how he'll bomb them into submission. Still, I can't help but be worried. Even with their hands preoccupied with Saren and the Geth that he's managing to control, the Coalition is still managing to send a fair amount of forces our way. The odd thing is that only a fraction of them are theirs, they've managed to win over quite a few friends."

"Hardly," Woods said. "They bought the services of the Army, and the Turians are helping them out of simple self interest. The only ones that could even possibly be considered the friends of the Coalition in the army that is marching this way are the Quarians, and even they don't fully trust the Coalition because they use Artificial Intelligences."

"What a mess," Gallows said.

"The entire galaxy is a mess, the Enclave is a mess," Woods said. "We'll can only do what we can to make it better...and it's nowhere near enough."

"I know," Gallows said gloomily.

"Hey...are you two ok?" Nita asked.

"We'll live," Woods said. "Anyway, I'm glad to see that you're doing well Gallows, you too Nita. I'll see you again after I make Crawford's demotion public and I address the people about the air strike. I have a lot of work to do, so pardon me," she said, walking towards the door. "Also Gallows, you must have lost at least fifty pounds!" she called over her shoulder as she walked out, "keep up the good work!"

"See, even the President thinks that you're doing great," Nita said, playfully elbowing Gallows.

"She's just saying that," he said, but a small smile was playing around his face. "You know...I did get asked out on a date yesterday...I'm going."

"THERE WE GO!" Nita shouted, "I'll get your dress clothes!"

XXXXX

"Whoa!" Adam shouted as Cornelia charged at him with her short sword in hand, swinging it at him. He was barely able to bring both of his bayonets up in time to block the swing. Cornelia kept up the offensive, swinging her blade hard and fast at Adam, who barely had enough time to keep on blocking the attacks, his grip on his blades starting to slip. "TIME OUT!" he shouted, "TIME OUT!"

Cornelia stopped mid strike, slowly taking a step back. "You ok?" she asked, panting slightly. Both of them were wearing tank tops and sweat pants and were standing in a small empty room in the Princes' base.

"Yeah," Adam said, collapsing to his knees, "I just...you were vicious back there. I had trouble keeping up."

"Oh...sorry about that," Cornelia said, sheathing her sword. "I like a good spar but I don't normally try that hard. It's just...I'm trying to get my mind off of what happened back there," she said, looking around uncertainly. "It's...when I think about it it's a lot like Eden Prime happening all over again. Countless people killed in the blink of an eye, people that didn't deserve it. But...say what you will about the Heretic Geth, they didn't do it to their own people. Even if they're attacking their own kind, so are the Enclave, but at least they don't attack other Heretic Geth. The Enclave can't say that."

"I agree. It's unnerving," Adam said, shifting into a sitting position. "How long do you think that we'll have to stay here?" he asked. "We can't teleport back to the Normandy, Jane left the teleporter back at the Eagle's base, didn't want to risk the Enclave getting their hands on it."

"Can't say I blame her," Cornelia said. "Dunno. As much as I'd like to run up to the White House and bash the head in of whoever gave that order, we really can't move right now. The Enclave's going to be on high alert."

"Even more so then when we rescued Admiral 'Zorah," Adam said, slowly getting to his feet. "From what I've been hearing, things have been picking up ever since we came here, a lot more Enclave soldiers have been dying, but then again so more rebels. All of the Skulls got wiped out in a single attack, I overheard Sam saying that that air strike killed 90% of the Princes, and at least a dozen Eagles have been killed in the attack on the air force base the failed assassination of General Moore."

"Yeah, there's another thing I don't like to think about," Cornelia said sadly. "Not only did all of those people die, but that battle back there was an Enclave victory. We lost...we failed."

"When you're as old as I am, you learn that sometimes you fall and you fall hard," Adam said, getting to his feet. "Not a happy lesson to learn, but a true one."

"Oh I know that, I'm older than I look you know," Cornelia said.

"Really? How old are you? I get the feeling that most of Coalition forces on this ship are in their 30s. Minus Volker that is. I think he's in his 20s, around Tali's age. And me of course."

"Well...to be honest that's a personal matter. I have seen things though. Nasty things...but hey, you can't always focus on the bad stuff, you need to focus on the happier aspect of life," she said, smiling brightly.

Adam chuckled. "Like being fit enough to drive an old man to exhaustion while you barely break a sweat?" he asked, noticing that Cornelia was indeed barely sweating.

"I guess," she said, a slight smirk on her face. As she spoke, she heard a series of footsteps from outside the room that they were in. "Wonder what's going on out there," she said aloud, walking to the door Adam right behind her.

"This is unacceptable!" the Prince shouted. "The Encalve killed all of my warriors? Unacceptable! Fucking unacceptable!"

"I thought that the others said that he was calm and affable," Adam said, glancing at Cornelia.

"Guess he's not as classy when he losses his temper," Cornelia remarked, pushing the door open to reveal the Prince standing in the hallway, Sam and Jane standing right in front of him.

"The Prince's plan was brilliant!" the Prince shouted, "the incompetence of the off worlders and of the warriors of the bird that caused us to fail. You should have stayed and fought, you could have killed the leader of the metal giants!"

"News flash jackass, the Enclave bombed us!" Sam shouted, "they were bringing their tanks to bear on us. They would've killed all of us if we had stayed."

"You are a fool!" the Prince shouted, "A fucking fool! You know nothing of battle and sacrifice! Nearly all of the Prince's warriors are dead, and you did nothing to honor or avenge their deaths! Our chance is gone forever, to kill her. The Prince's warriors died for nothing."

Sam bit her lip slightly, looking rather upset as Jane spoke up. "There's a difference between making sacrifices and intentionally driving your men to the slaughter. If we had stayed, there would've been a one in ten chance that we actually would've killed Moore, and a nine in ten chance that we would've all died. So do me a favor, get some actual schooling on military tactics and then criticize me!"

"The Prince wants you out of his fortress!" the Prince growls, "as soon as it is safe, leave!" he shouted, turning around and walking back into the depths of his base.

"Don't worry!" Jane shouted, "we'll be glad to be gone!"

"Do...do you think he had a point?" Sam asked quietly, looking at Jane.

"What do you mean by that?" the other woman asked.

"I mean...a lot of good people died out there and we didn't even get anything accomplished. Some of my own men were killed out there in addition to all of the Princes. I...I led them to their deaths and them dying didn't even accomplish anything. Was...was me ordering that retreat the right thing to do?"

"Listen to me," Jane said. "Loosing people under your command hurts, I know that. But people like us, the people who lead others and have to make calls for them, no matter how good we are, we're going to get people killed. Sometimes they have heroic deaths, and other times they die unimportant, forgettable deaths on a dead planet in the middle of nowhere. All we can do is press on, doing our very best and making sure that as few people die as possible, and that the ones that do die end up making a difference in the long run."

"Have you ever lost anyone under your command?" Sam asked.

"No...I can't say that I have," Jane said. "The way that we operate is that we make commando raids instead of larger charges, we operate in a tighter unit, which helps keep us alive...I'm scared though."

"Scared?" Sam asked.

"When we're done here, we have a mission to hunt down a Turian with access to an army of Geth, in addition to who knows what else. I've managed to keep everyone alive so far but...I've got a bad feeling in my stomach that before this is over, I'm going to be writing a letter to someone's parents on why they're never going to see their child again. But...that's enough of that. I want you to have this," she said, taking a flask off of her side and handing it to Sam.

"What is it?" she asked, taking it.

"My alcohol ration. I never drink them but the ship was stocked with enough for me anyway. I was wrong about you," Jane said. "We were in a tough situation back there and you made the best call that you could while under a lot of stress. I apologize for what I said."

"Eh, don't worry about it," Sam said, uncorking the flask and taking a sip. "Uh...no offense but this really isn't the strongest stuff."

"It's the best that we have. The Coalition is very hesitant about giving strong liquor to its soldiers, for obvious reasons," Jane replied. "It clouds your mind. There may be a time for it, but on the battlefield isn't it. There's a reason I never drink the stuff."

"Oh come on, you're have to inhale this stuff to get drunk," Sam said, taking another sip.

"It doesn't matter," Jane said bluntly, "I just don't want anything to do with it."

"Name one other person here that doesn't drink," Sam said.

"Well, I don't," Adam said, he and Cornelia stepping forward.

"Yeah, well you're a priest, that doesn't count," Sam said. "I meant-" Sam was cut off as Tali walked down the hallway, looking at Jane.

"Captain...I need to talk to you about-" she began, but Jane cut her off.

"I was just about to come and check up on him," Jane said. "Pardon me," she said as she detached herself from the others and followed Tali down the hallway, making a sharp right turn. "How is he?" Jane asked.

"He's not as bad as he was in the truck...but he's still pretty bad," Tali said. "I think we're all shaken up by what happened back there, but he's taking it particularly hard." As they spoke, Tali opened a door and walked into a small room filled with metal crates, Volker sitting down on one, a half empty canteen of water swinging between his legs as he looked at the ground.

"Hey Volker," Jane said, sitting down next to him. "How do you feel?"

"Awful," Volker answered honestly. "I...I just can't stop seeing what happened back there," he whispered. "It's...it's like it's engraved into my mind. I've got no love for yankees but...they didn't deserve to die. People bombing their own cities...over 700 years and...nothing's changed."

"Volker, the second we get a chance to head back up to the Normandy, I want you to have a session with Kelly," Jane said.

"Your yeoman?" Volker asked, looking up at her. "Maybe...I don't think I've met her yet. Not even during the trip here."

"Then maybe we should change that," Jane said. "After today's mission royally went south, I want to lay low for a couple of days and come up with a new plan of attack, I want you to use that time to rest and recover, and even then I may want you to stay behind on our next mission."

"No!" Volker said. "I'm...I'm just a little under the weather right now. I can still fight."

"Absolutely not," Jane said. "If you were to go out to a battlefield the wreck you are now, you'd get yourself killed. You may not be a soldier in the Coalition and I can't force you to fight, but as long as you're a guest on my ship I can force you to not fight."

"But...I can't just sit around and do nothing!" Volker protested.

"Volker...I don't understand why you're so eager to get back out there," Tali said softly. "What you told me about the Second World War, you made it sound like it was the worst experience of your entire life."

"It was," Volker said sadly. "All this fighting, all this death...I can't stand it."

"Then why are you here?" Jane asked, sounding slightly confused, "you're not enlisted. You could've gotten off of the ship at Mars and started a new life for yourself there. Why pick up a gun again and keep fighting?"

"Because...Saren is a threat to all Humanity right?" he asked.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" Jane asked.

"From what I've heard of Saren...he reminds me a lot of Hitler and Stalin," Volker said softly. "I...I was just a teenager when Hitler started to rise to power. I wanted him to be in control of Germany, I wanted him to make the Allies pay for what they'd done. I remember that I'd go to his rallies, I couldn't even begin to count how many people there were there, screaming in unison for justice. And that's what it felt like at the time, justice, but now that I think back with everything that I learned, I realize now that it wasn't justice. It was a lynch mob."

"Lynch mob?" Jane said.

Volker nodded. "Hitler...he stirred the German people up into a frenzy, me included. We were angry, and he made us want blood. Stalin did the same thing, he made the Russians want blood, and when the war came, they set the mobs that they had gathered on each other and just stood back while we teared each other for shreds. Millions of people died in a personal war between two men. The Germans and Russians who fought each other, they were all ordinary people that had just got caught up in the mob, and the ones that realized had no way out. Saren hates the Coalition, it's the same hate the Hitler has for non-Germans. He needs to be stopped before he creates his own lynch mob, the same goes for the Enclave."

"But why? Why you?" Jane asked. "I don't understand why you think you need to be here."

"Because...because I was part of the mob," Volker said. "I was part of the mob that helped bring him to power. He conquered our country and tried to do the same to the entire world, and I stood by and cheered him on. I can't...I can't just stand by and let this happen again. I need to make a difference this time, I need to make up for what I've done. I don't like fighting, but if it stops another war, I can manage"

"Volker, you weren't responsible for the rise of Adolf Hitler," Jane said, "but I suppose that wanting to stop Saren and the Enclave from engulfing the galaxy in war is a noble goal. However, I still want you off of active duty for the next few days, at least until you have a good talk with Kelly."

"Ok," Volker said softly, Tali sitting down next to him.

"You know, this is a pretty brave and selfless thing that you're doing here," she said comfortingly. " You should be proud of yourself"

Volker chuckled weakly. "Not really. I'm just making up for what I did."

"I think that you don't have anything to make up for, but I can still respect that," Jane said. "Also, you talked about the Russians like you had some experience from their side of the war. Did you ever talk to any Russians?"

"A few," Volker said, his hand working his way into his pocket as he rubbed the golden star.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Something I just want to say real quick. While Halo 4 is by no means a bad game, now that the honey moon phase is over I'm starting to realize that it's far from perfect, campaign being a little on the short side, multiplayer being a little frantic with some key playlists missing, Spartan Ops enjoyable but kinda repetitive and while I haven't touched them, I heard that custom games and forge are a bit of a mess. That being said, 343 has acknowledged that their game is far from perfect and that they're going to try harder in Halo 5. Considering that this is quite literally the first game that they've made, I think it's safe to say that they can improve and as their first game it's pretty good, and hey, they admitted that they messed up to some degree, that's more than a lot of companies will do.

Also you may have noticed that I haven't ranted in awhile. That's because I'm done with it. The world is negative and overly cynical enough without me contributing to it. In other words I've kinda become disillusioned with it. That's all.

Also no Norman, or rather Nora, is not transgender, simply a crossdresser. I decided to go down this path because to be perfectly honest my characters are like people to me, the way that they're supposed to be just clicks. That and if I were to write about a transgender person I would royally fuck it up.


	58. Laying Low

Chapter 58

Laying Low

Author's Note: I think I need to clarify something in the last chapter, one reviewer said that he didn't see why I explained why Nora wore men's clothing since he knew women who wore t-shirts and jeans all the time. That's a nice thought but it's not quite how it works. I'm going to try and explore the thought process behind a cross dresser in this chapter, fingers crossed that I don't fuck it up. If I do, please correct me.

XXXXX

"What...is this thing?" Nora asked, looking at a large chunk of cooked meat on a stick before tearing a large chunk off with her. "It's a little tough...and it tastes...funny."

"Yeah a little," Roger said, also taking a bite of the alien animal's meat.

"I don't know, I've never seen anything like this before," Sheryl said, looking down at the dead animal lying beside her. It resembled a dear, but it had six legs, four eyes, and seemed to be much taller and thiner. "It must be native to the planet, here before the Enclave got here."

"That's a little weird," Nora said, "wouldn't the Enclave have done everything that they could to get animals native to Earth out here? Aren't they obsessed with making things as much like America as possible? Or is that just a rumor?"

"I wouldn't put it past them," Roger said. "They probably try to get restaurants to serve burgers and hot dogs just like Pre-War America. Good like finding a cow that isn't red with two heads though, and a pig...well I saw a pig during my time on Earth...uh..."

"What?" Nora asked.

"I...Sheryl have you seen a Post-War Pig?" Roger asked.

"Oh yeah," Sheryl said, shaking her head. "Spent some time at the Washington Confederacy before I got shipped off planet. If you ever see one...just blast it in the face with a shotgun. Trust me."

"I don't even want to know do I?" Nora asked.

"No you do not," Roger said. "It...oh look. Sheryl behind you, looks like the Enclave did import animals from Earth.

"Hm?" Sheryl said, looking behind her. With a single swift movement she drew her knife and drove it through a rather large Radroach that had been crawling behind her. "Huh, look at that," she said, looking at the dead insect on the end of her knife.

"Probably managed to sneak on the first ships that came here and managed to reproduce on the planet. A lot like rodents," Nora said.

"Probably," Sheryl said. Then, without any warning, she opened her mouth and bit off a massive chunk of Radroach, chewing it and swallowing it.

Roger gagged on the piece of meat that he had been chewing on, slamming his fist into his chest as he coughed up a few chunks of meat as Nora's eyes widened. "Did-" he coughed again, "did you just eat Radroach meat!? RAW Radroach meat?! Why would you do that!?"

Sheryl shrugged. "Why not? It's not that bad."

"Not that bad? It's the most disgusting thing to over come from our shitty corner of the galaxy. I ate one on a bet when I was on Earth!" Roger said.

"How did that go?" Nora asked, sounding as if she didn't want to know.

"Let me put it this way, I didn't win and I needed a new suit of armor when I was done," Roger said, shuddering slightly. "I'm just trying to wrap my head around how you're able to keep that damn thing down."

"They're a little bitter, but they're not that bad," Sheryl said casually, taking another bite. "When you grow up in a place like Alaska, you learn to not be picky. It's still a winter wasteland up there, half of the things you kill for supper are the same you're worried might try and stampede through the village the next day. Sometimes hunting them just wasn't worth it. Sometimes you had to make do with...less pleasant alternatives," she said, taking another bite of the Radroach, finishing it off. "Hm, that was a small one," she muttered.

"Ok, so Sheryl has an iron stomach," Roger said. "Good to know. We needed someone to taste test Gardner's food without being convicted of a war crime."

"You're exaggerating a little bit aren't you?" Nora said, a slight smile on her face.

"Only a little bit," Roger said. "Hey...there's something that I've been meaning to ask you. How come you disguised yourself as a man? You were kinda vague on that."

Nora sighed as she leaned back against the wall. "To be honest I'm still trying to figure that out myself. I mean I always dressed like this, but after everything that happened, I guess I was just too scared."

"It isn't the 19th century, you're allowed to wear pants," Roger said. "The Captain wears a pretty nice hoodie when she's off duty."

"I know," Nora growled in frustration. "I just didn't want to take the risk. There was always this little voice in the back of my head that told me to keep it a secret. I just couldn't stand the thought of wearing things like a dress, but after everything my Dad went through...there was just some kind of mental block. It's...personal."

"Every time you talk about wearing dresses you sound like someone is twisting your arm," Roger said. "How come?"

Nora shrugged. "How come you wear men's clothing and don't wear women's clothing? Whatever your answer to that is, mine is the same. I guess that's just the way my brain's been wired ever since I was born. I love wearing practical comfortable clothes like this, and I would probably kill myself out of embarrassment if I was ever seen in anything feminine. I only wear clothing designed for men, I only ever wanted to wear clothing designed for men. Not to mention I tended to cut my hair, act and dress in a way that I actively got mistaken for a man, even if I never tried to hide my gender before everything went to Hell, and I just like it that way and I can't stand being feminine in the slightest. I don't mind people that are feminine, but I personally can't stand being feminine. Does that explain things for you?"

"A little." Roger said. Before he could say anything else, he heard a twig snap. His hand flew to his assault rifle and grabbed it, aiming it at the entrance to the cave. Sheryl and Nora had also heard the noise, Nora drawing her pistols while Sheryl drew her sniper rifle, both of them aiming it at the entrance to the cave.

"Whoa whoa!" a familiar voice shouted. "Don't shoot!"

Nora lowered her pistols. "Kasumi?"

"Yeah it's me. I've been looking for you three for hours," Kasumi said, walking into the cave, her tactical cloak dropping. "The Captain decided that it would be too risky to try and contact you because you still weren't that far from where we launched our attack, so the Enclave could be searching the area and she didn't want to risk breaking radio silence. So what she did was that she had EDI tell Joker to use the teleporter to get down to the Eagle's base, told me to take the other teleporter to look for you guys so that you could get back to the Normandy. After that, I need to head to where the others are hiding out so they they can get back onto the Normandy, then I need to head back to the Eagle's base...and I need to do it all on foot. Yeah...sounds like fun."

"Oh...sorry about that," Roger said.

"Eh, I'll live," Kasumi said, taking the teleporter off of her back and laying it on the ground, activating it. "Anyway, you've three had a fun time camping out here, but now you should really get out of here. The others should be joining you before too long, I don't think that the Princes' base is that far away."

"Thank you," Nora said as the three of them got to their feet, and one by one walked into the teleporter. One second they were in the cave, the next, they were in the Normandy's engine room.

"Oh good, you're ok!" Opifex said, looking up from his bench and looking excited.

"How are you holding up down there?" Adams said, looking up from his console. "Jumping in and out of the system so that the stealth systems don't melt on us isn't easy, but we've got it covered."

"We're fine," Roger said. "But Norman here needs to see Dr. Chakwas."

"I don't-" Nora started, but Sheryl nudged her in the back as they started to walk. "Don't complain," she said as they three of them made their way out of the engine room and into the elevator.

"You do know why I don't want her to look at my wounds right?" Nora asked as the doors closed in front of them. "You got a pretty good look."

"You need to have someone take a look at that," Sheryl said sternly. "Those injuries could get infected if they don't get treated properly. Medi-gel won't hold up forever."

"I know," Nora growled. "But in case you didn't catch it, I'd rather have as few people know about my dirty little secret as possible."

"You can trust Dr. Chakwas," Sheryl said. "She's a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse. They don't care who you are, they just want to help you."

"But-" Nora began.

"Besides, haven't you ever heard of doctor patient confidentiality?" Roger asked. "Really, if you could chose one person that you were forced to be honest with, she'd be a good choice."

Nora bit her lip as the elevator slid to a stop. "I don't know."

"It's either this or die when those wounds start to smell," Roger said.

Nora sighed bitterly. "I guess that you're right," she said, the three of them walking across the mess hall and into the medical bay.

Dr. Chakwas was standing in there, looking at a datapad. "Oh, you're back. Are you ok? Do any of you need treatment?"

"Norman got stabbed a couple of times down there," Sheryl said. "He needs treatment. But...we also need you to keep a bit of a secret. Is there any chance that we could get a little more privacy?" she asked, looking at the windows to the medical bay.

"Of course," she said, pressing a button near the windows that caused them to turn pure white, blocking out the views from the mess hall. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I...fuck it," Nora grumbled, "no point in being blunt. I'm...not a guy."

"Oh...Oh!" Dr. Chakwas said, her eyes widening in surprise. "I...oh goodness I...I never thought."

Nora smiled wirily. "Guess I was good at hiding it. Look...it's a really personal thing, I'd rather that no one knew about it. Can you do me a favor and just not tell anyone about this? The Captain included."

"Of course," Chakwas said. "Your secret is safe with me. It's not like this effects the safety of everyone on the ship. Now, lay down and take your combat vest off so I can take a look at the damage." She looked at Sheryl and Roger. "You don't mind leaving do you? I could use a little privacy."

"Nora, you ok with this?" Roger asked.

"I'm a big girl Dad," Nora said dryly. "I can handle a few pokes and prods. Could you just do me a favor and grab my spare trenchcoat and combat vest from my room? I'd rather not have a uniform with holes in it, and my trenchcoat sleeves have been shredded since we got here. Also I need a new tank top, someone shredded the one that I was wearing."

Sheryl chuckled. "One fresh set of clothes coming up, And while you're at it, you can finally get those arms of yours treated from when they got slashed by that Enclave soldier," she said, walking out of the medical bay, Roger right behind her. "Well, that went surprisingly well."

"So, her-I mean his room is over there?" Roger asked, pointing at the far side of the deck.

"You want to keep calling her Norman when other people are still around?" Sheryl asked.

"Kinda," Roger said.

"Fair enough. You wouldn't want to give him a reason to smash your face in," Sheryl said, smiling slightly. "He's got a fair bit of practice."

"Fuck you," Roger said, both of them walking forward and heading to Nora's room. As they did, the passed the elevator as it opened, Liara walking out. "Wow, you're back up already?" Roger said, looking at Liara. "That was...please tell me that cave we were in wasn't five feet away from the Princes' base."

"No, Kasumi said that it was a bit of a hike," Liara said. "How are the two of you? You're not hurt are you? And where's Norman?"

"Chakwas is taking a look at him, he got stabbed a couple of times," Roger said, gesturing over his shoulder. "She said that she wants to be alone while she works."

"Oh. Well that's reasonable. I'm just glad that you two are ok, I'm glad that everyone is ok." Liara said. "No one on the Normandy died. The Eagles and the Princes...they weren't so lucky. Volker isn't taking it very well."

"He'll be fine," Roger said, a slightly comforting tone in his voice. "The guy survived fighting the Red Army for two years without putting his gun in his mouth. He's tougher than he looks."

"I suppose," Liara said. "It...it feels odd being around him. I've never met anyone besides other Asari and Krogan who were alive a millienium ago. It's an odd change of pace."

"Pretty sure he's still trying to wrap his head around the fact that you're...how old are you?" Roger asked.

"Only a hundred and six," Liara said.

"He's probably still trying to understand why you put an only in there," Roger said. "Speaking of which how are you holding up? You're probably one of the most inexperienced people on the ship...no offense."

"None taken," Liara said. "And I'll be fine. Even if you only live for a century, you see a lot of people grow old and die. I'm a little more used to death than I should be. Still...what happened down there...I can see why the Enclave is considered a threat if they're willing to do that. I'll stick with you, these people can't be allowed to run rampant."

"Good to hear," Roger said.

"Oh, by the way, Shepard says that she wants us back on the ground once Kasumi gets back to the Eagle's base. She wants us on standby for when another opening in the Enclave's defenses appear," Liara said. "She seemed rather quiet when she said that. Tired even."

"Commanding a force all the way out here?" Roger said. "I can see what that'd be exhausting. I'll take being an NCO any day. Anyway, nice talking to you Liara, we'll probably be seeing you again soon." Liara nodded as Sheryl and Roger walked off.

XXXXX

Woods sighed as she pressed her hands into her temples, rubbing them. She was sitting in the middle of a cafeteria in the White House that was deserted at this late hour. She had come her in the hopes of being able to focus like she always did, but for some reason there was a mental block in her head. She couldn't get anything done. "Come on," she hissed, looking down at the datapad in front of her. "Tomorrow morning you're going to have to address the public about what happened in New Boston, and you haven't even started writing your speech."

"Hey there Madam President." Looking up, Woods said General Moore approaching her, sitting down across from her. "Late night assignment?"

"Sort of," Woods said, looking down at the blank datapad in frustration. "But I might as well be doing nothing. I suppose I need a minute to clear my mind," she said, pushing the datapad off to the side. "I'm glad to see that you're unharmed. I take it that your daughter is well too?"

"Yeah," Moore said gruffly, uncorking a bottle of whiskey that she was holding a taking a swig from it. "She's ok."

"As I understand you have a bit of a problem with that stuff," Woods said, eyeing the bottle of whisky distrustingly. "Maybe you shouldn't."

"You've got your cigars to calm you down when you're stressed, I've got my whisky," Moore said, taking another swig. "It calms me down, it makes me feel better, and most importantly it makes it so that I don't want to deepthroat my gun."

Woods sighed. "It's tough, I know. People like us have to make tough calls."

"You demoted Crawford right?" Moore said, taking another swig. "For what he did?"

"Yeah, he's a Captain now."

"A Captain...serves the son of a bitch right," Moore growled. "I would've rather died back there then let all of those people die. What gives him the fucking right to make that call? What makes him think that my life is worth saving? My job pretty much sucked everything that made my life worth living out of it, with the exception of my daughter, and half the time she can't stand to look at me."

"It's because you drink," Woods said. "She's worried about you. Any daughter would be."

"I know," Moore said sadly, taking another swig. "But I need this stuff. I'm not proud of it but I need it. I wish she could understand that. I don't have anyone else trying to comfort me."

"Your husband left you right?" Woods said.

"Yeah, he did," Moore growled, her voice starting to slur slightly. "He tells me how much he loves me and Cadence, how he'll always be there for us, and the second I make General, he starts fucking another woman. He spun some bullshit excuse of how he had 'needs' and that I wasn't satisfying them, and that that whore he ran off with did. Not to mention he said that he couldn't handle the stress of all the attention that I was attracting, when he got the edge of it at the very most!"

"You sound like you don't miss him very much," Woods said.

"Why should I?" Moore growled. "The only fond memory I have of the prick is Cadence clocking him in the face when he told me that he was leaving me for a blond bimbo. The girl knows how to throw a punch. I'm better off without him now that I think about it. Some people are happier with someone, some people are happier single. I learned the hard way that I'm happier single. I take it that you are too."

"No...not really," Woods said. "I'm like you. I used to be married."

"Really?" Moore said. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah," Woods said, activating her omni-tool and causing a holographic picture to be displayed. It was of Woods in a suit and of another woman in a wedding dress, smiling at the camera. "We...we had it pretty good. We managed to make it for fifteen years, not bad compared to most people. She...left me two years back. Not sure what happened to her."

"Oh, and I take it that it was because she couldn't handle the attention that she was getting married to the President?" Moore asked angrily.

"No...she left after the rebels tried to kill her.

"I...oh," Moore said, sound uncomfortable all of a sudden. "That's...um...not what I was expecting."

"She was about to go to work when she remembered that she had forgotten her omni-tool, and good thing she did. Her car exploded and nearly seared half off her face off. I think that the rebels were trying to get at me through her, or maybe just get her to get back at me." Woods shook her head. "I don't know. Anyway, the second she was released from the hospital. She didn't tell me where she was going, didn't say if she'd ever be back. She just sent me a one word message. Goodbye." Woods sighed as she reached into her pocket and produced her case of cigars, lighting one and taking a drag on it.

"Though now that I think about it the stress was pretty bad for her even before that," she continued. "The Republicans were constantly shrieking about her because...well you know, and the Democrats constantly on the camera on her in an attempt to further their own agenda. I wouldn't have minded as much if they had bothered to actually learn her damn name."

"It's official, our lives suck," Moore said, taking another swig of whisky. "We're hiding out in the middle of nowhere, the majority of the people in charge have their heads so far up their asses that we accomplish one major thing every twenty five years, and the people hate us and want us all dead. Oh, and as of recent, the Coalition knows where we are and will be here by the end of the month."

"I won't lie to you, it's not easy," Woods said. "Especially when I'm forced to work with people like Goeth. Sometimes I wonder if it's all really worth it or if I'm doing more harm than good."

"Then let me ask you something. With the choke hold that we have on space travel, it's impossible for anyone to leave the system, but why don't you?" Moore asked. "You could get a shuttle and leave all of this behind. Head out to a Coalition colony in the middle of nowhere, dye your hair, change your name, and try to find a life for yourself that isn't complete and utter misery."

"I would like to I really would," Woods said. "But I can't just leave everything behind. I ran for President for a reason. People are angry at the government, and they have every reason to. They've been focusing so hard on relentless militarism that people's rights have been neglected. I heard that last night alone, fifteen people were beat within an inch of their life by the military police for breaking curfew to spray graffiti on the walls. I thought that I could fix this."

"Last time I check it hasn't been going that well for you," Moore said.

"No, it hasn't. I have no supporters at all in Congress, which means that trying to get any legislative movements passed is like getting to the moon by walking. It just isn't going to happen. But I can't just drop in all and run away. The oath that every last member of Congress took when they were elected may mean nothing to them, but the oath that I took means something to me. These are my people, I'm not going to abandon them, not with Congress as out as control as it is, not with Saren running around with Geth, not as long as there's still something I can do. I may have to fight tooth and nail just to move at a snails pace, but I have to do something. There's...well...there's something inside of me that I can't describe that just keeps me going."

"Don't we all," Moore said, taking another sip.

"Oh, Madam President, there you are." The two women looked up to see Admiral Gallows approaching them, wearing what looked like formal dinner wear. "What do you think? A little too formal?"

"Where are you going?" Woods asked, "that's what really matters when you're deciding what to wear."

"Uh...dinner and a m-m-m-movie," Gallows said nervously.

"Then yes, you're overdressed," Woods said. "You need to relax a little Gallows, you're just going out on a date, you're not getting married."

"I know," Gallows said nervously. "I just don't want to mess this up. The person who asked me out seemed like a really nice guy and I don't want to botch it the second that I meet him."

"Just wear a nice shirt and some pants. If he freaks out over what you wear then frankly he probably wasn't worth it in the first place," Woods said.

"You're...y-y-y-y-you're Right M-m-m-m-m-madam President," Gallows said. "T-t-t-t-thank you. I need to go get c-c-c-c-c-c-changed."

"Well, seems like not all of us are alone in miserable. Even though the two aren't really connected with me," Moore said as Gallows ran off. "Do you think it'll go all right for him?"

"I would think so. Gallows is a nice man, not to mention he doesn't really give up when he starts to work on something," Woods said. "Like when he tries to lose weight."

"Oh yeah no kidding," Moore said. "He's still a little flabby but he looks great compared to what he used to be. How did he get so big again?"

"He was a little like you," Woods said sadly. "He was trying to cope with the hardships that he was going through. The difference was that instead of drinking, he developed an eating disorder. He managed to get the better of it six months ago and he's been doing what he can to get rid of the weight that he built up."

"You make it sound like it's easy," Moore said, sipping from the whiskey bottle again.

"I never said that," Woods said sadly. "But tell me something General, how come you're still here? A General wouldn't have that much trouble getting off planet either."

"I wish I knew," Moore said. "I guess I'm a little like you, there's something here keeping me going. I'm half convinced that it's Cadance, or maybe it's just the liqour. I've got enough in my system right now for either one to be true."

"Are you sure that you don't want to see someone about this?" Woods asked. "I'd rather not make it an order."

"I'm sure," Moore grumbled, "And can you really afford to take me off duty now of all times."

"I guess not," Woods said sadly, looking down at her blank datapad again. "Well...this thing isn't going to write itself," she said, taking the datapad and starting to type into it.

XXXXX

"It's good to speak to you again Captain," Admiral Marcus said, "what's your status?"

"I wish that I could be giving you a bit better news Admiral," Jane said, kneeling down in front of the massive COM unit in the Eagle's base, Sam right next to her. "We managed to cripple an military base in the Enclave's capital that was housing the local air support for the area, but afterward we attempted to assassinate an Enclave General but that proved to be...less than successful. Not to mention, of the few rebels that we've managed to gain the support of, over a hundred were killed in the last two battles that we were in. We've barely made dent in the Enclave's forces."

"I see. This is understandable through, we were not expecting you to have to deal with the Enclave being as large as they are. That being said, I still need you to do whatever damage that you can to the Enclave. We are on our way, and the weaker they are when we arrive the better. I trust that the Eagles are still supporting you?"

"You bet we are," Sam said, "We may have lost some men, but we knew what we were getting ourselves into when we first started fighting the Enclave. We're with you till the end."

"I'm glad to hear that," Marcus said. "We have started the voyage to the Enclave's homeworld, we should be there in two weeks. We are receiving support from the true Geth, the Army, Quarians and the Turians, so I have high hopes for this invasion now."

"Wait, wait, wait," Jane said. "The...Admiral did you say the Turians?"

"I'm just as surprised as you are," Marcus said. "Apparently one of their Generals managed to put enough pressure on the Hierarchy to send eighty ships to support us. That may be just what we need to make this attack work. I do hope that the Enclave's mole isn't going to let them in on that particular secret."

"So I take it you're not telling anyone else then?" Jane asked.

"I'll probably come back to haunt me later, but no."

"Do you have any idea who it could be yet?"

"I do have a suspect. Rear Admiral Mikhailovich has been acting oddly these past few days, but I don't have any solid evidence on him."

"Oh, well, I'll let you know if I can figure out anything on my end."

"Very well." Marcus paused before speaking again. "If I may ask Captain, what are you planning for your next move?"

"I'm not going to lie Admiral, I don't have a next move at the moment. I want to lay low for a couple of days after the thrashing the Enclave gave us. They were willing to carpet bomb a city block just to get at us, so I want to take it slow now. Oh, by the way I've managed to gather some data on the Enclave, including information on the formation of their military and on an organization called the Enclave Special Forces. EDI should be sending it to you now."

"Very well," Marcus said. "Also this is very unprofessional of me but...you have a Cornelia Lepidus in your crew?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?" Jane said.

"I...there is somewhere here that wants to speak with her. Considering that you are risking your lives in the heart of enemy territory with minimal support, going against regulations like this is the least that I can do."

"Ok, hold on a second," Jane said, putting her finger to her ear. "Cornelia, I need to see you. You know where to find me right?"

"Uh...yeah. On my way," the woman said. Jane lowered her hand and waited for a few minutes, and eventually, she heard Cornelia enter the room. "What's up? No one's hurt right?"

"Someone wants to talk to you," Jane said, moving out of the way of the COM unit.

"Um...hello?" Cornelia said, looking uncertain as she sat down in front of the COM unit. "Who's there."

"She's all yours Harkness," Marcus.

"Wait a minute, Harkness?" Cornelia said, sounding surprised. "But...are you telling me that-"

"Hey there Cornelia," a warm and friendly voice said through the COM unit.

"Dad!?" Cornelia said, her eyes widening as a look of pure delight dawned on her face. "I didn't know that you were a part of this mission, I thought that you were still on Mars!"

"We got called out here to deal with the Enclave," Harkness explained. "You were so busy with your mission that I never got a chance to contact you. How have you been keeping up?"

"I think we should go," Jane whispered, nudging Sam, who nodded as the two of them walked out of the room.

"What's going on in there?" Charon asked, who had been walking past but came to a stop as he saw the two women coming out.

"Cornelia is talking to her Dad. Some guy named Harkness," Jane explained.

"Oh, well that's nice, I mean...wait...did you say Harkness? Are you sure?" Charon asked.

"I...yes...why?" Jane asked uncertainly.

"I...I need to talk to Fawkes," Charon said, turning and running down the hallway.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked, glancing at Jane.

"I don't know," Jane said, shaking her head. "Maybe Charon and Fawkes met Harkness at one point, or maybe they met one of his ancestors, they've lived long enough for them to have done that. Somehow I doubt that it's a serious thing, otherwise he would've told me, Charon is a dedicated soldier like that. He-" she trailed off as she heard a loud shout coming from a room down the hallway.

"That can't be good," Sam said, the two woman breaking into a sprint as they ran through the Eagles base, quickly sliding through an open doorway. They found themselves in the room that the Eagles used as their cafeteria, Rael arguing with Legion, while Tali and Volker were getting to their feet around a small table, looking like they had been interrupted in the middle of a meal.

"Exactly what are you trying to imply?" Rael growled, glaring at Legion.

"We are attempting to urge the creator to not attempt to launch attacks against any Geth once the Enclave are eliminated," the synthetic said. "The results would be disastrous for both sides. The Geth do not desire conflict with the Creators, we desire peace."

"If that's the case, then why don't you give us back our homeworld!?" Rael asked angrily. "We've been forced to travel around the galaxy as exiles for the last three centuries! It would take six more to properly adapt our immune systems to any other planet besides Rannoch, if you say that you don't want conflict with us, then why don't you do that!?" As Rael continued to shout, Volker began to walk across the room, looking as if he was heading for the door, Tali not far behind him.

"Geth have built many facilities orbiting and within short travel of Rannoch. Permitting the Creators and the Migrant Fleet to freely enter Rannoch's orbit could prove to be disastrous to Geth. It would be an ideal position for Creators to attack."

"You just said that you wanted peace with us!" Rael said angrily.

"We do. Creator 'Zorah does not." Legion said simply. "It is true that Geth desire peace with Creators, but we have come to realize that peace with Creators is unlikely. Creators attack Geth when they believe that victory is possible 100% of the time."

"When you refuse to do anything to convince us that you're interested in doing anything other than preserving yourself it's hard to imagine why! You're content to sit behind the veil and convince yourself that you're peace loving, while we're struggling to stay alive every year, because of what you did to us in the Morning War! What else are we supposed to do? You made no attempts to contact us and you won't give us the one planet where we can actually get back on our feet peacefully. Taking it back by force is the only option that we have!"

"Geth deemed attempting to make contact with Creators and other organics to be too risky. There was a 75.8% chance that Geth emerging from the Veil would be seen as an act of war and prompt an invasion from not only the Creators, but the Council."

"Last time I checked, the Council fleet wasn't amassing to charge Rannoch!"

"We did not say that it was definite, only that it was the most likely outcome. We were not willing to take the chance."

"Is that all you care about!? Your damn statistics!?" Rael growled. "You don't even care about the billions of Quarians that you killed do you? It was just another calculation to you!"

"Geth do what we deem necessary to survive. Creator 'Zorah, you are no different. We calculate a 14.9% chance that the research you were developing was meant to kill the Geth, and a 83.1% chance that you were intending to use it to reprogram us and make us your loyal servants again."

"YOU WHAT!?" Volker spun around, his eyes glued to Rael. "Is...is he telling the truth? You were going to do the same thing that the Enclave is trying to do?!"

"...Yes...we were," Rael said. "Even if we were to retake Rannoch and find a way to cure our immune systems, the Quarian people would still be insignificant in the eyes of the galactic community. Seventeen million is the population of a pre-industrial species, not a space faring one. Even if we were to get Rannoch back, our economy would be small and pathetic compared to every last race in the galaxy, we would still have no influence. By controlling the Geth, we gain a massive military and economic force that can secure the future of the Quarian people in every way, by giving us the manpower that we don't have, and by finally giving us our homeworld back. All of the problems that haunt our race, gone in a single stroke."

"And all you need to do to save millions is enslave billions," Volker said, disgust heavy in his voice. "And you wonder why the Geth don't think that peace with you is possible? Maybe you should step down as Admiral, if I were a Geth I'd feel a lot more comfortable negotiating when someone that approves of mass brainwashing or genocide isn't in charge."

Tali felt a pang of anger as Volker spoke. She opened her mouth to retort to what he said, but before she did she stopped. 'Something...something feels wrong about this,' Tali thought. 'When he argued about the Geth with me he wasn't so forward and hostile. Why is he like this now. It...' as she thought, she remembered how shaken up he had been mere hours ago, and she highly doubted that he had gotten over it that easily. Her eyes widened in realization.

"Boy, do me a favor," Rael growled. "Don't lecture me when you have no idea what you're talking about."

Before Volker could reply, Tali gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Volker. Come on, let's get out of here."

"Tali, I know that he's your father but-" Volker began turning to look at her, but Tali cut him off before he could finish.

"Volker, please listen to me," Tali said, putting both of her hands on his shoulders. "I know that you're still upset by what you saw out there, I can't blame you. You're not thinking straight right now, you're lashing out. Please, just walk away from this before you do or say something that you'll regret."

"I...but..." Volker said, his facial features softening noticeably. "I...I just...ok," he whispered softly.

"Come on," she said gently leading him out of the room.

"He's starting his meetings with Kelly today," Jane muttered.

"You need to keep your crew under control Captain," Rael said coldly.

"You let me worry about that," Jane replied sternly. "Also, now that I think about it, the True Geth are going to be providing military support when the Coalition launches their attack on this planet. Won't the Enclave be able to use the research that they stole from you to turn them against us?"

"No," Rael replied, "even with the data I was gathering from the ship that I was examining when I was attacked, it would take months for me to finish that project, and that's the most idealistic perspective. That's probably why the Enclave wanted to attack us without being detected, so that they would have time to finish it. I contacted Shala and told her the same thing, your Admiral Marcus should know it as well."

"We have no evidence to prove Creator 'Zorah wrong," Legion added.

"Well, good," Jane said. "Also, I think it might be for the best if you two avoided each other."

"We conquer," Legion said, slowly making its way towards the exit and crossing the threshold.

Jane sighed as she and Sam turned around. "I hope that we can take on the Enclave without tearing each other apart first."

"Me too. Well, hope this place isn't too cramped for you," Sam said. "You're gonna be here awhile."

XXXXX

Author's Note: I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but there's new DLC coming out for The Old Republic that introduces homosexuals! And...they're all on one planet...a "gay planet" if you will...in a galaxy where there are over a million habited worlds, there is only one with gay people on it...and it is said that these romances will be under developed, only flings, and you have to pay for something that was promised at launch and then released a year later...and people wonder why I'm done with Bioware. To be fair to them, there's evidence that this was a compromise that they had to make with Disney, but the main problem is that they're being limited by bigger companies who are drawing lines that are infuriating their customers, me included. This is just the latest incident and I doubt it'll be the last. Writing gay characters is not hard! You just don't make it so that them being gay is the sole definition of their character. I did it, it's easy. TWO of my OCs are gay!


	59. Ancient Technology

Chapter 59

Ancient Technology

Author's Note: Well, school has started up for me again, so far the classes seem pretty good (I have the most awesome science professor EVER) and hopefully I won't sit on my ass I'll day and I'll actually get something done. Well, let's tell a story.

XXXXX

"Admiral, may I have a word with you?" Anderson looked up from the office that he had given during his stay on the Citadel to see Rear-Admiral Mikhailovich standing in his doorway.

"What is it?" he asked, looking up from the datapad that he had been reading.

"Why was I not informed that the Normandy was being sent to deal with the Enclave?"

Anderson frowned as he looked up at the Rear-Admiral, not having forgotten his outburst when he had first pulled his ships away from their positions. "Mikhailovich, that is classified information in a very delicate operation, where did you learn about that?" Anderson asked.

"One of the Captains on the ships that were pulled from my forces sent me a message," Mikhailovich said. "He told me. It wasn't hard for him to figure out, we were getting intelligence reports from the heart of Enclave territory and Admiral Marcus was briefing us on them in order to prepare us. The Normandy would be the only ship that could pull something like that off."

"Mikhailovich, you know that we have an infiltrator in the Coalition," Anderson said sternly. "We should be keeping radio transmissions with Admiral Marcus' fleet to a minim-"

"Don't give me that Anderson! If the Enclave knew about the expedition fleet then odds are that they already know that Admiral Marcus is heading towards them," Mikhailovich said angrily. "So not only did the Coalition authorize a quarter trillion credits to build that damn ship, but they're not using it to hunt down Saren like we're supposed to be doing? You take ships away from the fleet that I have guarding the colonies from the Geth, and now you take away the ship that was supposed to be actively hunting down them and their leader?"

"Stand down Admiral," Anderson said, his voice dangerously low. "You're out of league."

"I'm out of league!? I'M OUT OF LEAGUE!?" Mikhailovich shouted, looking as if he wanted to pull his hair out. "Admiral, do you have any idea how many people died at Eden Prime? It happened nearly two months ago and we're STILL pulling bodies out of the rubble, and the causality count is easily in the tens of thousands! The Geth are still out there, Saren had a ship so advanced that it took a direct Tesla blast without even flinching and shredded through thirty of our warships. Despite this, you're sending ships AWAY from our colonies to attack the washed up remnants of a Pre-War nation. Do you honestly think that they'll be a threat compared to the Geth?"

"Mikhailovich," Anderson growled. "This decision was made by myself, Admiral Marcus, and Fleet Admiral Hackett. It is our choice, not yours. So unless you want to face the consequences of this conversation continuing, I suggest that you walk away right now."

Seething, Mikhailovich turned on the spot and walked out of Anderson's office. After a few minutes, once he was out of earshot of Anderson, he put his finger to his ear. "I need to talk to you now. Can you make it?"

Anderson shook his head as he looked down at his desk. As he did, his COM unit beeped. "Anderson," Udina said, "the Council says that they want to talk to you. They don't sound happy."

"Are they ever?" he groaned, getting to his feet and walking out of his office, stepping into a nearby elevator. "Any idea what's getting them so angry?"

"They aren't saying," Udina said. "They look livid though. Most likely it has something to do with the Enclave because I haven't heard anything about Saren or the Geth." Anderson didn't say anything as the elevator that he was in continued to rise through the Citadel, eventually coming to a stop on the Presidium. He walked out, heading up the stairs to where Udina was standing, along with the Council.

"Councilors, what can I do for you?" he asked, his voice wary as he looked up at the three of them.

"I would simply like to know why I just received word that the Hierarchy's Third Fleet is apparently accompanying the Coalition on their attack on the Enclave," Sparatus said, sounding livid.

"You mean to tell me that you weren't informed?" Anderson asked. "General Victus urged your leaders to allow him to send military support to deal with the Enclave. He believed that once the Enclave was done with us they would pose a treat to the rest of the Council."

"Victus?" Sparatus said, looking down at the datapad. "They didn't mention him. Everything makes so much more sense now. Regardless," he said, looking back up. "Admiral, I must ask you to contact your fleet and order them to abort their attack. They only left yesterday, therefore they should have enough time to-"

"Call off the attack on the Enclave?" Anderson said.

"You may launch whatever attack you wish against them with as many of your own soldiers and mercenaries as you wish, that is none of our concern. However, we have no reason to believe that the Enclave has any hostile towards the Council considering that they have made no aggressive moves towards us," Sparatus said. "We could very well be pulled into a conflict that we have no part of. Considering that this is a squabble among the Coalition, specifically among Humans, it would be in our best interest not to be involved."

"It does not help that General Victus also took several passengers onboard that plan to assist both him and the Coalition in the battle against the Enclave," Valern said. "An Asari Justicar, a former STG operative, he even managed to get a Drell assassin somehow. If the Enclave sees these forces, they will see it as the entire Council declaring war on them."

"It must feel comfortable to sit around doing nothing while we deal with the Geth and with the Enclave at the same time," Udina hissed, "especially considering that the former is being controlled by one of your people."

"Exactly what do you want me to do?" Anderson said, sounding frustrated. "I didn't ask for any help from the Hierarchy, they just showed up asking what they could do. Take it up with your government, not mine."

"I am not the sole ruler of the Turian Hierarchy," Sparatus said, "merely their voice on the Council. However, the choices the three of us make mirror the decisions that all members of the Council should follow if they wish to maintain political stability. A member of the Council, even one as powerful as the Hierarchy, can not afford to stand on their own when the rest of the Council opposes him."

"We are currently debating," Tevos explained "and while we have yet to reach a unanimous decision, the path that we seem to be heading down will most likely end with us demanding that the Turians withdraw their forces from the attack on the Enclave. In reality this is more of a fair warning than a demand. Stop your forces so that you can better regroup and launch a new attack."

"I can't afford to do that," Anderson said. "Our ships are spread too thin as it is, I can barely keep my officers in line with all of the ships that I had to pull to form our attack group, and Admiral Marcus has told me that the enemy forces are far more numerous than we expected. We may very well need the assistance of the Turian Third Fleet in order to defeat the Enclave."

"That is not our concern," Valern said. "The Enclave is your enemy, not ours. We have no say in this."

"Not exactly," Anderson said, activating his omni-tool. "I have a team that managed to infiltrate the Enclave's homeworld, and since then they have been gathering evidence on them. In the past several decades the Enclave has taken in thousands, possibly tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of off worlders in the form of prisoners. Some of them were kidnapped, others bought as slaves, others simply tricked. Human and alien. Every single time an alien is brought to the planet, it is taken to a stronghold their capital city. We have no idea what happens to them down there, but we have no reports of them ever coming out."

"Hardly something worth starting a war over," Sparatus said. "I imagine that the number of people that are killed and abducted into slavery in the Terminus Systems is similar, most likely even higher. As tragic as it is though, a declaration of war would cause more problems than it would solve. An invasion of Council forces into the Terminus systems would cause a massive and brutal counterattack on us, and declaring war against the Enclave would be even worse."

"How do you figure?" Anderson asked.

"While they would be united, the various factions of the Terminus Systems would be disorganized, in addition to being poorly equipped, even if their sheer numbers would cause untold amounts of damage," Valren explained. "The Enclave on the other hand, has an organized military, high quality equipment including energy weapons, and access to capital ships such as dreadnoughts. Not to mention that with their isolated position, they can easily defend their planet while sending out a handful of ships to bombard one of our planets."

"You don't know the Enclave," Anderson said. "If you just ignore them, they won't go away. They tried to commit massive genocide on their own race more than once, they won't hesitate to do it to you."

"That may be true, but they seem to be focusing on you," Tevos said. "Try to see this from our point of view, we have too much going on already with Saren and the Geth on the loose, we don't need to fight a war on both fronts."

"Saren is trying to wipe out the Coalition not the Council!" Udina protested in anger. "He hasn't done a thing to you and that is all the justification you need for withdrawing your forces? The Enclave is one of the worse threats that the Coalition has ever known, and could very easily become the worse one that you have ever known if you decide not to get rid of them when you have the chance."

"Nihlus didn't kill himself," Sparatus growled. "You're a fool if you don't see that."

"I don't have time for this," Anderson said, turning and walking out of the Council chambers. "I need to talk with Admiral Marcus and General Victus."

"Tell him that odds are he'll be seeing home again soon!" Sparatus called out cruelly, Udina following right behind Anderson.

"And they honestly wonder why we never wanted to join the Council," Udina said bitterly. "The Enclave is easily one of the worse scourges in the history of our species and they think that if they stick their fingers in their ears and hum loudly enough, they'll just go away."

"There's not much that we can do about it though," Anderson said. "The best we can is try to appeal directly to the Turian government and try and convince them not to withdraw their support."

"Accepting help when it's offered to you is one thing, but asking the Turians to continue to provide you help even when the Council has told you that they plan on ordering them to pull their support? Admiral, do the words political shit storm mean anything to you?"

"Our entire relationship with the Council has never been anything but a giant political shit storm," Anderson said bitterly. "We've never seen eye to eye on anything. This couldn't have happened at a worse time though. We couldn't get nearly enough ships to attack the Enclave and Marcus was starting to get worried that he wouldn't be able to fight the Enclave on his own when General Victus arrived with back up."

"Remember that shit storm I mentioned?" Udina said sourly. "We're going to look weak, crawling to the Turians and begging them for help, even after everything both of our species have gone through."

"I couldn't care less about that," Anderson said. "The Enclave is a threat that needs to be eliminated, it isn't a fashion show. I get things done practically, not flashily." He sighed bitterly. "I need to go contact General Victus," he said before Udina could reply, walking forward with his head bowed slightly.

XXXXX

Saren paced back and forth in the hanger of Sovereign, grinding his mandibles impatiently. "Rana, what is our status?" he asked, putting his finger to his COM unit.

"We finished making a controlled FTL jump," she reported. "We're close to the Omega-4 Relay. If we timed this just right, no one should see us making the jump through the Relay. We're approaching the Relay now, we're making the jump...now!" Saren looked to the side out into the vastness of space through the shielded exit to the hanger, watching as it sped by. Within seconds, they stopped, emerging out into a section of space that was a sickly shade of yellow.

"OH GODDESS!" Rana shouted.

"What is it?" Saren asked. "Rana I...oh Spirits." As he looked out of the hanger again, he saw what had caused Rana to shout. The skeletons of thousands of ships were floating lifeless in space as Sovereign passed them. He was able to recognize a few of them, a couple appeared to be Turian in design, as well as a few Asari and Salarian, and one ship that even appeared to be Prothean. The vast majority of them though, were beyond his knowledge.

"How...how many people tried to come here?" Rana asked softly.

"I don't know," Saren said. "The Reapers must have had the Omega-4 Relay built millions of years ago though, along with the rest of the relays. All this time they've had a natural stronghold that no one could get into if they didn't want them too. Still, we have work to do. The base that they built can't be too far from here. Move forward."

"Understood," Rana said as Sovereign slowly moved forward through the ship graveyard, a couple of the wrecks being forced away by the ship's kinetic barriers. A few minutes later, a massive shape appeared in the distance. It was the same base that Saren had seen a hologram of in the Batarian space station, cylindrical in nature and looking not unlike an insect hive. Now that he saw it in person, Saren could truly appreciate how bizarre its design was. Nothing about it had any rhyme or reason to it, it looked like it had been thrown together out of scrap metal that had been torn from the derelict ships that surrounded them, without any concern for practicality.

"Can you detect any defenses or automated ships?" Saren asked.

"No, this place seems deserted," Rana said. "We should be close enough for you to board it it soon."

"Good. I want ten dropships filled with Geth. A prime in each one," Saren said, turning around to look at the row of dropships behind them, the Geth milling around them. "I'd rather not have a repeat of what happened on the derelict Reaper."

"Saren, if you don't want that to happen again shouldn't you stay here with me and let the Geth do the heavy lifting? You nearly got killed last time. It-"

"I'm going onboard that ship," Saren said abruptly, "I can command better from the front lines."

"But I-"

"This conversation is over," Saren hissed. "Order the Geth onto their dropships now."

"I...very well," Rana said softly as the Geth slowly began to file onto the ships behind him.

"Good," Saren said, walking towards the nearest one and climbing on board, the door closing behind him. "As soon as we're in range, launch. Get us as close as you can to what looks like the control room."

"Understood," Rana said. "And...launch!" Saren felt a slight jolt in his stomach as the dropship took off, nine other dropships right behind his. "Saren...there's something that I don't understand," Rana said. "Why would the Reapers have a space station in the middle of the galactic core? I thought that they resided out in Dark Space."

"I don't know," Saren said honestly. "My guess is that they wanted a foothold in the galaxy for when they returned to make their conquests easier. We'll find out I suppose."

"I see," Rana said, sounding uncomfortable. The rest of the journey passed in silence, the Geth dropships closing on the space station, eventually slowing to a halt right outside it. "Hold on a second," Rana said. "This looks like Reaper code. I'll see if I can decode it...yes...yes this looks like a hanger, hold on." Saren could hear typing over his COM unit as a massive hole opened up in the base, two slabs of metal sliding to each side as the Geth ships flew through.

"Hold on a second," Rana said as the ships landed. "I'm closing the door and pressurizing the inside. Stay inside the ship for now." Saren waited for a second, tapping his arm impatiently as a faint hissing sound made its way to his ears through the hull of the dropship. "Ok, that should do it," Rana said, the door to the dropship opening. "There's oxygen inside the base, you should be able to breath just fine."

"Good," Saren said, drawing his assault rifle and moving down the ramp, the Geth right behind him. Stepping down onto the rigid brown floor, he saw the rest of the Geth exiting their dropships, scanning the area for any hostiles. Saren started to do the same, taking a few steps forward before his foot hit something. Looking down, he saw the corpse of a humanoid figure that was vaguely insect like, espically with four eyes.

"Rana...what is this thing?" Saren asked, bending down and activating his omni-tool. scanning it. "And how come it isn't decaying?"

"From what I can tell, the environment of the space station is very sterile," Rana said. "Not a lot of bacteria exists in the galactic core I suppose. As for what that thing is, hold your omni-tool a little closer, I'm starting to scan it now." Saren did as she said as pressed his arm closer, to the point where he was holding it right over the creature's face.

"From what I can tell, this thing died of a combination of dehydration and malnourishment," Rana said. "It starved to death. I'm taking a look at the DNA now...hm, that's interesting. It seems to have a quad strand DNA. The only other races that I've seen with that are Meta-Humans and the Proth...the Prothe...oh Goddess."

"What is it?" Saren asked.

"I...hold on I need to check this," Rana said, typing filling Saren's ears again. "No...no that can't be right, it just can't...oh Goddess it is."

"Rana what is it?" Saren asked, sounding frustrated.

"Saren...these things are...or at the very least they used to be...Prothean."

"Prothean..." Saren said, looking down at the corpse. "So, this must be what happens when a Prothean is turned into a Husk."

"I...how can you be so calm about this?" Rana asked. "You were panicking when you saw Husks for the first time!"

"I can't afford to constantly be losing my grip and panicking," Saren said, "I knew what I was getting myself into when I continued to use the Reapers even after I learned what they had done in the past. Weeping every time I find traces of what they did in the past won't make anything better. So, are these Husks the same as the ones that we fought earlier?"

"Saren, I just don't understand how you can-"

"Rana, I asked you a question," Saren said icily.

"I...hold on," she said. "They...no, they're not the same. The Husks that you faced had had their bodies transformed by the nanobots that had been injected into their systems, but these creatures are different. They have extensive cybernetic implants, multiple organs have been removed, and from what I can tell their very DNA has been altered. Regular Husks are not altered that heavily when they are transformed, I don't know why these are different."

"I think it's safe to say that once the Reapers wiped out the majority of the Protheans, they took those that they had turned into Husks or indoctrinated and took them out here," Saren said. "They experimented with them, trying to turn them into more effective servants. It would be fitting from what we know of them. And when the Protheans managed to attack them in Dark Space, these creatures had no leaders, no one to tell them what to do. So they starved."

"Oh...oh Goddess," Rana whispered.

"Well, that's a good thing," Saren said briskly. "We don't have to worry about running into any resistance if all of the Reaper's servants that were on this ship died a long time ago." Getting back to his feet, Saren started to walk deeper into the station, the Geth right behind him.

"Saren...what are we supposed to do?" Rana asked.

"What do you mean? We're here to search for any technology and resources that we can use to our advantage," Saren said bluntly.

"I know that but...what do we do about the Protheans? The galaxy has wondered for thousands of years what happened to them and where they went. We finally found them and they've been turned into those...things. Just leaving them like this doesn't feel right."

"We can get to that later," Saren said, walking through an opening that led him down a narrow corridor, around a dozen Geth following him through while the others remained outside. Eventually he passed through another opening and walked into a small room that was featureless save for a holographic display in the middle of the room, surrounded on all sides by control panels.

Stepping towards it, Saren noticed another creature lying on the floor, resembling the one that he had seen outside, but much bulkier and looking much less fit for combat. Odds are it had filled the role of the leader caste. Glancing back at the control panel, Saren came to a stop in front of it, holding out his omni-tool again. "Use those Reaper codes that we found again, see if they can get through the security systems on this ship."

"I'll do what I can," Rana said. Saren watched as the codes slowly began to fill the display in front of him, hoping that they would prove to be effective. After a few display, the screen glowed brightly and a massive wall of text began to fill the screen, all of it in a language that Saren couldn't understand.

"Rana, I need you to translate this and then send it to my omni-tool."

"Right," she said, Saren looking down as the translated text slowly began to fill the screen on his omni-tool.

"Let me see," he said, scrolling through the text. "Well that's interesting. Apparently there are a couple of warships in this station, some of them built from the scrap of ships that were destroyed as they jumped through the Relay. Apparently this station is capable of building warships, even if the process isn't instant and takes up a fair amount of resources, this is a valuable asset to have."

Saren continued to scroll down. "The technology that they have is very advanced too. It appears that the Prothean Husks used handheld particle beam cannons in combat, or at least something resembling them. They also used much larger versions as ship to ship weapons, and they even have robot swarms designed to disable organic beings. They probably used the last one to help capture organics for processing, either to create a new Reaper or just to make Husks. And they...oh...well then," Saren said, a smile spreading across his face. "I can certainly use that."

"What is it?" Rana asked.

"It appeared that even when the Protheans were extinct, the Reapers decided that they still had a use for them. These dead Husks that we've been seeing are the results of cloning, the Reapers cloned them by the hundreds of thousands for use in combat, but they all died when the Reapers were defeated. However, the tissue samples that they used to create these beings in the first place...they are still intact."

"Saren...you can't be saying that...you can't Saren, you can't do this," Rana said helplessly

"Why shouldn't I?" Saren asked. "We all agreed long ago that defeating the Coalition was worth any price. We're already using the Reapers Rana, all of them, including Sovereign ,were created by the death thralls of long gone species. We've come too far now to let things like that hold us back. I need you to come onboard, I want you to find out how we can restart the cloning program."

"Saren...I don't think that I can do this. It-"

"I don't care!" Saren suddenly shouted, his voice angry. "We have a mission to complete that will decide the fate of the entire galaxy, I do not have time to deal with the lack of will in a spineless Asari Maiden, who can't even do what she told me she could!"

"I...Saren...I," Rana said, sounding like she was about to start crying.

"Rana...I..." Saren said, realizing what he had just done. "I...I'm sorry I...just get over here," he said, lowering his hand.

XXXXXX

"GAHHHHHHH!" Marauder Shields cried out in pain. He was sitting in the spare bedroom that the Mysterious Stranger had given him in the back of the ship, lying on the ground as he tightly clutched his chest. A searing, blinding pain was tearing through him, he felt like his rib cage was being forced open.

The door slid open and the Stranger came bursting in, kneeling down next to him. "What's wrong!?" he asked, quickly activating his omni-tool and scanning him.

"My chest!" Marauder Shields shouted, "It...GAHHHHHH!" Marauder Shields rolled onto his back and, to the Stranger's horror, his chest burst wide open. His eyes widened as he saw Marauder Shields' organs within his chest, his heart still throbbing even as it was exposed to the outside world with noticeable strips of cybernetics on it, his lungs hastily inflating and deflating as he breathed, his fractured ribs that had spread away from his chest along with his skin, and countless pieces of metal and implants everyone.

But what truly caught his eye, was a mass of metal that was emerging from the inside of Marauder Shield's chest, a noticeable grip on the far end of it, as if Shields was supposed to grab it. Hastily grabbing it, the Stranger pulled it out, meeting surprising little resistance as it popped out of his chest. Flipping the object over in his hands, the Stranger realized with a jolt that it was a rifle, dark gray and crudely shaped. Looking down, he was about to say something when he realized that Shields' chest was closing again.

Dropping the rifle onto the floor, he activated his omni-tool again, scanning Shields'. "What...what happened?" Shields asked, noticeably in less pain.

"God. From what I can tell the nanobots that are in your system...they...they created this," he said, gesturing to the rifle with his free hand. "And now they're repairing the damage they caused, they're knitting your bones back together and closing the hole in your chest. It's happening so fast it's...it's unreal."

"Why...why did this happen?" Shields' asked gingerly, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"From what I can tell, the process that turned you into what you are know was meant to also brainwash you, wipe your memory clean so that you could become a mindless soldier. Apparently after you were...changed, this was probably supposed to be how you were armed, the nanobots used components that they were able to pick up to manufacture that rifle."

"How could anyone stand that pain?" Shields asked, rubbing his chest gingerly.

"Considering what you were supposed to become, I don't think anyone commanding puppets like that cares about how much pain they go through." As he spoke, he picked up the rifle again and aimed it at the wall, pulling the trigger. Nothing happened. "Hm, I guess the nanobots really were damaged when they entered your body, the damn thing doesn't work. Maybe-"

"Give it to me," Shields said, holding his hand out. "I...I have an idea."

"Suit yourself," he said, handing the rifle to Shields. "But I don't think that-" Shields pulled the trigger, a shot flying out of the barrel and slamming into the wall. "I...how did you do that?" the Stranger asked.

"I...I think only I can use this gun," Shields said, looking down at the rifle.

"So the enemy can't scavenge it," the Stranger said. "Clever. So, are you ok?"

"No...no I'm not," Shields said, throwing the rifle to the side. "I...look at me," he said, gesturing to his body. "Saren transformed me into this...thing! I have circuitry now! My ridges have been bent like they were made out of clay! I don't even know how many eyes I have anymore!" he shouted, pointing at his face. "And now my body is ripping itself apart so that it can spit out a rifle but I can't even remember what my name is? No, NO I'M NOT OK!"

A moment of silence passed as Shields looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry," the Stranger said. "I can't imagine what you're going through is like. But I can understand the gist of it, things have gotten pretty hard in my life too."

"How?" Shields asked, sounding half curious, half scathing. "What could you have possibly gone through compared to this?"

"That's...personal," the Stranger said.

"So is this," Shields growled, gesturing to himself.

"Maybe I'll tell you one day. Anyway I wanted to talk to you about something. I send the information to the Coalition. In order to make it so that it doesn't make its way back to us, it'll have to go through a couple of backdoors, so it might be a few days before anyone gets their hands on it."

"Late is better than never I suppose," Shields grunted. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes. Do you remember how I said that I got rid of problems and that you said that you would help me?" Shields nodded. "Well, I just got a target on the raider and it's a big one. He's on a planet that's only a day or two away from here, and with my ship we

should be able to slip in and take him out."

"Who is it?"

"The leader of the Blue Suns," the Stranger said. "Vido Santiago."

"You don't settle for small targets I see," Shields said. "What's the situation with him?"

"He's sending a lot of ships and men out to try and take advantage of the power vacuum that was caused when the Coalition took in the leader of the Eclipse into custody. The Blue Suns have been clashing with what's left of Eclipse in addition to the Blood Pack and the Army, to the point where they're starting to throw everything that they have at them. But they're so busy fighting over contested territory like Omega that their defenses in their home territory are starting to slacken. The other mercenary groups have been having the same problem, so they won't be able to take advantage of this. But we will."

"Do you think that taking out Vido will do much good?" Shields asked.

"I'm certain. The Blue Suns call themselves a private security organization, but they're cutthroat mercenaries at the best and outright pirates and terrorists at the worst. They control dozens of settlements in the Terminus Systems, extorting money out of the millions of people and ruling over them with an iron grip. They don't even keep those people safe, they're constantly attacked by freelance pirates and other criminals on a regular basis. At least most dictators in the past had the decency to provide order and security along with their tyranny," the Stranger said bitterly. "And Vido is the one holding the entire operation together. The galaxy will be a lot better off with a .44 round in his head."

"It sounds like you have a special kind of hatred for people like the Vido," Shields said.

"I have reason to," the Stranger said. "Anyway, are you sure that you're all right?"

"I'm fine. It doesn't even hurt anymore."

"Well, just in case something like that crops up again this ship has a medical bay, head there and get yourself some painkillers to make it more manageable."

"I hope that it won't come to that." As he spoke, there was a slight shudder as the ship came to a halt. "What was that?"

"We're stopping over a small settlement on the brink of the Terminus systems. It's Coalition and I have an understanding with the Administrator of the hub station. I do him a couple of favors, and he keeps my ship supplied without looking suspicious. I need to go out there and make some arrangements. You stay on the ship, there's no need to draw attention to yourself."

"What about you? Won't you stick out with clothes like that?"

"The Coalition light infantry wear uniforms a lot crazyier than this," the Stranger said. "In fact the division of this planet all wear suits and ties over their combat vests. I doubt that I'll stand out too much. Now then I really do need to get going. Vido may be undermanned, but it's still going to be the two of us against a lot of mercenaries. You might get a chance to put that rifle to use."

"Maybe," Shields said as the Stranger left the room.

He walked down the hallway and stopped by the airlock, stopping for a brief second before the door slid open and he walked out, stepping onboard the hub station that he had docked with. He stepped through the crowds that were milling about the station, stopping in front of a man standing by a stack of crates.

"Yeah?" he said. "What do you want?" Without saying anything, the Stranger reached into his trench coat and pulled out a datapad, handing it to the man. He took it and briefly looked it over. "The usual?" he asked. The Stranger nodded. "Your ship will be ready to leave in an hour. My boys will take care of everything," the man said, turning and walking away.

The Stranger was about to head back to his ship when a handful of voices broke through the mill of the crowd. "I need a ship to Zorya. The public transports don't go any farther than here," a voice with a British accent said.

"Zorya!?" a loud voice said. "Isn't that place a Blue Suns hotspot?"

"Yeah, I need to go there for personal reasons," the voice said. "I know it's dangerous, so I'll pay well. Half a million credits sound good?"

"Ha! I'd be willing to go out there for a fraction of that price!" the loud voice said. "You've got yourself a-"

"NO NO NO NO!" a third voice shouted. "We are not going anywhere near the goddamn Blue Suns! I'm pretty sure that they haven't forgotten any of the trouble that we've caused them over the last few years. Going near them is signing our own death warrants." The Stranger turned around, seeing a man with a white beard and a ten gallon had and a Mr. Gutsy talking to a heavily scarred man in mismatched yellow armor. "Why do you even want to go to Zorya?" the Mr. Gutsy asked.

"I want to kill Vido Santiago," the man in yellow armor said bluntly.

"Ok, no, fuck no," the Mr. Gutsy said. "That settles it, get someone else to fly you there. Fuck off."

"Aw come on Rig, where's your sense of adventure?" the man in the hat asked happily.

"Being strangled to death by my desire to stay alive Hurst," Rig snapped. "We already had to tangle with the head of another major mercenary group, I'd rather not repeat the process, especially intentionally." He turned to look at the man in yellow armor. "Why do you want him dead anyway? You have a death wish?"

"Maybe I do," the man growled. "You just worry about getting me there."

"Pardon me," the Stranger said "Your voice carried and I couldn't help but overhear. I think we may have a common goal in mind."

"You want Vido dead too?" the man in yellow armor said. "Glad to hear it. Name's Zaeed. How much do you want."

"Nothing. I was just about to make my way to Zorya myself," the Stranger said.

"Music to my ears," Zaeed said.

"Same here," Rig said. "Now then, let's go and try to make some actual money Hurst."

"Actually I think I may need you," the Stranger said. "My ship is rather advanced, but I can think of a use for having a second one."

"I'll still be willing to pay if it means Vido ends up dead," Zaeed said.

"Taking down someone like him sounds like a blast!" Hurst said. "We're in. What do you need us to do?"

"I hate you Hurst," Rig grumbled. "Words cannot describe how much I hate you right now."

"This is what we're going to do," the Stranger said, the gears in his head turning as he spoke.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Yeah, Mordin, Thane and Samara are with General Victus in case you didn't catch my "subtle" hit. I decided to do this because pretty much all of my OCs are Human and we need a little but more alien love. They won't appear for awhile though. Zaeed is front and present though, and Hurst and Rig are back. I feel like those two were potential that I never explored, so I decided to bring them back. Also I won't be bringing attention to Zaeed's accent because A. I don't know how to write accents and B. if I tried the results would be embarrassing and C. I looked around and I can't find a solid answer to what kind of accent he has, I know it's British, but not what kind of British accent.

Also a review I got recently makes me want to say something. Like I said before, I will take constructive criticism but I will delete flames. If you make a review ranting how homosexuality is evil and how you are disgusted at me for including it in my story, I will delete your review without a shred of guilt. And to whomever said that we should hate homosexuality, I have a quote from George Takei for you. "You are a douchebag. That's right. A douchebag."


	60. Moving Forward

Chapter 60

Moving Forward

Author's Note:...I really hate myself. One person writes a negative review and my self confidence takes a nose dive. I feel better now, but still I don't like how I can break down so easily. "sigh" ah well, moving on. Please tell me if you think that this story is going to shit or if it's been shit all along or if I, by some miracle, made something ok.

XXXXX

Volker gave a weary sigh as he sunk onto a couch in the starboard observation deck. "What would you say is what you took away from the war the most?" Kelly asked, sitting on another nearby couch, holding a datapad in her hand as she looked at Volker, a concerned expression on her face. "How did in change you?"

"It changed the way I think, that's for certain," Volker said softly. "Nothing is ever black and white, I can see it now. There's some evil everywhere, in some places its small in others...not so much."

"Do you ever have dreams about it?" Kelly asked.

"Some times, yes," Volker answered.

"Do you ever feel bad about the people that you've killed?"

"Some of them."

Kelly blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"I...I opened fired on some Russian soldiers that were charging our position once. They did that a lot but...this time it was different. They...they seemed desperate...not only that but they didn't even have proper equipment, when we looked over their bodies when the battle was over, their didn't even have grenades or pistols, just submachine guns. I don't even think a lot of them had shoes."

"What happened?"

"We were so heavily dug in that...they never stood a chance. We mowed them down with our machine-guns, they were completely massacred. Hundreds of them died and we only lost three men, but something I noticed was that there were hundreds of other Russian soldiers that were holding their position far away from us, out of range. Once the attack had failed, they went away. It wasn't until later that I realized what I had seen that day. That unit...had been a penal battalion."

"The units that Stalin formed that he filled with criminals, deserters and liberated prisoners of war?" Kelly asked.

"Yes," Volker whispered, tightening his hands into fists. "They...they were a lot like me. They had been forced to fight, and I had shot them like everyone else."

"You were doing it to survive," Kelly said comfortingly, "it was out of your control."

"I know," Volker said. "But neither did they. Those soldiers behind them had orders to open fire on them if they didn't charge. If they tried to rebel, the entire Red Army would have orders to hunt them down, and with them on one side and us on the other, they wouldn't survive a week. That and...so many other Russians were forced to fight like me. Yes I regret the people that I killed in the war...most of them."

"You mentioned that earlier," Kelly said. "What do you mean by that?"

"I killed five SS officers when I deserted," Volker said. "I said to the Captain that everyone in the war were just caught up in the mob caused by Hilter and Stalin, Russian and German alike. I meant most of them, some people were just as bad as the two of them, the Russian NKVD and the SS. Both of them were filled with despicable people that helped the two of them keep their grip on their countries, not afraid to get their hands dirty or to make people disappear."

"The five SS officers were staying in my family's barn and planning for an upcoming attack. Me and a friend stormed it and we killed all of them so that we could get my family out. No matter how much I think about it, no matter how much I try and remind myself that my little sister had seen me kill five men in cold blood...I just can't bring myself to feel bad about killing them. It actually felt good."

"Good how?' Kelly asked.

"I had lost two years of my life to those people, gotten scars that would never go away, and now they were holding my family at gunpoint. My sister, my parents, and my grandfather. Everything had gotten out of my control for so long...it felt good to take some control in my life back," Volker said.

"Do you think that's part of the reason why you joined the Normandy?" Kelly asked. "Because you wanted control in your life and you joined of your own free will?"

"I...I never thought of it that way. Maybe," Volker said.

"What happened after you took your family and ran? What happened to your friend?"

"I...some soldiers came after us," Volker said, reaching into his pocket and fingering the gold star again. "She took my family and ran in a different direction. I ran into the woods near our farm to draw them off. I...I had played in those woods since I could walk, I thought that I would be able to loose them in there. Then...a bright light flashed all around me and I felt like I was floating. The next thing I knew, I was strapped to a table, three aliens looking down on me and...and...and...oh God," Volker said pressing his hand into his forehead, looking distressed. "I...I don't want to talk about it. Not...not yet. It's too much."

"I understand Volker," Kelly said softly. "You did very well. We'll call it a day for now. You did an excellent job, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Thank you," Volker said gingerly, getting to his feet. "I think I need to lay down."

"Remember, if you ever need to talk to anyone, my door is always open," Kelly said, smiling brightly.

Volker managed a weak smile of his own. "Thank you," he said, walking out of the room. He took a few steps, rubbing his head exhaustedly when a voice reached his ears.

"Captain I'm fine! I can go down there and handle myself!"

"For the last time Norman, no!" Looking up, he saw Jane and Nora standing right outside the elevator, Roger not far behind him.

"But you said that for this mission you needed people who's faces haven't been seen by the Enclave right? My goggles, hat and bandana were on the entire time!" Norman protested, "they didn't see me at all."

"Dr. Chakwas says that you're still recovering from your stab wounds," Jane said, pointing down at Norman's chest. I'm not going to take you down there with those injuries, you'll get yourself killed. I only need a small team anyway. Myself, John, Ashley and Kasumi will do for now, I may be able to slip a few more people in."

"But-"

"End of discussion Lieutenant," Jane said, sighing as she pressed the button to summon the elevator. "Get some rest. You need it. Not to mention you deserve it. You too Roger."

"Captain?" Volker said, walking forward. "Are you heading down to the surface for another mission?"

"Yeah, we're going to be out in the open, so I need people who haven't had their faces seen by the Enclave. We may see some combat too."

"Oh," Volker said. "Well...if you're going to do that I...I want you to have this." Reaching down to his side, he drew his Theta energy pistol and handed it to Jane.

"Oh...Volker I can't," Jane said.

"Sure you can," he said, smiling weakly. "I'm off of active duty right? You need it more than I do."

Slowly, Jane reached out and took the pistol. "I'm giving this back to you when I get back. Take care of yourselves, all of you," she said, stepping into the elevator, the doors closing behind you.

"I didn't see you coming," Norman said. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," Volker said, walking forward. "So what's going on?"

"We're making another move against the Enclave now," Roger said. "It's going to be a little more covert. The Captain is taking a team down to the planet's surface, they're going to try and infiltrate some sort of high class museum in New Washington D.C.. Apparently a Senator likes to visit it every month. He's not very popular, he's responsible for raising a lot of taxes and funding the military police. A couple dozen people are already protesting outside the museum, and Sam says that it's going to get a lot bigger. Sadly I can't go along because of this thing," he said, pointing to his cybernetic eye. "It'd attract too much attention."

"So what are we trying to accomplish?" Volker asked.

"Odds are the protest is going to get really damn big, to the point where it might get out of control and we might see a little bit of police brutality," Norman said. "Jane and Sam want to be there when that happens so that they can interfere and stop them. After the screw up with General Moore and New Boston being bombed, Sam wants to make it clear that the rebels and the Coalition are on the people's side. They're angry, but they're not organized. After a couple more things like that, we'll probably move up to something bigger. Also, the media covers politicians every second of the day on this planet, if they manage to defend the protesters, everyone will see it."

"Well...that's a start...how long until the Coalition arrives?" Volker asked.

"I think it was a week and a half," Norman said. "I think the plan Sam and Jane are trying to pull off is that the Coalition attacking the Enclave will lift the spirits of the Enclave people so much that an all out rebellion will start. I personally think that's hoping for a little much."

"Yeah...yeah kinda," Roger said. "A lot of people actually like the Enclave and President Woods from what I heard. Still, we don't have a lot of options, and if Moore proved anything, attacking the Enclave directly isn't going to be as effective as we thought it would be."

"We need the support of the people, I know. I just don't know if we're going to get it," Norman said.

"So...there's not much the three of us can do?" Volker asked.

"Not a damn thing," Roger sighed.

"Yeah...anyway, you're ok right Volker?" Norman asked. "I heard that you were pretty shaken up after the last mission."

"Yeah...I'll live," Volker said weakly.

"Well...I know it's not much, but I want you to have this," Norman said, holding out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in the palm of his hand. "You smoke right?"

"I did a couple of times," Volker said, slowly taking the two objects. "It was relaxing but...to be honest we never had a steady supply of them."

"Well, I had a couple of spare packages and an extra lighter," Nomran said, smiling slightly. "I thought that it might help a little."

"I...thank you," Volker said, taking one of the cigarettes out of the box and sticking it in his mouth, lighting it. He took a small drag on it before exhaling, pocketing the package and the lighter. "Ah...nice to see something that hasn't changed too much over the years," he said, looking at the lit cigarette in his hand.

"That's one way of looking at it," Norman said, turning around and heading towards the mess hell. "Well, might as well grab some lunch if nothing else is going on for me. You two in?"

"Could use a bite," Roger said, "Volker?"

"I...I don't see why not," he said, walking with Roger after Volker, heading towards the mess hell. "Since when did the two of you become so friendly?"

"Let's just say that we had a lot of time to talk when we were stranded with Sheryl and we managed to get a few things out in the open and we both calmed down a little bit," Roger said. "Can we leave it at that?"

"I...sure I guess," Volker said, sitting down at a table with Roger, Norman already sitting there.

XXXXX

Warren sighed loudly as he impatiently stood in the oval office. "Where is she?" Warren grumbled.

"Show some respect," Albert snapped. "A lot has been going on the past few days. Woods has been doing everything that she can to put out fires, it isn't something that can be done overnight."

"It really is bad," Cadence said sadly. "Mom's been...hitting the bottle pretty hard." As she spoke she walked forward and looked out one of the windows of the oval office. Dozens of stories below, a massive crowd had gathered in front of the White House, thousands among thousands of protestors roaring in anger, many of them brandishing signs and throwing rocks and bottles, the military police brandishing riot shields in an attempt to push them back. "The people are furious."

"But what sense does that make?" Warren said, walking to where Cadence stood. "Yeah there have been a couple of riots, but the rebel activity has gone down in the past few days. The organized cells aren't making any risky moves anymore. That airstrike took the wind out of their sails. It was fucked up, but it got results...oh Christ I'm defending Crawford." He sighed, pressing his fingers to his temple. "If I ever do that again, shoot me."

"Oh, there you are. Good." The three members of Sigma Squad turned around to see Woods walking into the office, looking exhausted. Captain Crawford was right behind her, along with several other Enclave officers.

"Madam President, I urge you to reconsider!" one of the officers said. "No one is better prepared to lead the navy in the upcoming war than Crawford. He actually has experience in fighting the Geth, Gallows doesn't. Gallows' flotilla doesn't even have any dreadnoughts, he doesn't have any experience with commanding ships that heavy. You're making a mistake making him Admiral of the entire fleet."

"I have good reason to believe that Crawford is unfit to command the fleet," Woods said coldly. "Now get out of my office."

"But-"

"Get out. Of my office," Woods said, her voice slow and vicious.

"You'll regret this one day," Crawford hissed. "Gallows will choke when he has to make a tough choice. It seems to be something that you and he have in common."

"GET OUT!" Woods shouted. Slowly, the officers turned away one by one and walked out of the office. Crawford stayed the longest before turning and following them out. "Christ," she said, walking around to her desk and slumping down behind it.

"I take it Crawford's demotion isn't being taken that well?" Cadence asked.

"No, it isn't," Woods sighed. "I've been dealing with officers like those all day long. They're in an uproar. Crawford was an Admiral as long as they could remember, they don't like me changing things up like that out of the blue."

"Why today? Wouldn't Crawford had directly gone after you ASAP?" Albert asked.

"He did. But he decided to take another go at me today because...well this." She pressed a button on her terminal and turned it around so that Sigma Squad could see it. A news article popped up with an image of a man in an Air Force uniform tied to a wooden post with a blindfold wrapped around his eyes. Multiple bullet wounds were visible in his chest, blood pouring out.

"Is that the pilot that bombed New Boston?" Warren asked.

"Yes," Woods said. "He was executed today. It was public, I wanted to make it clear that atrocities like that would not be tolerated. I'm not sure if it will appease them though," Woods sighed. "Things are falling apart around here. I'm just hoping that we can hold out until the Coalition arrives. If we can push them back, we'll have a chance to counterattack, then we should be in the clear." Woods sighed. "It's looking that it might be harder to do that then we thought."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Albert said. "But you said that you wanted to see us Madam President?"

"Yes. I told you that I would be taking additional Special Forces Squads under my command and I am. I'm going to want you to work closely with them like you do with Omega Squad." As Woods spoke, heavy footsteps were heard from outside the office. "Ah good they're here. Major Black, meet Alpha Squad."

The three members of Sigma Squad turned around to see three other soldiers in power armor approaching them, all of their limbs noticeably having been replaced with slightly rusting cybernetic limbs. None of them were wearing their helmets, revealing graying hair on all of them, and noticeable cybernetic right eyes that had holographic displays glowing in front of them, a light shade of blue. One of the men had a machine-gin attached to his right forearm, the other man having a massive claymore sheathed on his back, while the only woman had a rocket launcher on her right arm.

The three soldiers saluted as they came to a stop. "Please introduce yourselves to Sigma," Woods said.

"Major James Riggs" the man with the machine-gun on his arm said

"Lieutenant Leon Nelson," the man with the claymore said.

"Lieutenant Jade Landry", the woman with the rocket launcher said.

"It's a pleasure to be working with you Sigma," James said, looking at Albert.

"Likewise," Albert said, returning the salute, Warren and Cadence following suit. "You're the oldest Special Forces Squad right?"

"Correct sir," James said briskly. "You're one of the more recent ones but I don't care. I've looked at your combat report and I'm glad to have you by my side."

Warren grinned widely. "Well I'm glad to have someone as experienced as you guys by our side."

All three members of Alpha Squad blushed softly, shifting in their positions, Leon rubbing the back of his neck. "We're...we're not that great," Jade said softly.

"Yeah...we're ok," Leon said. "We haven't done that great really."

"Huh," Warren said, looking on. "Well...still it beats to have someone else besides Omega Squad to work with." He looked at Woods, "speaking of which were are they?"

"I have them on another mission," Woods said. "It's part of the reason that I wanted Alpha Squad under my direct command so quickly."

"Give us an order and we'll follow it," James said, Leon and Jade nodding as he spoke.

Woods chuckled. "I appreciate that Major, but at the moment I don't need you in the field. I ordered you here because I wanted to talk to the six of you about something." The Special Forces operatives looked around at each other before looking back at Woods. She took a deep sigh.

"I...I have done a lot of things since I first came into this office, some of these things I wish I hadn't done. Some of them were because so many things in the Enclave and the military had been part of the system since before I had even been elected and I had little choice in the matter...but I can't brush everything that I've done off that easily. Some of the choices that I made weren't forced on me, I don't have the luxury of pretending to be a victim here. I have done horrible things, but I won't beg for forgiveness."

"What...kind of things?" Warren said.

Woods sighed. "Lieutenant, do you remember that Goeth said that he wanted more Quarian Marines in his lab?" He nodded nervously. "What Goeth does in his lab is classified information, but I have a feeling that one day before too long you will find out what he does do. When that day does come...I won't lie to you, I doubt that any of you will be able to look me in the face anymore. You may want to kill me, and I won't be able to blame you."

"Madam President!" Jade shouted. "We're soldiers of the Enclave! Our duty is to protect you, not kill you!"

"We could never do anything like that!" Leon said.

"We would sooner kill ourselves," James said.

"It may be easy to say that now, but once you see the skeletons that I have in my closet, it won't be that simple to look at me the same way. So I need to ask all of you something. No matter what happens, no matter how disgusted you may be with me, no matter how much you may want to rip my head off and stick it on a pike, I need you to stand by me."

"M-Madam President?" Albert said.

"I need support," Woods said. "I have no friends in the Senate, have of the naval officers hate me now, and there's a crowd of people out there that want to rip my head off. I need someone that I can trust on, someone to have my back. I lost track of things that I've done to make it so that this entire civilization doesn't come crashing down, and I'm not sure that I'll ever get another good night's sleep now. Nonetheless, I need to press on, but I can't do it by myself. I can only trust a handful of people, you are among them."

"So...the Senate is being a major pain in the ass for you?" Warren asked. "Why do you even put up with their bullshit? Can't you just take power from them by force?"

"Lieutenant!" James shouted. "Are you suggested that your President should stoop so low as to become a tyrant of a military dictatorship?"

"Some would say that I already am," Woods said sadly. "And more than once I've fantasized about ordering Omega Squad to massacre every last person in the Senate. I won't deny it's an appealing thought...but it'd bring more harm than good."

"What do you mean by that?" Cadence asked.

"Our government is in a fragile state, and forcefully seizing power like that would split the Enclave in two. The fighting that would result would kill millions, maybe even tens or hundreds of millions of people, military and civilian alike. My hands are stained with blood already, but even for me, that price is too high." She looked up at the six Special Forces members. "Dark and difficult times will be upon us soon, and when they are I need people that I can trust. Can you be those people?"

"Of course Madam President!" James exclaimed, saluting again, Leon and Jade mirroring his actions.

"My mother is standing by you despite all the pain that is' causing her. I'm not going anywhere," Cadence said.

"We've lost too many people already for their sacrifices to be rendered pointless," Albert said. "I've got your back Madam President."

"Hey, sticking with you means that I'm giving Crawford the finger. That's all the motivation that I need. Besides, leaving my big brother and you without some backup just doesn't sit right with me," Warren said. "Count me in."

Woods sighed, smiling slightly. "Thank you. All of you."

XXXXX

"I see," Sparatus said, looking down at a hologram of General Victus that was shimmering in the middle of the Council Chambers, Anderson and Udina present, along with the rest of the Council. "The Primarch has given you direct authorization to continue your mission?"

"Yes Councilor," Victus replied crisply and politely. "It took a good deal of convincing, but in the end, he agreed with me that the Enclave should be dealt with sooner rather than later.

"And I take it he does know that the Council directly opposes this course of action?" Sparatus asked.

"He does. Nonetheless, he gave me clearance to remain with the Coalition fleet. I pointed out that if the information of the Enclave having a mole in the Coalition is accurate, then odds are they would already know about the forces that are being sent to support the invasion against them."

Sparatus gave a reluctant sigh. "Very well then. If you do insist on going to war with the Enclave, make sure that it ends on their homeworld and not ours."

"Understood Councilor. Victus out," the General said, his hologram disappearing.

"Good to see that some members of the Council have survival skills and common sense," Udina said scathingly.

"I beg your pardon?" Valern said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"You've crossed a line here. Directly denying us access to reinforcements when one of the most powerful enemies that we've faced in a long time is active again!?" Udina snarled. "I'm starting to think that you want to watch us all burn."

"Well I wouldn't warn it quite like that," Anderson said, glancing at Udina. "He does have a point. Many of your actions in the past have been severely uncalled for, this particular incident being a particularly extreme case. Do you have any idea what kind of hardships we're going through?"

"Do we...have any idea...what kind of hardships you're going through," Sparatus said, his voice icily low.

"Sparatus calm down," Tevos said.

"No, I've had enough," Sparatus growled. "Do we have any idea of what hardships you go through? Do you have any idea what kind of hardships WE go through?"

"What do you mean by that?!" Udina asked scathingly, "please tell me how being one of the main rulers of the majority of the known galaxy can be so hard."

"Let me think," Sparatus said, practically fuming. "How about that time when you released a Rachni Queen onto the galaxy again, the head of one of the most vicious races that the galaxy has ever known, and that you did this without consenting with us first, despite the fact that you never even encountered the Rachni until that point. We have no idea where it is now, and it could very well have filled an entire planet with its children by this point."

"Then there was the time that you attacked the Batarians, again without consenting with us, causing them to withdraw their embassy from the Council, which destroyed several blossoming trade routes between them and other species. Also, because of that, I had to spend six months running around all of Council space convincing the Hanar, Eclor and Volus not to withdraw their embassies too, something that I'm sure they were close to doing."

"Oh, and let's not forget when you first met us, you refused to join like every other member of the galactic community had done, which I imagine is why the non-member species were scared of staying when the Batarians left, they thought that the Council was failing. This only scratches the surface of the massive problems that we've had over the past few decades, but they all have one thing in common. You're the cause of them, mainly because the amount of time you've spent on galaxy altering decisions has been 12 hours at the very most. We can't pass the law that makes a system as complex as the Council run perfectly with everyone happy, all we can do is use every asset that we have at our disposal to ensure security and stability, the two things that you have been threatening even since your arrival."

"There is a reason that this Council exists, a decision as massive as freeing the Rachni again can't be made by a single galactic power and it certainly can not be made on the spot, it affects the entire galaxy, and through the Council, the entire galaxy has the ability to make their views hold weight. But the Coalition exists outside the Council, and because of this, they've already made a massive decision for the entire galaxy. So don't talk to me about hardships," Sparatus snarled. "The next time you want a fleet to support you without any objections, give me a reason to actually want to help you. Because at this point, you've been more trouble than you're worth, and I have to wonder really WHY we should support you at all. I'm already regretting given one of your kind honorary Spectreship, and if Saren still wasn't out there, I'd revoke it at once!"

Udina looked furious and was about to open his mouth when Anderson grabbed him by the collar and started to drag him out of the Council Chambers. "Thank you for your time Councilors," he said, his voice oddly absent of emotion.

Sparatus watched them go, still fuming as he did. "You shouldn't have done that," Tevos said. "Our relationship with the Coalition is fragile as it is."

"It's the truth and you know it," Sparatus said, looking at Tevos. "Why should we be forced to be quiet and just tolerate every last think that they do? They clearly don't care about keeping us happy, why should we?"

"It's not that simple," Tevos sighed. "It's...it's never that simple."

Outside, Anderson continued to pull Udina along until the Ambassador shoved him off of him. "What do you think you're doing Anderson?" he growled.

"Stopping you from causing a diplomatic incident," Anderson replied coldly. "One person shouting is an annoyance, two is a disaster waiting to happen."

"So I'm just supposed to walk away with the representative of the Turian Hierarchy all but flat out accusing the Coalition of war crimes?" Udina growled.

"Please tell me exactly what shouting what have accomplished," Anderson said.

"You heard what he was saying! He was threatening to deny us access to military resources that we could be using to defeat the Enclave, if what Admiral Marcus is saying is true that we may very well NEED to defeat the Enclave!" Udina shouted. "And he was trying to take it away from us! If the Primarch didn't put his foot down we would've lost that support! How would you have planned on handling the Enclave without those ships? We're still letting the Migrant Fleet stay in Coalition territory with so many of their military ships supporting the invasion!"

"If you were listening to him, then you also would've heard that the reason that they wanted to pull their forces from the invasion is because they don't trust us!" Anderson shouted. "If we want to make it that so that they don't pull forces from us from us at times like this, when it really counts, we need to give them a reason to trust us!" Anderson shouted. "Throwing a tamper tantrum like a little child won't do that!"

"And how exactly do we do that?" Udina asked angrily. "Are we supposed to just kneel before the Council. Sacrifice everything that Humanity stands for? Everything that the Coalition stands for simply so that we can appease them? Lower ourselves to the position of a species like the Volus and have a grand total one ONE dreadnought!?"

"I didn't say that we should do that!" Anderson said.

"THEN WHAT!?" Udina roared. "What are we supposed to do? Tell me Anderson, in all of your infinite wisdom, what are we, the stupid and ignorant Coalition, supposed to do to appease the almighty and wise Council?"

"I don't know!" Anderson shouted. "I don't know. But that is not the way, I know that for sure."

"Hm," Udina said, grinning wryly. "Anderson, you make a good Admiral. You couldn't be a worse politician."

"Uh...am I interrupting?" Both men looked up to see a dark skinned woman in a business suit approaching them, looking rather startled. "Uh...I have an appointment with an Ambassador Donnel Udina?"

"That's me," Udina said, looking away from Anderson. "I'm sorry you are?"

"Aafreen Kamara," she said. "I'm an executive at Nezo Transportation...in fact I'm the CEO."

"Aafreen Kamara," Anderson said slowly. "Wait, weren't you the woman that got caught up with that business with the cult on Demeter?"

"Yes...I am," Aafreen said, a frown spreading across her face. "Things...things could've gotten very ugly that day, but a Coalition soldier saved my life. I never got a chance to thank him," she said, sounding rather sad. "He left the planet the next day, I don't think that I even saw him again. You might have heard of him, Adam Archibald Anderson?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I have heard of him," Anderson said. "He's assigned to a very special mission at the moment. I can't talk about it at the moment, it's rather classified. I'll be sure to let Anyway, how can we help you Ms. Kamara?"

"I have an offer to make to you," Aafreen said. "Is there any chance that we can sit down?"

"My office," Udina grunted, gesturing for both Anderson and Aafreen to follow him, heading down the hallway and through a doorway guarded by Coalition soldiers, entering a small office with a desk and a couple of chairs. "So, what's your proposal?" Udina said, the three of them sitting down.

"Like I said, I'm the CEO of Nezo Transportation, we make air cars on a handful of planets. We're not exactly Hawkins Industries, but we're fairly popular where we do produce, and we make enough money that we're talking about expanding," Aafreen said. "I have to say, I feel bad that I was never apple to say thank you to Adam for what he did for me, or his friends for that matter. Then I thought about it, the Geth were back and causing no end of trouble for the Coalition, and from the research I've been doing from public sources, I think that Adam is part of that John Shepard's crew, the one that became an honorary spectre? The one that's supposed to catch Saren?"

"Ms. Kamara, what exactly are you trying to say?" Anderson said.

"Well, I did a lot of research and it turns out that if we were to rework our factories, add some additional machinery and get a few license, then without too much trouble we would be able to produced armored and armed shuttles. The Coalition would be able to use them for transportation, evacuation, even limited air strike missions."

"So in other words...you want your company to make combat shuttles for us?" Udina said, actually starting to smile slightly. "Well, I'm sure we can work out a deal."

"Good, because there's a couple of terms that I need you to agree to," Aafreen said. "Firstly and most obviously, I need a government issued license, because a shuttle with cannons on it is officially a machine of war, and I can't make that without the proper authorization in Coalition space."

"Simple enough," Udina said.

"Secondly, I need you to sign a contract agreeing that you will agree to buy a certain number of shuttles. I need to convince the board that spending the money necessary to shift production lines in a massive portion of our favorites isn't a waste of money, otherwise I won't be able to get them to move forward with this," Aafreen continued.

"Also understandable," Udina said.

"And finally, I want you to send the shuttles that I build for you out to the edge of Coalition space, the areas where the Geth are suspected to attack next. I want them to be put to good use."

"Ms. Kamara, I think that we can easily meet your demands," Anderson said, smiling slightly.

"Well good," Aafreen said. "Now then, we need to talk about the more specific parts of the contact," she said. "Especially the price."

XXXXX

CODEX UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

Nezo Transportation: A company founded not long after the First Contact War, during the colonization boom of the Skyllian Verge. It was started by the Nezo sisters in an attempt to provide transportation to the settlers in the verge, and while the majority of the sky cars produced by Nezo Transportation are used in the verge, the company has slowly been expanding out of the Verge, sadly not under the leadership of the Nezo sisters, who both retired to live in peaceful isolation after a near death experience during the Skyllian Blitz.

Recently the company has gone through an unexpected transformation. After being kidnapped by cultists and rescued by a Coalition soldier, the current CEO of Nezo Transportation has shifted the focus of the company over to producing shuttles for the Coalition. Still no word on how this will effect the company's stock.

XXXXX

WAR ASSETS UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

NEZO TRANSPORTATION: MILITARY STRENGTH 50: Formerly a company dedicated to building air cars, Nezo transportation is now producing armed shuttles and deploying them to the edge of Coalition territory.

XXXXX

Author's Note: This something that I want to address real quick. A TV Tropes user commented on the entries I managed to get on the fan fic recommendations page, saying that I had flaws in that the Human races that I wrote tended to lord over the Council with superior tech, the moral high ground, and that I hated the Council. While I can see how one would think that, especially with New Origins, I don't hate the Council. They can be annoying at times, but I only wrote them and the Human races that way because I honestly thought that's how the two would react to each other. Heck, in this story I even had Fawkes give a speech defending the Council, I don't hate them, I'm just trying to paint them realistically compared to their video game portrayal (which is hard given how stupid they can be in game, it can be easy to cross the line and go TOO far). I mean they can be right some times. You remember when Sparatus said that the Enclave wouldn't be interested in fighting a war with the Council? If you've been keeping up with Woods' plans, he's completely right, they just want to take over the Coalition and only fight the Council in self defense.

That being said, I don't intend for this fic to be taken as Council bashing, I even went out of my way to have them present their side of the argument in this chapter just to show that (I'm not pandering am I? I just want my readers to enjoy what I write.). Council bashing can get annoying and eye rolling, I would know I had to read Parallel Realities. I honestly think that every scene with the Council in it is reasonably how they would act, and how a more aggressive militaristic Humanity would act. The Coalition bringing up the Genophage, the Quarians and A.I. in their first meeting was supposed to be less "YOU MONSTER!" and more "yeah, us joining up isn't going to work out." The Council getting on the Coalition's back is realistic in my book considering how they defy everything they sorta stand for, and as for trying to pull reinforcements back for the conflict with the Enclave, these are the same people that were hesitant to send forces to help when the bloody Reapers where invading. So I'm sorry if this was misinterpreted as bashing. And if you're worried that the Council are being painted as designated losers that will always be second best to the Coalition and always wrong in an argument with them...then be patient. I have something planed. We won't see it for a long long LONG time, but I have something planned. Said commenter also said that my plots could get predictable. While I concede that sometimes that is true, I assure you, NO ONE will see what I have planned coming, at least not for a long while.

Also fun fact, Nezo Transportation was mentioned in the first ME game, but considering that it was only while you were examining one destroyed vehicle on one of the many planets. I decided that it would be interesting to bring Aafreen back and give her control of said company so that she could use it to help the Coalition.

P.S. I have heard the complaints that this arc is starting to drag, and to respond to these complaints, I will be leaving out some plans for it and I will try to move it towards a conclusion, or at the very least change up the pace and the mood.


	61. Risky Gambit

Chapter 61

Risky Gambit

Author's Notes: Like I said, I need to get the ball rolling towards something resembling a conclusion to the Enclave arc, and while it may take awhile I AM working towards it. Please hold on. Hopefully it won't take too long, and considering that people are getting a little tired, the pace will be getting a little quicker.

XXXXX

"So, tell me again what the plan is here?" Ashley said, tugging slightly at the shirt that she was wearing. She, John, Jane, Sam and Adam stood outside of a massive museum in the center of New Washington D.C. all of them casual civilian clothes, Sam carrying a briefcase that had one of her chainsaw swords hidden in it.

"The plan is to move into or close to the museum when the governor shows up," Jane said. "Odds are that there's going to be some police brutality and we need to intervene. There are news crews on station already and Kasumi is standing by cloaked. Once we make our move, she'll infiltrate one of their trucks and knock the crew out and make sure that that broadcast doesn't get shut off remotely. We tried hit them directly with Moore and it backfired. Making a move at another high ranking officer, or God forbid Woods herself just won't work. It doesn't help that over a hundred rebels have gotten killed in the three operations that we've taken part in after we rescued Admiral 'Zorah, the Eagles will be wiped out if we go for more direct attacks. We need to start low and work our way up."

"Wait, I just had an idea!" Sam said, looking at Jane. "If we're going to be forcing the broadcast to keep going, you could use this as a chance to announce to the entire planet that the Coalition is coming? If you're protecting people from the Enclave and you say that you're coming to liberate them all, they'll be flocking to your sides by the millions! We'd have more than enough support to take on the Enclave!"

"Hey, that's a great idea," John said, looking at Jane. "We should do that. Let the people know that they're not alone."

"People can do great things when they have something to inspire them," Adam said. "It's happened more than once in history."

"I...it's a thought that I had," Jane said slowly. "But...I don't want to go there if we can help it. It'd be a risky move."

"Risky how?" Sam asked.

"Playing the masses and getting them on your side can be an effective move if you can get it right, but that is easier said than done," Jane said. "Rallying the citizens of this planet and getting the hatred against the Enclave stirred up is a possible outcome, but right off of the top of my head I can think of a dozen things that are just as likely to happen. One of them is that the citizens of this planet might see us as an invading army, and that might be enough to make them forget their hatred of the Enclave and make them unite under their banner."

"Well we have to do something," Sam said. "Like you said to your boss, we barely put a dent in the Enclave since you got here, and with only a weak and a half left, we're not going to be able to get much done by playing it safe."

"EDI ran some scans of the Enclave moon bases," John said. "They're building a massive dreadnought up there, and it looks like it has a plasma cannon. The design is a lot different from the one the Normandy has but she was still able to recognize it. With all those ships that they have, we may not even be to take the planet. Didn't you get that message from Admiral Marcus that the Turians are trying to pull their support? They haven't yet but that could change real fast. Admiral Marcus could be relying on us to soften up the Enclave's defenses so that they actually have a chance."

"I know," Jane said bitting her lip slightly. "I know. But it's risky, it's playing with fire. Could making that move win this fight for us? Yeah maybe it could, but it just as easily blow up in our face." She glanced at Sam. "You sure that it's safe for you to be out in the open? No one saw your face that night that you went out to gather intelligence?"

"Don't think so," Sam said, "I had my hoodie on, and even then if they did see me, I was just a punk that got into a street brawl, not a rebel." She blinked. "Why, would you think that it would be better if I went back? I'll do that if you want to."

Jane sighed. "Pinning the tough choice on me so that you don't have to make it huh?"

"That's not what I-"

"I know, I know," Jane said. "Anyway, considering that we basically came down here looking for a fight, it really doesn't make much of a difference in the first place. Especially considering that you took that sword of yours when you're the only person that uses a weapon like that. I suppose that in the end they'll realize who you are in the long run then."

Sam smiled weakly. "It's for a good cause. I'm ok with that."

"Shouldn't we be hiding our faces?" Ashley asked.

"No, if we did that we would stand out too much, they would see that something was off about us," Jane said. "The funny thing is, something can actually become a little more obvious when you try ting like to hide it, especially with something like our faces."

"So, I take it we shouldn't go out into the Enclave public after this mission," Adam said.

"I would advise against it," Jane said, her voice grimly humorous. "Look, he should be there before too long. Lets head over to the museum and see what the situation looks like from outside. After that, we'll decide if we should stay outside or go inside. If we'll even be able to GET inside. Well...let's get moving." The five of them began walking down the street, sticking closely together.

Around fifteen minutes later they came to a stop in front of a massive towering museum that was several stories high. A massive crowd was gathered in front of the museum, thousands of people roaring at the top of their lungs, many of them brandishing signs at a line of military police with riot shields out in front of them, their hands floating over their holstered weapons. Several reporters were standing at the edges of the crowds, drones floating in front of them while more than a few trucks were parked not that far away.

"There's a lot of them," Ashley muttered. "You sure that we can handle this Captain?"

"They won't be expecting a fight from someone like us, and they won't be ready for what we have and with how advanced our equipment is."

"Understood," Ashley said. "Kick their asses with superior technology." John smiled widely, leaning in and pecking her on the cheek, causing her to blush slightly.

Jane glanced at the other four. "Weapons at the ready? Your combat vests are on?"

"Not used to this thing," Sam said, rubbing her chest with her free hand. "It's convenient that you can hide it though. It'll hold up right?"

"It has the strongest shielding in the Coalition," Jane said, staring at the crowd. "Ok, I think it's safe to say that he's already inside, I think we should stay out here."

"Wait...I think that's him," Sam said. The front door to the museum swung open, a man in a business suit walking out, another man in a suit right behind him, white gloves noticeably on his hands. Jane and the others were close enough to manage to make out the movements of his mouth, but not to hear what he was saying over the roar of the crowd.

"My, my, such an uncivilized rabble," the Senator said coldly as he looked at the crowd in front of him. "They're all so ungrateful and selfish. They live in the land of the free, but they have the audacity to do this?"

"Sir, with all due respect, they're angry," the other man said. "I can't say that I blame them. I saw the carnage that the then Admiral Crawford's air strike did. They're scared about what happened and they're looking for someone that they can lash out against. You're not particularly popular considering how much funding you provide the military via the high taxes that you charge."

"They should feel privileged," the Senator said, "they're supporting their government."

"They are but...sir I hear that poverty and malnourishment is high in this city because of your taxes," the other man said. "They're angry because they're starving."

"Everyone needs to make sacrifices," the Senator said, no empathy present in his voice. "It's what needs to be done for this great country of yours to survive."

The other man's face narrowed in angry. "Pardon me Senator, President Woods makes sacrifices. What have you done?"

"Colonel White, I suggest that you watch your tone," the Senator said. "You are here under your President's orders to keep me safe. For the duration of your stay, you are under my command." As he spoke, three more figures stepped out of the museum, all of them women. One of them had a massive metal deathclaw claw for an arm.

As Jane spotted them, her eyes widened. "Oh damn," she whispered.

"I...Captain what do we do?" Adam whispered to Jane. "We weren't expecting Omega Squad, we're not properly equipped for this. We needed heavy machine-gun support just to get away from them when we fought."

"But look!" Ashley said, pointing up at the Cain sisters, "they're not wearing their power armor." It was true, instead of power armor, the sisters were all wearing formal suits with ties, their weapons noticeably holstered on their backs and at their sides. "They'll be slower and they won't hit as hard."

"This is risky," Jane said, looking rather nervous. "Grace still has that claw of hers and Rose has her flamethrowers." She glanced at Sam. "And is Jessica's tactical cloak built into her armor or her cybernetics?"

"I don't know," Sam whispered, "I never saw her out of it before. It-" as she spoke, a bottle flew through the air, narrowly missing the Senator's head and smashing into a wall.

"Those...those ungrateful little savages!" the Senator shouted. "Colonel, you and your men kill them! They are disrespecting everything that our government stands for, they don't deserve to live!" Jane felt her heart stop as she heard the Senator scream over the crowd."

"What?" Edward hissed, leaning in closer, "after what Crawford did in New Boston you want to cause another massacre in the Capital of the nation?" Rose actually glanced at Edward and the Senator, looking a little concerned. Jessica simply stared blankly off into space, while an excited look spread across Grace's face.

"Pardon me, but the last time I checked I was given command of you," the Senator said.

"I withhold the right to disregard your orders on account of them causing massive fallout that would harm the entire Enclave," Edward retorted. "I'm good friends with President Woods, I'm sure that she'd be willing to give me a pardon."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the Senator said, smiling slightly. "It'd be a shame if someone were to...how should I say this...tug on the leash of your subordinates."

Edward went pale. "Who...who told you? That's classified information."

"I received a message from a certain Dr. Goeth," the Senator said. "He said that he thought that things would be more interesting this way." The shock on Edward's face melted away, slowly being replaced by anger. "Anything happens to them because of you," he whispered, so low that even the Senator could barely hear him. "Anything at all. I will crush your throat."

"Take it up with Woods when this is over and done," the Senator said. "Establish some order among these people. Now." Edward looked back and forth between the Senator and the Cain sisters, looking conflicted. Rose started directly at him, looking as if she was silently pleading with him for instructions, while Jessica simply waited until she was told what to do. Grace however, took a step forward.

"Relax Colonel," she said, flexing her claw. "I got this covered."

"Captain, we need to make a move now!" Ashley hissed. "Those women will massacre these people.

Jane looked at Grace as she slowly walked forward, eyeing the crowd evilly. Jane's eyes hardened as she opened her mouth. "Engage," she whispered. "Focus on Omega, protect the civilians."

"Well, this should be fun!" Grace shouted, taking a few more slow steps forward before charging forward and swinging her claw at the front of the crowd, who were starting to realize what was going on and were panicking, attempting to run away. However, before the claw could connect, a massive force slammed into Grace's claw, causing it to stop in the middle of the air, mid-swipe. "What!?" she shouted, but before she could comprehend what was going on, a fist slamming into her face and caused her to stumble back. She quickly recovered to see Sam standing in front of her, chainsaw sword in hand.

Before anyone could say anything, a handful of bullets tore through the air along with a ball of white energy tore through the air, aimed at the other tree members of Omega Squad, who had spotted the gunmen just in time and thrown themselves out of the way. Jane was holding Volker's Exulan pistol, John and Ashley SMGs, and Adam a smal shotgun that he had managed to hide on his person.

"Don't just stand there!" the Senator yelled as Omega Squad regrouped and began to return fire. "Kill them! KILL THEM!

XXXXX

Gallows stretched his arms as he walked into the Oval Office, General Moore Nita right beside him. "Why do you think the President wanted to talk to us?" he asked, looking at Moore.

"Dunno," she said sourly. "Maybe Crawford wants to start recruiting ten year olds as suicide bombers."

"Uh...he's bad but he's not that bad," Gallows said, looking at Moore.

"Oh you never know, people evolve every day," Moore said grumpily.

"General, you need to lighten up," Nita said. "Get out and relax a little more like the Admiral here." She looked at Gallows. "Speaking of which, how did your date go?"

He sighed. "Not that well. We really just didn't mix that well. Oh well, you know what they say, there's a lot of fish in the sea."

"Aw," Nita said, looking said. "I'm sorry to hear that. What went wrong."

"Well...you want me to be blunt?" Gallows said. Nita nodded. "He was an asshole."

"Ah. Well that happens sometimes," Nita said, giving Gallows a playful pat on the shoulder. "Like you said, there's a lot of fish in the ocean. You'll find someone that you won't want to beat over the head with a wrench before too long, and some people that you just want to hold close."

"You always try to stay upbeat don't you?" Gallows said smiling slightly.

"Someone has to," Nita said. "Ah, here we are." The three of them walked through the doors into the Oval Office, Woods sitting behind her desk, with Albert and James standing behind her, both of them looking down at something on the desk.

"Oh, General, Admiral" James said, snapping to salute. "It's good to see you."

Gallows smiled slightly. "At ease Major," he said. "Madam President, you wanted to see us?"

"Yes Admiral. In times like these, I need people that I can turn to, people that I can trust. James and Albert have already assured me that I can trust them, and I know that I can trust you more than most Enclave officers. General Moore has drunk enough alcohol to intoxicate an entire platoon in the last month alone, and I still trust her more than most."

"Thanks...I think," Moore said bitterly. "What do you need us for?"

"Planning," Woods said simply. "Our enemies will be at our doorstep before too long and I want to start planning out counter strategy. Not only do we have to worry about hostiles in orbit landing troops and bombarding us, we mat have to worry about uprisings on the ground. We are currently outlining hotspots for rebel activity and we are working on how many soldiers we should deploy to those areas."

"So, we're focusing more on rebels with leather clothes and out of date rifles instead of soldiers with power armor and plasma rifles?" Moore asked.

"We're focusing on both," Woods said, "in our condition, a battle on two fronts is the last thing that we-" Woods was cut off as an image appeared on the screen to her terminal, two in fact. They belonged to Captain Crawford and . "What do you two want?" she asked icily.

"Oh, I was just telling the good Captain about all the fun little things I've been brewing up in my lab," Goeth said cheerfully.

"Goeth!" Woods shouted angrily. "That is classified information!"

"Oh, right it is isn't it?" Goeth said. "Oh well."

"Woods, Goeth has been telling me about the Horde," Crawford said. "Simply releasing a few of them in a particularly violent rebel movement should be enough to-"

"CRAWFORD!" Woods shouted. "The sheer brutality of the Horde would turn the entire civilian population against us, you do know that correct?"

"Would you just listen to me for five minutes!?" Crawford said angrily, "the rebels aren't going to go away, already they've caused too much destruction. Now I heard about what you tried to get the senate to do. Really Woods? You're trying to appease them? Trying to reward them for all of the people that they killed? You demoted me for killing people, how come you want to give them a damn medal?"

"Because they weren't under my command and didn't disobey a direct order," Woods said coldly. "The rebels on the other hand I have no power to find out who each and every one of them are and punish them appropriately. There are just too many of them and there isn't a single place that they aren't. The only way to get rid of them is to get rid of their reason to fight. Give them the rights that they want so badly, it would get rid their main reason for hating us, and make the Enclave a better place to live anyway."

"And tell me Woods, did the Senate agree with you?" Crawford asked.

"No, they didn't," Woods hissed.

"Well then, if they don't want to support you then it seems that your idea won't work," Crawford said, "after all, those were the senators elected by the people to represent them. They-"

"They were elected because there weren't any other options!" Woods shouted angrily. "The two parties have a stranglehold on the entire political system. No one can run for Senator without the support that they provide, and once they give their support and the elections come, voters are forced to chose between tight fisted, paranoid and close minded Republicans, or overly idealistic, detached from reality, and loose with money Democrats. They have to chose one extreme or the other, there's no middle ground, no room for debate, no room for compromise, no room for COMMON SENSE!" she yelled.

"I'm sorry to hear that you disagree with the way that this country is run Woods, but it is the American way. There is nothing that you can do about it," Crawford said.

"When the country was first founded, sexism, racism and xenophobia all defined the American way," Woods hissed.

"Don't try to use arguments that absurd," Crawford said, "now then, are you going to listen to me about what we need to do, or are you going to keep raving about things that you have no power to change? The rebels won't be pacified through kind words, do you really think that giving them a couple of things that they want will make them put down their guns and go home?"

"Clearly killing as many s we can won't work," Woods replied, "A change of tactics is in order."

"Indeed," Crawford said. "We must show them that their treachery will not be tolerated, send out just a few member of the Horde and we will never hear from the rebels again, we will have all of our resources ready for fight the Coalition when they come."

"Not to mention I'll finally have a chance to test them," Goeth said, sounding rather happy. "So many different subjects, yet I've never actually gotten any live fire data from them."

"No Crawford," Woods said. "I will tell you the same thing that I told Goeth over and over and over again. We are not attempting to start a genocide here, and if we were to ever go down that path, we will never be able to walk back. The people will not cower in fear, they will gather every last bit of strength that we have and march on us."

"You do not know for certain," Crawford said.

"It is not a gamble that we can afford to take!" Woods snapped, "this is the end of the discussion Crawford!"

"You'll drag the Enclave into the ground if you keep this up," Crawford replied. "We need people who are willing to do what needs to be-"

"You told me," Woods said, pressing a button on her terminal and causing Crawford's picture to disappear. "And Goeth," she said, "tell anyone else any more classified data, and I will order your execution."

Goeth laughed loudly. "I think we both know that that's a lie. My project isn't finished yet." Woods paused for a moment before slowly reaching in and pressing a button, Goeth's face disappearing.

"Miracle that the Enclave is still standing like this," Moore said grumpily.

"Things can get kinda ugly around here," Mita admitted.

"I can't stand it," Woods said, clutching her head in her hands. "I can't stand working with these people. I just want to drop everything I have just to make sure that Crawford, Goeth and every last member of the Senate get permanently obliterated from reality, but I just can't! I don't have the power! I'm the President of the damn Enclave and I can't do anything!"

Gallows looked down at the ground sadly. "All we can do is protect our home."

Woods sighed. "Yes...yes that is all that we can do." She looked around at the people standing in front of her. "I need you to give the upcoming battle everything that you've got," she said. "Once it's over, everything will be different." They all nodded.

"Right," she said, looking back down at the desk, her face noticeably tense. "We...we need to take into account that the Coalition will most likely be fielding robots and Deathclaws in addition too-" she was cut off as her COM unit beeped. "What is it? I...what? Now!?" Hastily typing into her computer again, she brought up footage of a fight happening in front of a museum between Omega Squad and a group of people in civilian wear. "Cut the footage!...what do you mean you can't? Well then get reinforcements over there!" she shouted, watching as the battle unfolded in front of her.

XXXXX

Sam jumped back as Grace lunged forward, swinging her claw at her. Gritting her teeth, she brought her sword up to block the blow, the claw clashing against it viciously, Sam gritting her teeth as she felt her arms shudder. Grace wasn't wearing her power armor, but her claw still hit hard, to the point where she was having trouble keeping a solid grip on her sword.

"Oh I'm going to enjoy watching you bleed!" Grace shouted pulling her claw back and raising it over her head, bringing it swinging down. Sam raised her sword and barely blocking it in time, a pang of pain shooting through her as the force of the blow resonated through her body. Grinning sadistically , Grace continued to press down with her claw as she reached around to her back and drew her shotgun, aiming it at Sam.

The rebel leaders eyes widened at the weapon, unable to do anything with her hands preoccupied with holding Grace's claw back. However, before Grace hold fire, a ball of white energy flew through the air and slammed into the hand holding the gun, blasting it out of her hand in addition to blasting a couple of her fingers off. "What!?" Grace shouted, looking down at her now smoking hand before glancing to the side to see Jane aiming Volker's Theta energy pistol at her. "FUCK!" she shouted, pushing off of the ground with both legs, throwing herself back to the entrance of the museum.

"You all right!" Jane shouted, running to where Sam was standing and firing a few more shots at Grace, forcing her to duck behind a statue of a lion in front of the museum.

"Yeah," Sam panted, dashing forward and grabbing Grace's discarded shotgun. "This could come in-"

"Leave it!" Jane shouted, firing another shot at Grace as she poked her head out from behind cover, forcing her back behind the statue. "That's a Claymore! You'd break your damn arm if you tried to use it."

"Damn it," Sam said. "I'll have to make do then if-LOOK OUT!" At the top of the steps, Edward had unholstered what appeared to be a light machine-gun and was aiming it in their direction. The two woman dove for cover as he opened fire, dozens of bullets streaming through the air as they slid into cover, Jane behind a traffic barrier and Sam a car.

"Grace, are you ok!?" Edward shouted, glancing at the woman, still taking cover behind the statue.

"I'm fine!" she snapped. "My shooting hand is gone, but I'm fine."

"Be careful!" Edward shouted. "That woman is using a chainsaw sword, I think she's the leader of the Eagles!"

As he shouted, Rose's head turned in his direction. She and Jessica were dual wielding their weapons and taking cover behind pillars at the top of the stairs, trading fire with Ashley, John and Adam, who were now crouching by the side of the stairs, using them as cover. "The Eagle leader?" she whispered.

"Damn it," Sam hissed, reaching into her clothes and pulling out a pistol, popping out of cover for three seconds and firing off a few shots at Edward before he redirected his machine-gun at her and forced her back down. As she crouched back down, she noticed that everyone in the crowd was making a run for in, the protestors, the reporters, even, to her shock, the military police. 'Are they scared of Omega Squad?' she wondered. As she wondered, she realized that despite the reporters abandoning them, the news drones were still diligently floating in place, recording the fight. 'Looks like Kasumi is in place,' she thought.

Before she could do anything else, she heard a loud noise that sounded like something heavy landing on something else that was made of metal. Looking up, she felt her stomach drop as she saw Rose standing on top of the car that she was taking cover behind. "You're the leader of the Eagles!?" she shouted. "Then FIGHT ME!" she roared, aiming both of her hands at Sam, tongues of fire leaping from them.

Sam desperately dove out of the way, accidentally dropping her pistol in the process as she scrambled away from the car. A searing pain tore through her arm and she looked down to see that her sleeve had caught fire. She hastily beat out the flame with her free arm, but as she did, she saw Rose charging at her, her assault rifles in hand. "ROSE! GET BACK HERE!" Edward shouted, but Rose ignored him, firing both of her rifles as she charged.

Bullets eating away at her shields and her arm and hand still stinging from the fire, Sam took her sword in both hands and swung it at the charging Rose. She smashed it into her right hand, knocking the rifle in that hand away and causing Rose to stumble to the side. Pulling her sword back, she swung it again, aiming to decapitate Rose, but before the blow could connected, Rose's now empty hand shot up and grabbed the blade of the sword in.

"What's wrong?" Rose hissed, Sam pushing down on the sword, but unable to cut through Rose's arm even as the chainsaw clashed violently with it, especially without the extra strength that her armor normally gave her. "You took on Delta Squad and I don't even have my armor. Is this all you can do?" Rose sounded angry and disappointed at the same time as she brought her head back and slammed it into Sam's face, causing her to stagger back in pain. Raising her remaining assault rifle, Rose opened fire on Sam, continuing to eat through what was left of her shields as Sam desperately attempted to regain her balance.

Gritting her teeth in determination and ignoring the pain in her skull, she raised her sword over her head and swung it down as hard as she could, aiming at Rose's outstretched hand. With the added energy behind the swing, she was able to tear through Rose's wrist, severing her hand and causing both it and the rifle to fall to the ground. Rose's eyes fixed on her stump of an arm, sparks shooting out of it and igniter fluid leaking out.

A wide smile spread across Rose's face. "That's BETTER!" she shouted, her remaining hand flying forward and forming a fist, slamming it into Sam's stomach, forcing her to double over in pain. Staggering back and barely avoiding another punch from Rose and made to swing her sword again, but before she could, a stream of bullets tore away at the last of her shields. Panicking she turned and ran, jumping behind the nearest car that she could find as the bullets continued to fly through the air.

"No, no, no NO!" Rose shrieked, "I'm not done with you yet!" She made to move after Sam, but before she could, she felt someone grab her good arm and pull her back.

"Rose, what are you doing!?" Edward shouted, pulling her back viciously, firing his machine-gun at the others with one hand. "You can't afford to charge her like that, especially with your hand gone."

"Colonel, I can't let her go! She's right there!"

"Rose, we can't afford to-" he was cut off as a ball of white energy flew through the air, Edward pulling Rose back out of the path of the blast. Glancing back at the stairs, he saw Jessica firing both of her SMGs at John, Ashley and Adam, all of whom were returning fire, forcing her back into cover and keeping Grace pinned, the Senator crouching behind a statue.

"Come on!" he shouted, heading back to the top of the stairs, Rose reluctantly following him. "We weren't ready for this!" he shouted, looking at Jessica as he fired another burst at the group at the bottom of the stairs, forcing them down. "We have to fall back!"

"Absolutely not!" the Senator shouted. "These people have stepped on everything we stand for, I want you to-" he was cut off as Edward hastily closed on him and slammed his fist into his stomach. The Senator slumped over, unconscious. "We need to get out of here!" he shouted, grabbing the Senator and throwing him over his shoulder. "From now on, we never go into the field without our power armor, I don't care about any dress codes a Senator wants us to go by."

He glanced at the Cain sisters. "Fall back to the rally point. Take the roof tops, forget the Coalition. They probably came to assassinate the Senator anyway." Pushing off of the ground with both legs, he propelled himself forward to the top of a nearby building, running across it with the Senator slouched over his back. Jessica followed him without a word, her cybernetic legs allowing her to make the jump with ease. Grace and Rose hesitated, Grace seething as she looked at the entire team, with Rose simply looking with fixed eyes on Sam before the two of them jumped after Edward and Jessica.

Slowly, Sam poked her head out of cover and walked forward, her legs shaking violently. "Are you ok?" Jane asked, running over to her.

"Yeah...yeah I think so, my head just hurts," Sam said, clutching her head with her free hand, the end of her sword dragging on the ground as she switched it off. "I mean I fought with Omega a couple of times before, but both times we all had our armor on. I thought that if they had their armor off, I'd be on even ground with them. I was wrong, I nearly got torn apart there."

"Why was Rose so obsessed with you?" Jane asked.

"I don't know, all three of the Cain sisters are messed up in the head," Sam said. "Maybe the've got an implant in their brains to make them that crazy, I don't know. I-" Sam stopped as she started coughing into her hand. The coughs slowly become more and more violently until eventually a spurt of blood worked its way between her fingers. She pulled her head back, looking at her hand with a horrified look.

"Ok, we need to get back to the Normandy to get you some medical treatment," Jane said.

"Yeah...I think that'd be for the best," Sam said. "We should get out of here."

"I'll have Chakwas take a look at you. It..." Jane trailed off, noticing the news drones out of the corner of her eyes. They were still floating and staring directly at them. The news trucks had been abandoned. "Kasumi," she said, putting her fingers to her ear, "is the news feed still on?"

"Yeah, there have been a lot of outside attempts to shut it down, but it's still broadcasting. Why?" Kasumi asked.

"I...keep it on a little longer," Jane said, slowly walking towards the nearest drone. She bit her lip as she did, viciously turning thoughts over in her head. 'Is this a good idea? am I doing the right thing?' she wondered. She sighed as she stopped in front of the news drone, sighing. 'We haven't been able to do anything to sabotage the Enclave on a large scale, and if we can't afford to take them divided, them being united against us wouldn't make much of a difference anyway."

"Hello...my name is Jane Shepard. Captain Jane Shepard. I am an officer in the Coalition and the Captain of the prototype stealth frigate the Normandy. I have been on Cor Mali for the past few days, fighting the Enclave with my crew and the local rebels. Hundreds of brave people have died in the past few days fighting the Enclave, but thousands of innocent non-combatants recently when an airstrike was ordered on New Boston. I want you to know that the reign of the government that ordered that atrocity is coming to an end. A allied fleet of over two-hundred ships is on their way here right now, they were be here within ten days."

"You are not the only ones that have been hurt by the Enclave, but you are without a doubt the ones that have been hurt that the most. Let me tell you this, the Enclave's reign of tyranny over you is coming to an end. We will remove this government that orders the massacres of civilians from power, by force if we have to. You have friends out there that are coming to help you. Don't let the Enclave step on you anymore, stand up and oppose them."

"And to the soldiers of the Enclave, to the soldiers, officers, and the politicians. I know that you have families, friends and loved ones so please listen to me. Please surrender. When the combined forces of the allied fleet and the anger of the very people that you oppress comes crashing down on you, many of you will die. It would be a senseless waste of Human life if you were to fight a battle you cannot win, so I urge you to lay down your weapons and surrender. Step down from power and give your people their rights back. Everyone will benefit."

She gave a small sigh. "That is all I have to say. Goodbye." With that, she slowly turned and walked away. "We need to get back to the Normandy now before more soldiers show up," she said. "Kasumi will meet us at the designated point." The others nodded as they looked at her. They all turned and began to ran. Jane had a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. She hoped that she had done the right thing.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Like I said, I'm moving towards a conclusion here. Things are going to pick up real soon. Hope this arc hasn't dragged on too long and is boring you too much.


	62. Double or Nothing

Chapter 62

Double or Nothing

Author's Note: I think that its time to finish setting up the climax for the Enclave arc. This chapter should do that.

EDIT: Sorry, slight problem, the website crapped out. It's up now though.

XXXXX

Jane cautiously walked into the main section of the Eagle's base, supporting Sam while Adam, John and Ashley were right behind her. They had had to take a covert route back to the base to ensure that they had not been followed, as a result it had taken them a few hours to get back to the base. As they did, they found several dozen eagles and Quarians standing there, all of whom immediately burst out into applause, although the Eagles were noticeably clapping much harder than the Quarians. Jane blinked in confusion as she helped Sam sit down on a crate. "What's...what's going on?"

"We've got a couple of connections to local news networks," Michael said, stepping forward and pointing at a flatscreen that was now hanging on the far side. "We saw the whole thing. I...God I could kiss you. You basically declared war on the Enclave!" Michael looked positively giddy.

"Yeah...I'm hoping that they get the message. The Enclave I mean. I hope that with their people having something to rally behind, they'll just surrender. "

"Isn't that a little overly idealistic?"

Jane turned her head to see Garrus approaching her, Liara not far behind him. "Maybe a little, but with Saren on the loose still it'd be for the best if we could afford unnecessary fighting. The Turians are providing support too, wouldn't they like to not lose a good chunk of their fleet?"

"Well, I can't speak for the Generals and the Primarch," Garrus said. "They would throw terms like 'necessary sacrifice' and 'soldier's duty' around, and they may have a point. I agree with you though, keeping a couple dozen ships from being destroyed while Saren hasn't been dealt with yet is something to strive for."

"Ok, now that you've made that announcement, I'll try and get in touch with our contacts," Michael said, "see what the general reaction is. After that we can-"

"HEY!" Jack said, standing at the front of the crowd, looking at the flat screen. "Our bitch of a President is giving her statement!"

"Oh this should be good," Michael said, grinning widely and sitting down on a nearby crate. "I want to see how she reacts to this."

The room grew silent as an image of President Woods filled the screen, standing behind a podium in front of the White House. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Enclave, I imagine that the majority of you saw the same thing that I did this very day. A high ranking officer of the Coalition demanded the surrender of the Enclave on the grounds that we are abusing our citizens and that we have hurt them as well."

"It is true, in recent years life in the Enclave has been harder than if should have been. We are the land of the free and the brave, yet countless freedoms are denied and abused. Many of the elected leaders of the Enclave have been hopelessly, hopelessly corrupt. Evidence of a Senator ordering an Enclave Special Forces Squad to open fire on a crowd of civilians today is merely the tip of the iceberg. You are angry about it...and so am I."

"We are supposed to be the pinnacle of freedom, yet we allow things like this to happen on a regular basis? Civilians slaughtered in the streets, rebels that are so angry and terrified that they see violence as the only way out, and a constant state of martial law? This is America, the land of the free, and it is time that that started being more than a bunch of pretty words. This is why, after today's incident, I went to speak to the Senate, and I successfully convinced enough Senators to pass a bill I have been meaning to pass ever since I was elected. The Bill of Rights."

A cold silence filled the Eagle's base as Woods continued to talk, the feeling of triumph that had filled it a moment ago gone. "The Coalition officer that spoke to all of us urged you not to let the Enclave step on you anymore, and I have NO intention of letting them! Within exactly one week, I will sign the bill that will give you the rights that you have been denied for too long."

As she spoke, she picked up a datapad that was lying in front of her. "You will be granted the following rights. There will be no laws regulating the freedom of speech, including media, public protests, art, and so forth. Agents of the government will not be allowed to enter the home of a civilian uninvited without direct authorization, reasonable suspicion and strong evidence. Taxes will be regulated. The influence of the government will be limited."

"And what I consider to be the most important considering recent events, is the formation of the National Guard. The National Guard will be a volunteer only militia that will assist the regular army in defending Cor Mali from any external or internal threats. The Guard will receive training and equipment that is on par with the Marines and they will defend their homes directly. They will be stationed there, not sent off to a far distant city where they have no reason to feel connected to the inhabitants if they are ordered to commit an atrocity! They will be defending their homes, they will answer to the safety of their friends and loved ones first, and the will of the government second, so that they will have no reason to obey a corrupt government that oppresses the people!"

"People of the Enclave, people of America! You are angry and you have every right to be! The Coalition speaks the truth, you have the right to be free! But please, I beg of you, do not abandon everything we stand for and throw yourselves into the arms of a government that does not know or care who you are. Within seven days, you will have your rights, and with them so close, it would be destructive to fight for the Coalition. If you do not have those rights within seven days...then you have every right to abandon the government that has failed you, and fight for one that came all the way out into the depths of space. If we cannot do something so simple, then any alternative rule will be better. I...I will now give the names of the Senators that have agreed to back me in passing the Bill of Rights. First of all-" the transmission was cut off as a metal crate smashed into the flatscreen.

"Can you believe this shit!?" Jack shouted angrily. "After all the shit that they've pulled she honestly has the balls to try to convince us that she's on our side."

"Bill of Rights!? BILL OF RIGHTS!? Oh right that magical thing that she said that she would get us when we elected her three years ago!" Michael shouted. "That thing that NEVER HAPPENED!"

Jane blinked as she looked down at Sam. "Is there any chance that Woods is serious about actually passing that bill?"

"If she is, I'll make out with her," Sam grunted. "It just won't happen. Michael's right, she said that if she was elected, she would get the Bill of Rights passed within the year. Three years later and she didn't get anywhere."

"Are you sure?" Jane asked.

"Damn sure."

"All right then. It doesn't help that the timing for this is a little too perfect," Jane said. "It seems less like she's trying to give you freedom and more like she's trying to get you against the Coalition."

"Don't doubt that for a second," Sam said.

"Is there a reason that this might get the civilians or other rebels in an anti-Coalition frenzy?"

"Considering that enough people voted for her to get her elected, and more than a few dumbasses actually managed to get a second term in the history of this pitiful excuse for a government, I wouldn't put it past them," Sam said. She looked up at Michael. "Get in touch with our contacts. We need to know what's going on in terms of general reaction now more than ever."

"Right!" Michael said angrily, walking towards and marching through the exit.

"Listen," Jane said slowly. "If Woods manages to get what she wants, any support that you have will be gone and you'll be viewed as traitors for supporting an invading army. It might be for the best if you went underground and rode this whole thing out."

"What!?" Jack shouted, making her way across the room. "No fucking way princess! Everything that comes out of that bitch's mouth is a load of shit! She talks about freedom like that? She does fucking remember the things that she's done right? To everyone, INCLUDING ME!?" she shouted. "I've been in the labs below the White House. How she can tell everyone that she's on their side with a straight face is beyond me. When that army of yours gets here, you stick me on the front lines so that I can rip that cunt's face off!"

"I'm with Jack on this," Sam said. "We're sticking with you Shepard. We started fighting for our home a long time ago and we're going to finish it, especially when victory could be right around the corner."

"I suppose I can't talk you out of this," Jane said.

"No you fucking can't," Jack said bluntly.

"Just try and stop us," Sam said.

"Well...if you're going to do that, then I need you to get in contact with whatever other rebel cells you can find, we need to pool our resources," Jane said. "Also, I'd rather if we held back on any further attacks until the seven days are up. If we jump the gun and attack before Woods' deadline runs out, we run the risk of turning the people who believe her against us. Wait until she can't follow through on her promises. Then we strike."

"Hit the bitch where it hurts," Jack said. "I like it."

"We'll be ready when the time comes," Sam said.

"Captain, may I have a word with you?" Jane looked over her shoulder to see Rael'Zorah beckoning at her.

"Pardon me," she said, getting to her feet and walking over to where Rael was standing, Garrus and Liara not far behind her. "Yes Admiral?"

"If it means getting back the hundreds of Quarians that were taken prisoner during the Enclave's attack on the research fleet, I will be willing to provide what few Marines I have to attack the Enclave on the ground when the time comes."

"I...I appreciate the offer Admiral," Jane said. "Thank you"

"Is there anything in particular that brought along this decision?" Garrus asked. "This would be a little risky, there aren't a large supply of anti-bodies for your kind to use in case their suits get punctured."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Rael said. "I've grown tired of being forced to sit on the sidelines while other people die. What's more, the data that I was working on that could turn things around for the Quarian race is still in Enclave hands. I want it back."

"Admiral, with all due respect, we really should have our minds on other priorities than your research data," Liara said. "I'm sure that it is quite valuable, but we are in no position to be taking it back from the Enclave."

"Liara's right," Jane said. "We need to focus on taking out their main defenses and finding a way to cripple them. We can worry about finding your research data after that."

"Captain, my kind NEEDS that data," Rael protested.

"What your kind needs is for you to keep a level head," Jane said. "The last thing you need right now is to make a mistake that could jeopardize the security of the Migrant Fleet or our operation here. We're walking a very thin line. Please Admiral. I appreciate you lending me what few men you have, but when the time comes to act, I urge you not to do anything rash."

"Captain, I assure you, everything that I do will be for the benefit of my kind. And considering the great lengths you went to rescue me, I will be willing to share the benefits that we are in the brink of reaping."

Jane shifted slightly, feeling uncomfortable. "Admiral, I'm here to take care of the Enclave. Making agreements like this isn't something I have the authority to do. I just want to focus on the problem at hand."

Rael sighed, sounding slightly disappointed. "I understand."

XXXXX

Woods walked through the halls of the White House, a very satisfied smile on her face and a spring in her step that she didn't normally have. Moore, Gallows, James and Albert following behind her. All four of them looked flabbergasted. "Did...did you just do that?" Moore asked.

"I did," Woods said, the faintest bit of pride in her voice. "And I won't lie, it felt damn good."

"But Madam President, you said that you had the support of the Senate to pass this bill," Gallows said.

"Yes I did," Woods said.

"But...but you don't have that support," Gallows said, looking confused.

"I'm about to fix that problem," Woods said, continuing to walk down the hallway until they reached the end. The other members of Sigma and Alpha squad were standing right outside it, waiting for them. "Major Black, Major Riggs, please stay outside with your men," she said, glancing at Albert and James. "Gallows, Moore, with me."

"With all due respect Madam President...what exactly are you planning to do?" Warren asked.

"Lieutenant...you'll probably hear it," Woods said, smirking widely. "Moore, Gallows, come on. The Senate will probably want to talk to us."

"This hurts already," Moore said, as the doors opened wide.

The Senate was in an uproar, dozens of different voices in the room clashing with one another. Woods put her fingers to her lips and whistled loudly, causing the noise to die down slightly. "Ladies and gentlemen," she said. "Not too long ago I proposed my Bill of Rights to you. I have come to do so again, with the hopes that you will be open minded to the idea of helping me pass this."

"Woods, we aren't in a joking mode," the Republican leader groaned, "none of us are."

"You told the entire system that you're planning on passing this bill!?" The Democrat leader shouted. "What makes you think that we would back it after you pull a stunt like that."

"Oh, I know that you're going to pass that bill," Woods said, smiling slightly. "Because you are."

"Preposterous!" the Democrat leader shouted. "A National Guard? Like we really need to indulge in another militaristic wet dream from the Republicans."

"And the ability for the people to say whatever they want, whenever they want?" the Republican leader said. "Are you trying to invoke complete anarchy here?"

"Oh you would say something like that wouldn't you!" the Democrat leader said. "Running your own little personal playground and not caring about what happens to everyone else?"

"Coming from the person who hates freedom and America?" the Republican leader asked. The voices started up again, the Senators going at each other, throwing every last insult that they could think of. Rolling her eyes, Woods stuck her fingers in her mouth again and whistled again. This time, the Senators ignored it, continue to yell at each other with no concern. Sighed, Woods reached to her side and drew her pistol, aiming it at the ceiling and firing it three times. All of the noise in the room died instantly, all eyes fixed on Woods.

"Well, now that I have your attention, I was hoping to point out that it would be in your best interest for you to vote for it to past," Woods said. "If you don't want to be the victims of a lynch mob that is."

"I...what do you mean by that?" the Republican leader asked.

"Well, if you watched my speech all the way to the end, you would have seen me give the names of the Senators that agreed to help me. 80% of you were on that list, including you two," she said, pointing at the two leaders. "And now the people are expecting you to support me in a week. They would be severely disappointed if you didn't keep your promise."

"We didn't make any promise!" the Democrat leader shouted.

"That's not what the people think," Woods said. "And right now what they think is the most important. They think that a massive fleet is on their way to save them from the corrupt politicians that have been keeping them under a boot for as long as they can remember. Considering everything that you've done to them, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a full fledged rebellion when the Coalition arrives."

"So I told them that the Senate would be willing to pass the rights that they've wanted for so long because that's what the people want. They will be furious if you don't follow through. That's also why I told them that the bill would be passed three days before the Coalition is supposed to arrive. Don't want you to get cold feet and back out once the Coalition has been defeated because you only said that you would vote for the bill."

"Woods," the Republican leader growled, "do you realize what you're doing?"

"Yes. I've put the word out that you are going to give the people everything that they want, and if you didn't I gave them permission to fight for the enemy that we've spent centuries building up to fight against," Woods said bluntly. "And if they do, odds are they'd execute all of you."

"But they'll kill you too!" the Democrat leader shouted.

Woods smiled slightly. "I know. But I don't have to worry about that, because you're all going to vote for the bill. Because if there's one thing that you people know how to do it's look out for yourselves. Hell, that's all you know how to do."

"We are the people that lead this country!" the Republican leader shouted.

"We've dedicated our entire lives to making America a better place!" the Democrat leader shouted. "And now you're throwing away everything that we've worked for decades to accomplish."

Woods simply shook her head, chuckling softly. "It really is amazing how detached from reality you are," Woods said. "You've been making America better? No, you haven't, you've been making it worse. You see, you people aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem. One of you ordered Omega Squad to fire on a group of civilians, which is what gave the Coalition the momentum they needed to announce their presence to the entire Enclave."

"They're idiots!" the Republican leader shouted, "they gave away the exact date of their invasion, we can-"

"I already knew the date of their invasion," Woods said. "My informants told me. I imagine that Captain Shepard knew that I had this information. What she said wasn't meant for us, it was meant for the civilians. The same people that you have been neglecting your entire life."

"Woods, you're out of line," the Democrat leader said.

"Maybe I am," she said. "For the last three years, I had to play nice with you in the desperate hope that I would win some of your support, but that never came to anything. You don't care about making things better, you don't care about representing the people, you represent yourselves. The existence of your parties takes the concept of citizens voting for the political candidate that they believe would be the most ideal, and turns it into a private power struggle between the two, with them voting for the party that they believe is the least horrible. They have to chose between one extreme or the other, there's no middle ground with you people, you only try to appeal to extremists."

"Woods-" the Republican leader said, but Woods cut him off.

"I tried to get you to work together to pass my bill over the last three years, but I've failed miserably every time. Now I see that you're the kind of people that common sense doesn't work on, you just stick your fingers in your ears and hum whenever someone tries to disagree with you, having a pissing contest with each other to see who gets to implement their idiotic, extremist concepts into law."

"Well, for the first time, for the first time in three years, I'm the one with the power, and you aren't. So listen to me closely. If all of you still want to be alive at the end of the month, you'll vote for the Bill of Rights, because if you don't, you won't have the security of the White House when the Coalition invades. This building is my home, not yours."

"You think that you'll live with an invasion and a rebellion going on?" the Democrat leader shouted. "You'll die along with us, you'll lose everything!"

"I look at it in a different way," Woods said. "If you vote for the bill, the people get the rights they've been denied for so long, they grow to love us and help us fight off an alien force. If you don't, I leave you to fend for yourselves when the Coalition attacks, the rebellion will start, and odds are I'll get some good footage of the rebels hanging, beheading, shooting you in the back of the head or whatever they do to kill you before you die. I win either way, because if I were to die in ten days, knowing that I managed to bring all of you down with me would be enough to let me die with a smile on my face."

"This...this is blackmail!" the Republican leader shouted.

"Yes...I suppose it is," Woods said. "But considering that today alone one of you people tried to start a massacre, I don't really feel that bad. So, vote for my bill or die. Either way I'll be happy." Without another word, she turned around and walked towards the exit. Moore and Gallows followed slowly, looking flabbergasted.

"Madam President...did you just do that?" Moore asked.

"I did. And I won't lie, it felt wonderful," Woods replied.

"How...how did you come up with that plan?" Gallows asked. "Were you planning this all along?"

Woods gave a small chuckle. "Actually I came up with this idea on the spot. The thing about long and complex plans, is that they can be the most well thought out plan in existence but they'll still fail if a single thing goes wrong, or if something changes. A good strategist needs to be able come up with a plan on the spot to fit the situation."

"Well...I'd say that you did a good job of doing that," Moore said.

"Can you do me a favor then?" Woods asked.

"After that? Anything."

"Please stop drinking," Woods said. "For your daughter's sake if nothing else."

"I...maybe," Moore said hesitantly. "If you can follow through on passing that bill then...maybe."

Woods smiled. "I suppose that I can work with that," she said as she passed through the door. Sigma and Alpha squad were waiting just outside for her, their eyes wide with shock.

"Madam President, did you just-" Albert began.

"I did," Woods said.

"I'm so voting for you next election," Warren said.

"I appreciate the thought," Woods said, "but right now we all have a lot of work to-"

"There you are." All of them looked down the hallway to see Crawford standing at the end, Dr. Goeth standing right beside him. Goeth looked rather bored. "The voices carried. So...is it true?"

"Yes Captain," Woods said, her voice stony.

"So, I'm punished for disobeying orders, but you blackmailing the entire Senate? I'm sensing a double standard here Woods," Crawford said.

Woods felt a slight twinge of discomfort in the pit of her stomach. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Crawford did have a point. "This is bigger than you, bigger than me," she retorted, "this is about the future of the Enclave."

"And you're telling the people that the government is weak, that we will bow to their every whim. You're making a mistake Woods, you're overriding the complicated political process that should come with making laws."

"Oh, tragic," Goeth said dryly, stretching his arms above his head. "Can I get back to my lab now? I don't like to leave my subjects unattended for too long. They scare my assistants."

"Don't do this Woods," Crawford said, "don't be a fool. Don't pass this bill. Let Goeth unleash the Horde on the Coalition when they arrive. Show the people what happens when they oppose us."

Goeth straightened out immediately, an excited look on his face. "I agree with the good Admiral Woods. Oh, sorry, the good Captain. I never got a chance to field test the horde, and I can only learn so much in a controlled environment."

"No," Woods said quietly. "I will never do anything so barbaric. Now Crawford, get out of my sight."

"You're a fool," Crawford hissed, turning and walking away.

Goeth looked back and forth between Woods and Crawford, a smile on his face. "This should be interesting," he said, as he too turned and walked away. There was a slight hollow feeling in the pit of Wood's stomach. As Goeth walked, he caught up to Crawford. "There is some information I would like to share with you," he whispered.

XXXXX

"Remind me what the plan is again?" Shields asked as he stood behind the Stranger, who was typing into a control panel on the bridge of his ship, Zaeed standing nearby. "And how come we had to wait so long to do this mission? We were supposed to do this days ago!"

"I've still got a couple of old contacts in the Blue Suns," Zaeed "Some people that are still loyal for me. Vido sent out a good chunk of the ships he had on guard duty to reinforce his position on Omega, the war there between the merc groups is heating up. Eclipse is loosing ground, and when the Blood Pack went in first, the Suns and the Army tried to hit them from behind. Turned things into a bloody free for all."

"Wait, what do you mean loyal to you?" Shields asked, looking at Zaeed. "You used to be part of the Blue Suns."

"Part of them? I founded the damn Blue Suns," Zaeed said, anger lacing his voice. "Me and Vido together. Then he turned my own men on me and put a round through my head."

"How did you survive that?"

"Junior, whatever happened to you to make you look like this, I don't care what it is," he said, gesturing to Shields, "but it looks like your body was rebuilt from the ground up. Do you hate the person that did this to you? Would you do anything you could to hunt him down, break both of his legs, press your gun right between his eyes, and watch the light go out when you pull the trigger?"

As Zaeed spoke, images of Saren filled Shields' mind, images of him taunting him while he had been impaled on the spike. His hands shook in anger. "Yes. Yes I would."

"Well there you go. That's what kept me alive," Zaeed said. "Rage can push a man to do things you wouldn't even think are possible."

"Right," Sheilds said, looking back at the Stranger. "So what's the plan?"

"Hurst and Rig are going to be our decoy," he said, "they volunteered for it. They're going to come out in orbit of the planet and try to contact the Blue Suns to sell their wares. The Blue Suns won't open fire on a freighter, they would try to board it to seize the cargo. He'll keep their attention long enough for us to kill Vido and then we all make our escape."

"This sounds risky," Shields said.

"You're trying to kill the leader of one of the biggest merc groups in the galaxy," Zaeed said. "Were you expecting a walk through the god damn park?" Zaeed asked.

"Enough," the Stranger said. "Hurst and Rig are coming out ahead of us." He typed into his control panel. "Are you two ready?"

"Ready and willing!" Hurst shouted. "We're about to drop out of FTL in three...two...one...Why hello there good gentlemen. I've got a cargo bay packed to the brim with goods that I'm willing to part with at a price that...that...oh God."

"Hurst? What's wrong?" the Stranger asked. "Are you under fire?"

"No. No one's shooting at us. I...there's no one TO shoot at us," Hurst replied

"Vido didn't abandon the planet did he?" Zaeed growled, sounding angry.

"No I...see for yourself," Hurst said. Shields looked down at the Stranger with a confused look on his face.

The Stranger simply typed into his control panel. "Stealth systems are online, we're dropping out of FTL now." He looked up as normal space came into view of the cockpit. before looking down again. "There's the heat signatures of fifteen warships orbiting the planet...wait a minute it's too low. No active ship would be generating that little heat, and it's getting lower and...oh God."

"What?" Shields asked.

"Those ships are...are just husks. Someone attacked and destroyed them," the Stranger said.

"Someone else attacked this planet?" Zaeed said. "Maybe it was the Blood Pack or the Army. Do you see any other ships in the area? They should've lost one or two at the very least, even if they outnumbered the Blue Suns and had the element of surprise."

"No...just Blue Sun ships," the Stranger said.

"That doesn't make any sense," Zaeed said. "No merc groups are that good at orbital battles, and what would military ships be doing all the way out here?"

"It could be Geth," the Stranger suggested.

"Maybe," Zaeed said. "That'd make a bit more sense, they're advanced enough at least. But I thought that the Geth didn't care about taking casualties, they just build more of themselves."

"Let's just get down to the surface," the Stranger said. "I'm picking up a lot of communications from the surface, looks like all of the settlements are contacting one another and sending messages outside of the system. They look like SOSs."

"Not surprising, Zorya is the heart of Blue Suns territory, quite literally the capital. They have bases all over the planet, they're probably calling for help after...whatever happened here." Zaeed said as the ship moved forward, slowly entering Zorya's atmosphere, the heat from re-entry enveloping the ship.

"Hey, you guys see any other Blue Sun ships on the ground that look like they're about to take off?" Hurst asked over the COM lines, "I don't see any."

"Neither do I," the Stranger said. "We could use a little extra support on the ground."

"All right, I'll put on the auto-pilot, Rig and I will be right down there," Hurst said.

"What's happening?" Shields asked, as the ship entered the planet's atmosphere, continuing to descend.

"Vido's supposed to be holed up in a refinery on the surface," Zaeed said. "They weren't paying their protection fees, so he moved in and took over. We move in, kill him, get out, then head for the nearest bar...if he's still alive. I have a feeling that he might not be."

"What makes you say that?" Shields asked.

"Those implants boggle your brain Junior? Why do you think that this planet was attacked in the first place?" Zaeed asked.

"To...kill Vido," Shields said softly.

"Bingo," Zaeed said.

"Hold on, we're landing," the Stranger said, slowly touching his ship down in the middle of a dense forest, the trees looking like they were doing everything they could to swallow the landscape. Smoke was billowing up not that far from where they are.

"That can't be good," the Stranger said, all three of them drawing their weapons as they slowly advanced forward, moving past the trees until they came to a small clearing. "Oh God," the Stranger said. The smoke was coming from a refinery, or rather, what was left of one. Massive parts of the refinery have been blown off, lying on the ground around it, fires burning hot and bright, and some parts of it having been reduced to rubble. And then they noticed the bodies.

"There was a war here," Shields said numbly, walking forward. He passed several dead Blue Suns mercenaries, in addition to several people in work clothes. "Everyone was massacred...everyone," he mumbled, spotting several over dead workers.

"Hey, found something," Zaeed said, looking at the other two. They made their way to where he was standing, and found a humanoid creature with brown scaly skin that resembled an insect. It also had four yellow eyes and was gripping a rifle that looked rather organic in nature. "Looks like a Batarian that got dipped in FEV," Zaeed remarked.

"I don't think that's what this is," the Stranger said, bending down and picking up the weapon. Aiming it out into the forest, be pulled the trigger and a sickly yellow beam shot out of it, hitting a tree and leaving a deep, dark scorch mark on the tree. "If it was just a mutant, then were did it get technology like this, I've never seen something this advanced."

Zaeed shrugged, "Hell if I know." As he spoked, he spotted what looked like the main entrance to the refinery, support pillars lying in pieces on the ground and catwalks smashed into scrap metal. "Wait a minute...is that..." he said slowly, walking forward towards it. Dozens of bodies littered the ground, some of them the same creature that he had found, but most of them Blue Suns. He came to a halt in front of a corpse with dark skin.

"Vido," he muttered, looking down at the body. "God...damn it," he sighed.

"You don't exactly seem thrilled to find out that he's dead," the Stranger said, walking towards him, "I would think that you'd be happy."

"Imagine if you spent twenty years trying to hunt down and kill a man, only to fine that someone else went and did it before you can," Zaeed said. "You're glad that the job got done, but you feel angry that all your hard work went to waste," he said. "Sort of. I have no goddamn idea what to say." He looked down at Vido. "He looks scared. Probably squealed like a pig before he died. He was always more of a paper pusher than a fighter. Should've stuck to business school."

"So now what?" the Stranger asked.

"No idea," Zaeed said. "Killing him was what kept me going for as long as I can remember."

"We need to tract down the people that did this," Shields said, walking towards the Stranger and Zaeed. "Innocent people where killed when they attacked this place. Civilians. Hundreds or maybe even thousands."

"Yeah, the Coalition is going to be pretty pissed when they hear about this," Zaeed said, looking around. "Oh wait, no they won't. We're in the middle of the Terminus Systems, no one gives a damn how many people die out here."

"Which is why we need to do it," the Stranger said, "no one else is going to make sure that the people that did this pay for what they do."

"Funny, I'm kinda like the Coalition, I also don't care how many people die in the Terminus Systems," Zaeed said. "And I may not know what I want to do with my life right now, but I'm damn sure I don't want to become a charity worker. I'm a merc, you want my help, pay up."

"You're joking right?" Shields said, sounding angry. "There was a massacre here and you're talking about money?"

"People being massacred seems to be happening a lot lately," Zaeed said cooly. "In fact it's been going on for awhile. I can't afford to get all worked up over it every time it happens Junior. Oh, and we're dealing with an enemy that we know nothing about, one that massacred the ships defending the heart of Blue Sun territory without taking any causalities in space, and on ground I'd say that for every man they lost, the Blue Suns lost five. That'll cost you extra."

Shields angrily stepped forward, but before he could, the Stranger put his arm out and stopped him. Activating his omni-tool, the Stranger stepped forward as a holographic screen was projected out from his omni-tool. "Will this do?" he asked.

Zaeed glance at it. "Yeah, that'll do," he said, activating his own omni-tool, the Stranger transferring the credits from his bank account to Zaeed's. "Didn't know you had such deep pockets. Well, congratulations, I'm now in your employment, what do you want me to do?"

"If we're going to take care about these things, we need to learn about them. What they are, how many of them there are, and where they are. The first thing we need to do is search the refinery for any recordings that might have survived the attack," the Stranger said. "After that I'd like you to get in touch with your contacts and see if they know anything."

Zaeed nodded as a shuttle appeared in the sky, slowly descending to their position. "All right!" Hurst said, jumping out. "What's...oh dear Lord," he said, hastily reaching up and pulling his hat off.

"Oh God," Rig said, floating out. "I...what happened here?"

"A massacre," the Stranger said. "Would you mind sticking with us a little-"

"Just tell us what to do and we'll do it," Hurst said, Rig nodding viciously.

"Thank you," the Stranger said.

"Wait...I just thought of something," Shields said, looking at the Stranger. "Do you think this is connected to Saren?"

"Maybe," the Stranger said. "I'll send what information we get to the Coalition in case it is. No promises that it'll do any good but we need to try. And if he is behind it, we have another reason to hunt him down." He started walking towards the ruins of the refinery. "Come on, we've got work to do."

XXXXX

Author's Note: I wouldn't be so quick to jump on Republicans for being against freedom of speech if I weren't convinced that they ARE against freedom of speech considering how they're trying to say that video games are more responsible for shootings than actual guns. Yeesh, I feel like we're quickly turning into the scapegoat for ever last thing that goes wrong in the world. Oi. Anyway, once again if you have a facebook account, like the Realize Gaming page.

On a side note, I live in MA, and currently the snow is up to my knees. That's partially why this chapter took a little longer than usual. I apologize for that. The weather in this state is all over the place.


	63. Give Me Liberty

Chapter 63

Give me Liberty...

Author's Note: Well, it seems like people like the increased pace, let's keep it up.

XXXXX

Woods sighed slightly, her fingers twitching nervously as she stood in a dark room. Seven days had been passed since she had made her announcement to the Enclave. She had been worried that the stubbornness of the Senators would hold out, but it appeared that that her worries had been misplaced. Their sense of survival had apparently won out against their strong political beliefs, 90% of all of the Senators had given their approval for the bill to be signed.

She looked down. She was holding the bill in her hands, so long that when doubled over and folded over it reached all the way down to her ankles. The signatures that she had managed to earn written at the bottom of the page. There was a small section that was still blank, a line reserved for her signature now that the bill had been approved by the Senate.

"Madam President?" She looked over her shoulder to see Edward approaching her the rest of Omega Squad not far behind him. "Are you ready?"

"Just about," she said. "Is it almost noon?"

"Almost," Edward said. Nodding, Woods stepped forward slightly, opening a door at the far end of the room and cracking it open slightly. The sight of a massive stadium filled her eyes. She was in the middle of New Washington Stadium, a football stadium that she had hijacked for the public signing of the Bill of Rights. Between the chairs that had been laid out on the far half of the field, the fully packed rows, and the fact that the stadium was larger than any stadium that had ever been built on Earth, there were easily over a million people where in it, possibly two.

Despite her wanting to put her best foot forward for the people she was trying to win over, her high ranking officers, including General Moore and Admiral Gallows, had convinced her that she should have a heavy escort on the off-chance that a rebel cell decided that now would be a good time to publicly assassinate her. Thousands of soldiers had set up defense positions around the podium and stage that had been set up, deployable barricades having been set down, and machine-gun emplacements had been set up among other things.

General Moore was right outside the Stadium with additional forces, including many of her tanks, Sigma Squad and Alpha Squad. Gallows was in orbit with the rest of the fleet, guarding the planet just in case Shepard had lied about the arrival date of the Coalition fleet. To top it all off, a row of around two dozen Enclave officers were standing behind the podium. To her great distaste, Crawford was among them. Most of the other officers had refused to attend if he had not been present, and she had wanted to put on a good show for both the civilians and the military, so she had allowed him to attend.

"Is everything ready?" Edward said.

"Hold on," Woods said, lifting up her shirt slightly to reveal a combat vest underneath, before lowering it down. "Shields are active." She reached around back to her holster. "Pistol ready." She reached into her front pocket and pulled out a small pen. "Pen here...ok, everything is ready."

"Well Madam President, there are over a million people waiting out there for you," Edward said.

"And millions more watching, this entire thing is being broadcasted live to the entire planet and the colonies," Woods said. Taking a deep breath she pushed the door open and walked outside, Omega Squad right behind her. A massive wall of noise rose up to meet her, too overwhelming for her to tell if people were cheering or booing her. Deciding not to stop and try finding out, she kept walking stopping right in front of the podium, Omega Squad stopping a fair distance behind her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of the Enclave, of America," she said, speaking into her microphone, the crowd growing quiet as she did. "I asked you to be patient, to give me seven days to gain the support to pass the Bill of Rights and to write the bill." She took the bill, unfolding it and holding it up for the crowd to see. "I have kept my word!" she exclaimed proudly.

This proceeded a massive roar from the crowd as she laid the bill down on the podium in front of her. "This country is a great one, but even the mightiest of empires have had blunders that threatened to tear them to the ground. Simply denying that they exist because of your love for you country is nothing short of ignorance, and only proves to be destructive. In order for a country to truly be great, we must acknowledge its flaws, and most importantly, strive to overcome them. I plan to do just that today."

All throughout the stadium people listened with baited breath. Outside of the stadium, countless other people that had gathered, not having been able to get a seat inside, gathered around camps, watching the speech that Woods was giving on small portable flat screens and omni-tools. There were all crowded in a mob of camp, separated from the stadium by a solid line of Enclave soldiers that were dug in, forming a solid perimeter around the stadium.

General Moore said on top of one of her Tiger tanks, watching Woods give her speech on her omni-tool, holding a bottle of whiskey in the other hand. "What are you doing with that?" She looked down to see Cadence standing at the bottom of the tank, looking up at her. "You're on duty."

"Just a backup in case everything here goes to shit," Moore said, grabbing the cork with her teeth and pulling it out, spitting it off to the side. "Don't worry though," she said, "I'm only going to drink it if things go bad."

"General," James said, stepping forward with the rest of Alpha Squad. "With all due respect...this isn't behavior of and becoming of an officer."

"Duly noted Major," Moore said, idly looking at the bottle in her hands.

"So, we just sit out here?" Warren said to his brother, the two of them walking towards Moore's tank, "Just put down anyone who tried to get in and crashing the party?"

"That's right," Albert said. "I haven't seen anyone in the crowd that looks like they plan on starting a fight though. Haven't even seen any weapons among them, not even anything that could be used as a club."

"Don't let your guard down," James said.

"He's right," Leon said. "With all due respect Major, we've been ambushed multiple times when we thought that we were safe," he said, adjusting the holographic images floating in front of his eye.

Jade nodded. "We nearly died a couple of times."

"All right, everyone be careful," Albert said. "Can't hurt."

James smiled slightly. "Thank you Major."

Not far away, three different trucks were parked. Countless other vehicles were parked around it, but these three vehicles where all owned by the Eagles. Currently, the Normandy crew and the rebels were hiding inside it, watching Woods' speech play out. "What exactly is the plan?" John said, sitting down in front of a holographic projection of the speech in one of the trucks.

"We...don't really have one," Jane admitted. "I don't want to admit it, but we're flying blind here. I'm just trying to keep an eye out for anything, and I do mean anything that I can use to our advantage."

"The bitch is lucky we can't get anywhere near her," Jack hissed, glaring at the image. "Otherwise I'd be bashing her skull in."

"Sam," Michael whispered, looking at the screen. "Do...do you think that she's serious about trying to give us these rights? Do...do you think we should stop fighting."

"That's the stupidest fucking idea I've ever heard," Jack said. "You want to just bend over for these people?"

"Fuck off," Michael said. "You've got my back right Sam?"

"I...I can't say I do," Sam said. "Is Woods going though with this? If she's going to put her money where her mouth is then good for her, but that isn't going to make our problems go away. What happens when she leaves office? You know how some people say that a few rotten apples don't spoil a barrel of good ones? Well a few good ones don't make a barrel of bad apples better."

"So what do we do?" Michael asked.

"I don't know," Sam growled, looking back at the screen, where Woods was still giving her speech.

"I pray with all of my heart that this is the dawn of a new era for this country," she said, taking her pen out of her front pocket. "I will do everything in my power from this day forth, to ensure that the rights given to you today do not-" before Woods could finish her sentence, a shot rang out. Immediately after, four more followed it, piercing Woods' shields, the last shot going directly through her chest.

Woods staggered forward, clutching at her chest as blood seeped out of it, drops of it splattering onto the Bill of Rights and staining it. For a moment, she stared down at the paper, shock and disbelief in her eyes. Whipping her head around, she saw Crawford approaching her, a highly customized heavy pistol in his hand, the one that had easily punched through her shields. She struggled to reach for her own pistol, but before she could he fired again and another shot pierced her chest, forcing her to stagger back against the podium. Walking up to her, Crawford took his pistol and smacked her across the face with it, knocking her off of the platform and causing her to fall limply onto the field, blood pooling around her.

"The fuck!?" Jack swore as Crawford approached the podium his pistol still in his hand, the crowd roaring and shuffling about.

"Madam President!" Edward shouted, running forward and trying to help her, but before he could, Rose grabbed him from behind and pulled him into a full nelson, Grace holding him from the front. "What are you doing!?" he shouted.

"That woman achieved her goals through blackmail," Crawford growled. "She never would've gotten the support necessary for this...THING!" he shouted, grabbing the Bill of Rights and tearing it in half, throwing it off of the stage. "And this is the woman you scream in support for? The woman who throws away the American way, spits on it, and creates her own laws to enforce on the people without the willing conceit of the Senate. NO!" Crawford shouted, looking furious. "She's a traitor! You, all of you, you're all traitors!" he turned to the soldiers that surrounded him, "Kill them! KILL ALL OF THEM!"

There was a slight hesitation, many of the soldiers looked at each other. However, one Marine raised his rifle and fired a burst at the crowd. There was a scream and one person slumped dead in his seat. Then all Hell broke lose. The soldiers all opened fire, aiming their rifles, machine-guns and even rockets at the crowds, gunning down the civilians without mercy.

"The Hell!?" Michael asked looking at the screen. "I...what do we do Sam?" He looked around, Sam was not longer sitting right next to him. "Sam?" Before he could say anything else, he heard the back of the truck open and turned around just in time to see Sam standing behind it, firing her rockets and shooting up into the air. "SAM!" he shouted, running out after her, John, Jane and Jack not far behind, watching as she shot into the air.

"What the Hell?" a passing Marine said, looking at them. "Rebels!?" he shouted, the rest of his squad aiming their rifles at them. "Stand down!"

"Are you kidding me!" Jane shouted, do you have any idea what's going on inside!?

"What?" the Marine said, activating his omni-tool again and bringing up the speech. His face went pale behind his see-through visor as he saw the massacre take place. "Oh...oh God."

"Take us to your commander now!" Jane demanded, walking towards him.

"But...I'm sorry but we have direct orders to eliminate any-" he began, but before he could finish, Jane reached him grabbed him by his collar and pulled him off of his feet.

"Do I look like I care!?" she shouted. "Your people are dying in there! I need your commander now!" She glanced behind her back. "John, get everyone out of the trucks now!"

Back in the stadium, Edward struggled in the grips of Grace and Rose. "What are you doing?" Edward shouted, trying to throw Grace and Rose off, but the combined strength of them in their power armor was too much for him.

"Colonel, listen to me very carefully," Crawford growled, walking towards him. "Goeth told me everything. He is standing by, ready to pull the trigger on these three the second I give him the word. Do exactly what I say, and I'll order him to hold off."

"I...but..." Edward stuttered.

"Colonel...please do what he says," Rose mumbled, lowering her head, a defeated tone in her voice.

"Listen to what she says," Crawford hissed. As he did, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. "Looks like you have something coming this way," he said, walking away. "Get to work," he said before putting his finger to his ear. "Send a vertibird to pick me up."

Grace and Rose let Edward go, all four members of Omega Squad looking up as they did. A figure was flying through the air, heading right towards them. It was wearing power armor and had a chainsaw sword in each hand. "CRAWFORD!" Sam bellowed, flying directly at the stage. As she drew closer, Grace jumped up into the air and slashed at her with her claw. Sam was knocked out of the sky and slammed into the stage, but quickly recovered, standing up with both swords held out in front of her.

"I've been looking forward to this," Rose growled, drawing both of her assault rifles as the sound of gunfire and screams filled the air.

XXXXX

Saren ground his talons impatiently as he watched a handful of scientists work at terminals that had been set up in the control room of the base that he had found in the galaxy core. They had been among the allies that he had found after he had taken Sovereign. "What is your progress?" he asked, looking at them.

"Sir, we're almost done analyzing the data," one of the scientists, a Salarian, said. The combat data from the attack on the Blue Suns is impressive so far. The five ships that you were able to salvage and build managed to devastate the Blue Suns instillation of the planet. Causalities that the ground forces took were minimal. These Prothean's have-"

"Collectors," Saren said abruptly.

"Sir?" the scientist, turning around to look at Saren.

"I've decided that they will be called Collectors," Saren said sternly. "After all, it looks like the insides of their ships were designed for mass abduction missions. Hence I call them Collectors."

"I...very well sir," the Salarian said slowly. "The...the Collectors preformed very well in combat. Their advanced technology and ability to fly allowed them to cut through the Blue Suns. They were even able to kill the leader of the Blue Suns as per your instructions."

"What about the other ships?" he asked, "how long until construction on more of them is complete?"

"A few of them should be finished by the end of the week," the Salarian said. "The automated construction system is very effective, especially with the Geth helping them along, and with all of the derelict ships out there we have no shortage of materials.

"Good," Saren said, walking away. As he did, Rana walked into the control room, looking nervous as she looked up from a datapad. "Rana, what is it?" he asked.

"Did...did you order the Collectors to attack a Blue Suns instillation?" she asked nervously. "With Sovereign providing support?"

"I did," he said simply. "Why?"

"I...was that wise move?" she asked nervously.

"What do you mean by that?" Saren asked disapprovingly.

"I mean...we're supposed to be keeping a low profile aren't we? You sent out several highly advanced ships and had them killed thousands of people," Rana said. "Civilians too. Was...was this really a smart move? In fact was this even the right move."

"Rana," Saren said, sounding rather annoyed, "I killed the head of the Blue Suns, I did something that neither the Coalition or the Council could ever do. In fact, the founders of the Blue Suns and a massive part of its members are all Human. More of the Coalition's blights spreading across the rest of the galaxy. I did the galaxy a favor."

"But...but you still killed countless civilians," Rana said. "And this still draws attention to us. We lost dozens of foot soldiers that were left behind on the planet. I thought that we were desperately bidding for time."

"Rana, I did the entire galaxy a favor," Saren said. "It seems the more that I think about it, it seems that I'm the only one that can be counted on to get anything worthwhile done in the this galaxy."

"Saren...this is just reckless," Rana said. "You can't just run around doing whatever you want, you need to be careful." Saren's eyes flared in anger as she spoke. "I mean, have you completely lost track of what you're trying to accomplish here?" The second she was done speaking, Saren's hand shot out, striking her across the face. Caught off guard, Rana fell to the ground, crying out in pain.

As she lay on the ground, whimpering in pain, Saren grabbed her and pulled her to her feet before slamming her against the wall. The scientists looked up in shock, rooted to the spot in fear. "Don't you ever question my conviction again," he hissed. "Look what you made me do. Say anything like that again and I won't hesitate to do it again. Think before you speak."

"I...I'm sorry," Rana choked out.

"You should be," Saren snarled, throwing her to the ground before walking out of the room. He was still fuming as he walked. "What does she know?" he hissed, "what does she know about anything? Am I the only person who is willing to give this galaxy what it needs?" Walking through the Collector base he stopped as he came to a large open area, several Collectors flying through the air and more Geth walking around on the ground.

More scientists were working on a handful of terminals. "What have you found out?" he asked, stepping up behind them.

"There is a lot of information about the genetic makeup of the Collectors here," one of the scientists, an Asari said, getting up and looking at him. "We've also discovered something interesting."

Saren cocked his head slightly, "what would that be?"

"Apparently there are unique modifications to the Collector's nervous system," the Asari said. "It's been wired so that it can be controlled remotely. In fact, the way I can deal, it was designed so that its actions would mirror the commands that someone else gave it precisely." She shook her head in disbelief. "I...I didn't even think it was possible for technology this advanced to exist.

"The Reapers were beings beyond our comprehension," Saren said, looking around the interior of the base. "Everything that you see here should be evidence of that. Now then, is there anyway for us to harness this technology? Being able to precisely control soldiers from a distance could prove to be a very useful asset," Saren said.

"Hm," the Asari said, picking up a datapad and scrolling through it. "I can't say for certain. It certainly seems like a possibility. It would take a good deal of time. Also something else that you should know, controlling the Collector like that pushes their entire body into overdrive. It activates dormant biotic abilities and easily makes them twice as strong in combat. The drawback is that is pushes the Collector so far that it disintegrates within minutes."

"We have Collectors to spare," he said, looking around. "We can afford to do that."

"I suppose that that would be a viable possibility," the Asari said. "I suppose that you would want us to start researching ways to harness this."

Saren nodded. "Yes I would," he said, activating his omni-tool, typing into it. "Send what you found so far to my omni-tool. I..." he slowly stopped speaking as he looked down at his omni-tool, a look of rage spreading across his face.

"What is it?" the Asari asked.

"Why did you access my omni-tool remotely?" he asked.

"I...Saren what are you talking about?" she asked. "I didn't access your omni-tool."

"Don't lie to me!" he shouted, causing the Asari to jump back. "I've upgraded it with all the technology that I've been gathering, I can see that you accessed my omni-tool remotely and accessed the private files that I had stored on them. ALL of them," he growled. "Who did you send them to!?"

"Saren I don't know what you're talking about!" the Asari said, sounding nervous.

"No...no you didn't," he growled, drawing his pistol and pointing it at her. "Who did you send it to?" he asked, his voice filled with silent anger.

"Oh Goddess, Saren please," she begged.

"Tell me," he growled, stepping forward and pressing the pistol in-between her eyes.

"I...all right all right!" the Asari shouted, on the brink of tears. "I...I sent it to the Shadow Broker. I needed the money and he swore that he would never sell it to the Coalition. Saren I swear, I believe in your cause. Please don't-" a shot rang out as the Asari fell to the ground, dead.

"We have a security breach!" Saren shouted, sounding furious. "No one does anything else until we track down the fucking Shadow Broker!"

XXXXX

Moore's eyes widened as her grip on the bottle of whiskey loosened, it falling to the ground and shattering on impact. "You cannot be serious!" Cadence shouted, looking down at her own omni-tool, "YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!"

"Jesus Christ," Warren whispered, looking at his omni-tool tool. "I hated Crawford's guts but...I didn't think that he'd...God."

"Mom, what do we do?" Cadence shouted, looking up at Moore.

"General," Albert said, his voice eerily low. "I suggest that we respond."

Moore grit her teeth in anger, looking down at the omni-tool again. "Crawford shot the President, most likely killed her, and now he's organizing a massacre. We need to stop him, but I don't know how we're supposed to move enough men inside the stadium to stop him.

"General!" a Marine shouted.

"What is it?" Moore asked, looking at him. "I...oh Lord." A squad of Marines was approaching her, being followed by dozens of people. The Eagles and the Normandy crew. Nearly every nearby soldier had their rifle trained on them, but held fire. Warren growled and extended his blades from his arms, Norman noticing and drawing his pistols. "What the Hell is-" Moore began.

"We don't have time for that," Jane said briskly, "you want to stop what's going on in there?" As she spoke, she spotted Norman out of the corner of her eye. "Stand down!" she hissed. Norman looked at her before reluctantly holstering his pistols.

"You too Warren," Moore said, glaring at him until he retracted his blades. "I do, but the entrances to the stadium are too narrow for my tanks to fit through, and moving infantry through them will get them bottlenecked."

"Do you have a diagram of the stadium?" Jane asked quickly, "we don't have very long!"

Back inside the stadium Sam let out a shout as she charged forward, swinging her swords at Grace. The cyborg reached out with her claw hand and grabbed one of the swords before it could reach her, drawing her shotgun and firing it at Sam's chest before the second sword could reach her. The sheer force from the Claymore pushed her back, her sword stopping mid swing.

Gritting her teeth, she saw Rose coming at her from the side, tongues of fire leaping from her arms and heading towards her. Desperately jumping out of the way, Grace took advantage of her off balance position. "GOTCHA BITCH!" she shouted, charging forward and slashing at the front of her power armor, the claws cutting all the way though and cutting into the front of Sam's chest.

Hissing pain from her new gashes, Sam swung her swords at Grace, but she smiled as she easily jumped back, out of the way. As she pulled her arms back, she felt a blinding pain pierce her back. Craning her neck around, she saw a shimmer in the the air and swung at it. She nicked the edge of Jessica's arm, causing her cloak to drop and revealing her holding her two knives, one of them coated in blood. She drove her clean knife forward, Sam's eyes flashing in pain as it slid through the spaces in her armor, burying itself in her arm. She brought both of her swords over her head and swung them down, but once again her intended target jumped back, easily avoiding them.

"This is the best that you can do?" Rose hissed glaring at her as she fired another burst at Sam, causing the rebel to charge forward, swinging one of her swords at Rose, aiming to decapitate her. Rose neatly duck under it and drove her knee right into Sam's chest, leaving a noticeable dent in her armor and causing her to gasp out in pain. "You're a disappointment," she growled, holstering one of her rifles and taking off her helmet as Sam sunk to her knees, gasping for breath as blood seeped out of her multiple wounds. "I thought that you were different, but it turns out that-"

Letting out a roar, Sam threw herself forward, stabbing forward with her sword. Rose jumped back, but even as she did, the sword pierced the side of her armor, tearing into her flesh. She looked down on the wound and, to Sam's great surprise, excitement filled her eyes as she saw the open wound. However, after studying it for a few moments, her excitement quickly faded away as she looked back at Sam, who was now on all fours.

"Is that it?" she hissed, raising her leg and kicking Sam in the side, causing the heavily wounded and now exhausted rebel to collapse to the ground, crying out in pain. "That's all you can do? You're pathetic."

"Hm, well done," Crawford said, walking to where the Cain sisters were standing, the echoes of guns firing and civilians screaming still filling their ears. "She was quite a nuisance." He glanced at Edward, who was standing stock still, his teeth heavily grit. "Colonel, why didn't you do anything?"

"Captain, I-"

"Admiral," Crawford said. "I am an Admiral."

"Admiral," Edward growled, sounding as if he wanted nothing more than to kill him, "I am a heavy weapons expert. At this close range my plasma cannon would've killed the Cain sisters too."

"You couldn't have ordered them to pull back?" Crawford said, clearly not convinced "I doubt that it would've been difficult. Remember Colonel, if you don't want your subordinates to experience Hell, do what I say."

"Understood sir," Edward said.

"Now then," he said, looking at Sam. "Kill her."

"With pleasure," Grace said, taking her shotgun and aiming it at Sam's head. "So long bitch." Rose looked down at Sam's helpless and prone body, looking disappointed. Sam attempted to get to her feet, but before she could, Grace's foot rose up to hit her side, causing her to fall to the ground again, crying out in pain. Grace smirked as she tightened her grip on the trigger

However, before Grace could fire, a deafening explosion reached their ears. Everyone looked up to see a massive green explosion erupting from the utility tunnel, leaving a massive opening in the stadium. No sooner had it cleared, than a Tiger tank rolled through, firing another place at the entrenched soldiers that were firing on the crowd, sending dozens of them flying. The tank rolled out onto the field, two more quickly following it, as a mob of soldiers pored in after them.

"What the Hell!?" Crawford swore looking at the swarm of forces that were firing on the soldiers preforming the massacre. "Moore," he hissed, putting his finger to his ear. "I need that vertibird now Goeth! And that emergency situation we talked about?! I need you to modify their implants now!" he shouted. He looked at Omega Squad, "Kill her already!"

Grace moved to pull the trigger of her shotgun, but before she did, Sam forced herself to swing her sword the tip of it piercing Grace's stomach, causing her hand to jerk and the shot to miss. Roaring in anger, Grace brought her claw swinging it down. Sam desperately out of the way, the claw, it burying itself in the stage. Pulling her legs back, Sam kicked out viciously at Grace's face. A loud cracking noise filled her ears as Grace's head jerked back, Sam scrambling to her feet in the few seconds that she had.

Rose hissed as she aimed her flamethrowers at Sam, but before she could fire it, a massive force slammed into her side, sending her flying back ten good feet. Recovering, she saw Cadence charging at her, super sledge in hand. Jessica moved to attack Cadence, but before she could Warren and Albert pulled themselves up onto the stage, Warren extending both blades and swinging at Jessica, who expertly lifted her own knives to block them.

Edward raised his plasma cannon and fired it at Albert, who ran to the side, avoiding the ball of energy as he fired both of them at Edward. "What do you think you're doing Colonel!?" Albert shouted, sounding genuinely angry. "You think that this is acceptable? Do you!?" Edward said nothing, firing another plasma blast at Albert, who hastily ducked under as he kept running, firing at Edward. "Answer me!" he roared Edward said nothing.

"Damn it!" Crawford shouted, looking at the swarm of soldiers pushing into the stadium, firing at those that had been stationed inside. Looking up, he saw a vertibird descending to his position, landing on the platform. "Colonel!" he shouted, climbing inside, "We're leaving!"

"Omega Squad, fall back!" Edward shouted, firing another ball of plasma at Albert before turning and running directly at the vertibird.

Warren swung one of his blades at Jessica, but she easily dodged it and drove one of her knives into a gap in his armor, piercing his side and causing him to recoil in pain as she did. Grace simply glared at Sam before abandoning the fight, running towards the ship. Rose, having been thrown back by Cadence, also climbed on and the vertibird began to rise. "COLONEL!" Albert bellowed, firing his machine-guns at the vert-bird, even as it slowly moved out of range.

"Forget it bro," Warren hissed. "He's a traitor. We're going to track him down and bash his skull in with a smile on our faces." Albert said nothing as he lowered his weapons.

Up on the vertibird, now a good fifty feet above the ground, Edward looked at Crawford, anger in his eyes. "What is your plan now...Admiral?" he asked, his voice heavy.

"This country needs a strong leader," he said simply, "and it seems that I am going to be it." As he spoke Rose looked out the side of the vertibird, her eyes fixed on Sam. "You and your men will do what you've always done, serving the red, white and blue with your lives. It's a proud way to live." Rose's hands tightened into fists. "So just do what I say, and things will work out well for the both of-" before he could finish his sentence, Rose wordlessly slid out of the vertibird.

"Rose!" Edward shouted as she landed on the ground, cracks appearing around her feet.

"Fight me!" she roared, both of her rifles in hand as she charged at Sam, who was holding herself gingerly. All of Sigma Squad noticed and readied their weapons as she neared. "FIGHT ME!" Gritting her teeth as Rose approached, Sam held both of her swords out in front of her and activated her armor's rockets. She shot forward, both of her swords roaring, closing in on Rose in a matter of seconds. There was a horrible shriek as metal clashed against metal and both of the swords directly pierced Rose's chest, exiting out the other side. The force from the acceleration caused both of them to fall over, Sam landing on top of Rose.

Hastily, Sam scrambled to her feet, drawing the cryo gun that she had taken from the Air Force base and aiming at Rose, who still had both swords in her.

In the vertibird, Edward's eyes widened in horror, and he made to jump out of the vertibird. "Don't," Crawford growled. "If you do you'll get yourself killed. I need you alive."

"She'll die if I don't!" Edward shouted.

"You should worry about the other two," Crawford said coldly. Edward looked like he wanted to turn Crawford's head into a red smear, but he sat down in his seat, grinding his hands together furiously.

"No, this can't be possible" Grace whispered. "She can't be dead."

"...Rose?" Grace and Edward looked up in surprise at Jessica. Her voice was hoarse and raspy, but it was indeed her that had spoken. "She's...dead?...no," she whispered, looking out at the vertibird where she lay. "No...Rose...ROSE!" she shouted, getting to her feet and trying to jump out of the vertibird, but Edward grabbed her before she could and held her back.

"Jessica!" he shouted struggling to keep a hold on her as she thrashed in his grip. "We can't!"

"She's dying!" Jessica shouted, her voice still raspy.

"Jessica please...there's nothing we can do," Edward said. Defeat was heavy in her voice. Slowly, Jessica stopped struggling in his arms and went limp. She had given up that quickly simply because he had told her to. Edward had never hated himself more than in that very moment.

"Set a course for the White House," Crawford said sternly to the pilot as the vertibird sped away from the stadium.

Back on the ground, Sam continued to aim her rifle at the bleeding Rose, who lifted her head up to look at the swords. "Is this...going to kill me?" she asked, shifting her gaze to Sam. Sam paused for a second, then nodded briefly. Rose looked at her for a second, then did nothing Sam ever expected her to do. She started to laugh. "Thank God," she said weakly. "It's over...it's finally over. They can't hurt me anymore." She looked Sam directly in the eye. "I was right about you. Thank you." Rose smiled as she let her head rest on the ground, closing her eyes as blood pooled around her. Sam and the rest of Sigma Squad looked at her as her body slowly went limp, shock and confusion in their eyes.

"Madam President!" The four of them wheeled around to see the three members of Alpha Squad crouching over President Woods. They had immediately gone for her while Sigma had gone for Omega Squad. They had removed her combat vest and were applying medi-gel to her wounds, doing what they could to keep her alive. "Stay with us!" James shouted.

"I'm not dying just yet," she gasped, pulling herself up into a sitting position. She looked around as she did. Moore's forces had smashed those that had been firing on the ground, her tanks still blasting away at the handful that were left, the civilians practically tripping over one another as they attempted to get out of the stadium. "Damn it," she whispered. "This was what I was trying to prevent."

"Well maybe next time you shouldn't have maniacs so high up on the chain of command," Sam said bitterly, she and Sigma Squad walking towards the edge of the platform.

"Keep your mouth shut," Leon hissed, reaching for the hilt of his claymore. "Woods has done more for us than you ever could."

"Lieutenant, stand down," Woods snapped. "I need a status update now, what's the status of the rest of the Enclave? What's happening.

"We already checked it." Woods looked behind her to see General Moore approaching her, Jane and Legion not far behind her.

"Coalition?" Woods asked, trying to stand up but wincing in pain as she did. "What are you doing here?"

"My men are helping General Moore's forces contain this situation," Jane said. "Also my A.I. scanned your communications. You have a problem, it seems that a lot of officers are with Crawford, they're moving their forces into and around the White House. He's fortifying it. Also it seems like the entire fleet is moving into position to protect it from any orbital assault.

"The fleet?" she said putting her fingers to her ears. "Gallows! Do you read me?"

"Yes Ma'am!" Gallows replied. "I was just about to contact you! What's going on down there? The rest of the fleet turned on us, I had to make an emergency FTL jump to get my flotilla to safety. We're hiding out on the far side of the star system."

"Crawford betrayed us," Woods said. "Stay where you are, if you try to take on the main fleet you'll get massacred."

"Understood," Gallows said. "I...oh my God. Woods, I'm picking up over a hundred FTL signatures. Ships are jumping into the system. They're...they're Geth!"

"Geth?" Woods said.

"Correct," Legion said. "We have begun our attack."

"I thought that you were supposed to wait until the Coalition fleet arrived," Jane said. "Why didn't you tell us that this was going to happen?"

"We were not informed. Our fleet was positioned within a short distance of this planet, hiding between star systems. This platform was not informed as we were concerned that communications may be intercepted."

"Why now?" Jane asked.

"Geth saw the turmoil that Crawford Captain's betrayal caused and concluded that now would be the best time to strike," Legion explained.

"So...you're going to help us?" Woods said.

"Not necessarily," Jane said. "I have no problem with stopping the massacre of your citizens, but attacking Crawford is the same as putting you back in power. You were the one that attacked Quarian and Coalition ships, tried to process a super weapon, and tried to usurp the Coalition. That and considering that you've probably committed countless war crimes, really, why should we help you?"

"I should kill you," Jade growled, aiming her rocket launcher at Jane.

"Stop it! Stand down!" Woods shouted. Jade reluctantly lowered her weapon as Woods looked up at Jane. "You need a reason to help us?" she asked. Jane nodded.

"The Geth do as well," Legion said. "The weapons you were developing threatened the security and existence of True Geth. Our presence here is to eliminate a threat."

Woods looked down at the ground before finally looking up again. "That weapon isn't ready yet, don't worry about it. If you help me get back in power...you'll have the Enclave's surrender," she said, looking as if the words were causing her physical pain

"WHAT!?" Warren shouted. "Madam President, you can't-"

"Lieutenant, shut up," Woods growled. "Do you think I want to do this? That I want to bow down before the people I've been trying to eliminate for years? Of course I don't, but I don't have any choice in the matter. Crawford has Omega Squad, he has 90% of the fleet, and above all, he has the Horde!" She looked at Jane again. "Help us...and we'll surrender to you."

"Based on body heat, heartbeat and respiration," Legion said, "we calculate a 99.264% chance that she is telling the truth."

"Good, you have a deal," Jane said.

"We will inform the fleet not to fire on forces loyal to you," Legion said.

"Good," she said, putting her finger to her ear. "Gallows, I want you to fall in line with the Geth fleet."

"What? But Madam-"

"Just do it!" she growled. "They're here to help!"

"I...very well," he said, sounding disbelieving as Woods lowered her hands.

"What next?" Moore asked.

"Give me that," Woods said, pointing to the torn remains of the Bill of Rights. Moore hesitated for a moment before walking towards the fragments of paper and picking them up, taking them over to Woods. Woods took her pen out of her front back and signed the torn bill. "There," she said before looking at Sam. "You, you've lead the Eagles for years." She gestured to the massive crowd of people still swarming around them. "Do you care about these people?"

"They're the ones I've been fighting for all these years," she said.

"Good. Congratulations, you're now the commander of the National Guard."

"What?" Sam said, her eyes widening in surprise.

"I had weapons and armor stored not that far away from here," Woods said, typing into her omni-tool. "Enough for tens of thousands of people. It's Marine equipment, it was meant for the National Guard once I signed the bill."

"You were planning on going through with this," Sam said.

"Yes. Give that equipment to these people if they want to fight," Woods said. "Don't deny them that right...Lieutenant General. Track Crawford down and kill him."

Sam's face was still covered with shock, but she nodded stiffly. "Everyone, come on," Jane said, "we've got work to do. A lot of work."

Or give me death.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Well I had a lot of things happen this chapter. I hope that you enjoyed it.


	64. Revolution

Chapter 64

Revolution

Author's Note: Well, the last chapter was rather well received. Let's get right back into the throng of things.

XXXXX

Jessica stood dumbfounded on top of a landing pad just outside of the White House. Countless soldiers were scurrying in every directions, setting up barricades just outside of the White House, some of them manning tanks and mounted heavy cannons, while just as many headed out into the city to set up further defenses.

"Jessica." The cyborg looked up to see Edward approaching her, Grace not far behind. "Crawford wants us inside." Jessica didn't say anything simply nodding.

"What, not saying anything again?" Grace growled, taking a step forward.

"Grace!" Edward snapped.

"Let the bitch speak for herself. It's not my fault if the fucking doll can't speak for herself or can't feel a damn thing! It's no wonder that she doesn't care that Rose is dead." She looked at Jessica, who was staring at her. "Why are you staring at me?" she hissed. "FUCK OFF!" she shouted, lunging at her with her fist. However Jessica sidestepped the blow, and slammed her own fist into Grace's stomach. The younger woman gasped in pain as Jessica stepped back and slammed her fist into Grace's face, knocking her to the ground.

Grace sprang back to her feet, roaring in rage as she tackled Jessica, sending her slamming into a wall as she pulled her claw back. However, no sooner had she tried to swing the claw that all of her limbs went limp and she fell to the ground. "That's enough!" Edward shouted, walking forward and pulling Jessica and Grace to her feet. "Grace, you should know better!" he said as he sat her down on a crate.

Grace didn't say anything as her limbs slowly started to move again, getting to her feet and glaring at Jessica. Jessica returned the glare. Come on, let's go," Edward said, walking towards the White House, Grace following. Jessica made to follow when her omni-tool beeped loudly. Hesitating, she lifting her arm up and pressed a button on it. A holographic image of a red headed woman in power armor appeared, looking at the screen. "Rose!" Jessica whispered hoarsely.

"Hey there Jessica," Rose said sadly. "If you're watching this...well...I'm dead. It's not something I just decided to do, I've been thinking about it for years now. Every day we're the slaves of the Enclave, we can't do anything if they say that we can't, and we'll be doing their dirty work till the day that we day. I just...something inside of me just clicked. I can't take this anymore so...I came up with an idea."

"I can't kill myself, and you two couldn't kill me either, so I had a realization. I could make enemy forces kill me. I had to be careful though, didn't want the Enclave to figure out what I was up to, but I was intentionally reckless when we were fighting, trying to find someone that could kill me while fighting someone with everything that I had."

Rose sighed, shaking her head. "Am I a coward for taking this route? The easy route? Going out and getting myself killed while leaving you and Grace to deal with this mess all by yourselves? Yeah...yeah it is selfish and I'm sorry for that but...I can't take this anymore. My sisters are gone. You two used to be so different, what happened to the Jessica that used to yell at me when I got into fights, or the Grace that was more interested in getting good grades then going out and partying. Maybe the real you is in their somewhere, I hope it is anyway but...I can't take it anymore."

She shook her head slightly, the beginning of tears forming in her eyes. "I'm a coward Jessy. I won't deny it I'm a coward, wanting to abandon you two like this. But...it's just too much for me. I'm sorry. I hope that you can pull through without me," she said. Slowly reaching forward. "I love you sis," she said, pressing a button and causing the recording to end.

Jessica blinked as she watched the video, her eyes slowly starting to sting as she did. "Jessica!" She looked up to see Edward waiting for her in front of the White House. Slowly, reluctantly, she began to walk forward. "Things aren't looking very good," he said as they stepped inside the building and made their way towards an elevator, stepping inside. "Sigma Squad and Alpha Squad have sided with President Woods, as have General Moore and Admiral Gallows. What's more, a Geth Fleet has been sighted within the system. They're maintaining their distance, but it won't be too long before they make their move and start attacking."

"So, exactly how are we supposed to survive this?" Grace asked angrily.

"Crawford is working on a plan," Edward said as the elevator slowed to a stop and slid open, the three of them walking out. "What he wants us to do is hold the White House until he can fully put it into action."

"Be his shields then?" Grace grumbled as they walked towards the Oval Office.

"...Yes," Edward answered sadly. No one said anything else as they walked into the Oval Office, Crawford sitting behind the desk.

"I said I don't care Goeth, I want it activated now!" he shouted at Woods' terminal.

"It's not ready yet Crawford," Goeth said, sounding rather amused. "And as fun as it would be to watch this blow up in your face, it'd be a shame if things were to come to a stop now. At the weapon's current state, it may not work at all, and even if it did, it could take hours for it to fully integrate itself. The Geth would most likely be able to detect it and pinpoint its origin."

"I don't care!" Crawford shouted. "This country needs to survive, and to do that it needs the Geth! Get that damn thing working now!"

"Ah yes, this country needs to survive. Freedom, Democracy, apple pie...all of that," Goeth said before letting out a loud yawn. It sounded like he was intentionally trying to anger Crawford. "Also please tell me, how exactly do you help a nation survive when you try to assassinate their leader?"

"Are you questioning me Goeth?" Crawford hissed.

"I'm just trying to figure out why every last person in any significant position of power is a hypocrite," Goeth said. "When you don't have the Coalition condemning the Council for war crimes before turning around and releasing the Rachni onto the galaxy, you have the Council attacking people for breaking laws that they didn't know existed, uplifting a violent species and then just sterilizing them and assuming the job is done, and finally we have people like you and Woods, who try to insist that they're doing the 'right' thing, even when you constantly use my work to accomplish your goals. It really does baffle me."

"Goeth, shut up," Crawford hissed. "I won't have you questioning the nobility of my actions."

"Now then, I can't question something that doesn't exist now do I?" Goeth asked.

"What gives you the right to criticize me!?" Crawford shouted. "Out of every last person on this planet, you're the most morally bankrupt and easily have the most blood on your hands!"

"Hm...most likely," Goeth said. "There may be a few that give me a run for my money, but I'm at least in the top ten. But then again, I'm the only one that'll admit it. The things that I do are considered horrible and twisted by the standards everyone claims to stand by. But the thing is that everyone breaks these so called 'moral standards' all the time. Bombing a colony is bad, according to these standards, but if you do it to kill a dangerous individual, it's acceptable to some. It's bad to kill someone, but it's acceptable if they deserve it. And it's bad to kill your leader, but if you really needed to, it's acceptable."

Goeth gave a slight chuckle. "I don't even know why society bothers with moral standards. Every time things get a little hard they're thrown to the wind with people saying 'oh, I HAD to do this,' or 'it was what needed to be done." It's actually rather amusing to watch people commit atrocities and then viciously try to convince themselves that they're still 'good guys.' It even gets rather funny when they start whining about how tortured they are because they broke these fragile little rules that everyone holds so near and dear to them for reasons I still don't quite understand. And then when they're accused of breaking these rules, it's amazing how offended and defensive they get, treating the word hypocrite like it's a dirty word, and acting like everything will be ok if no one understands what they've done. All these twists and turns, these lies so many live by, standards that are important, but then they really aren't, but then they really are. And people say that I'm insane. It's just-"

"Goeth," Crawford hissed. "I've had enough from you. Start up your machine and release the Horde."

"I mean people always...the Horde?" Goeth said hesitantly. Crawford could practically see the massive smile spread across his face. "Right away Admiral. I must say, it's going to be fun watching this city burn." Crawford reached forward and turned the audio feed off.

"You wanted to speak with us Admiral?" Edward asked, his voice stiff.

"Yes," Crawford said, sounding angry. "You probably heard that, Goeth is putting the final steps of the plan that Woods came up with into motion, but he needs more time. I want the three of you to head down to the sub-levels and help defend it along with the other soldiers I've sent down there. Goeth will be releasing the Horde at the oncoming hostile forces, but in case they fail in holding them off, I want the three of you as a trump card. Any questions?"

"Sir," Edward said slowly. "I thought that the Horde were like wild animals that couldn't be steered. Once they were released into an area, it was theorized that they would attack anything that moved."

"That is correct," Crawford said. "But while Woods never fielded them and forbid Goeth from ever conducting tests outside of his lab, the data that we have suggests that they should be deadly in combat. They should deal heavy casualties to the advancing forces, they might even break their assault."

"But sir, with the Horde in the field, the civilian causality rate will be-" Edward began, but Crawford cut him off.

"There is going to be fighting all around the White House and in the city. Civilians are already going to die, so we might as well make sure that we actually win the fight if they are. The Horde are a guaranteed victory, or at the very least a massive and useful asset that should be put to proper use. Now then, if I were you I'd start heading down to Goeth's lab. He's probably expecting you."

Crawford looking down at Woods' terminal and began typing into it as the three surviving member of Omega Squad turned and walked away, heading back to the elevator. "It should be fun to see the Horde tear those assholes apart, you can't deny that," Grace growled.

"Grace, you can't be serious," Edward said.

"Oh I'm sorry, were you the one that just had your sister killed!?" Graced shouted, looking at Edward.

"I-"

"No? Well then, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" she screeched, rounding on Edward. "How come you couldn't save her huh? You like to think that you're so fucking noble and that you're the only thing keeping us safe, but you couldn't save her now could you? How come Colonel!? HOW COME!?" Edward didn't say anything as he slowly walked past Grace and Jessica, heading to the elevator. Hissing, Grace turned to follow him. As she did, Jessica spotted a single tear trailing down her face.

XXXXX

Volker looked on in horror as he stood in the middle of New Washington stadium, staring at the countless bodies that were slowly being removed from the stands, being slid into body bags. As he did, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Tali standing behind him. "Are you ok?" she asked softly.

"No," Volker said weakly, looking back at the stands. "I...oh God," he whispered. "This wasn't even him killing civilians as a side effect to kill rebels. He...he just killed them outright. They couldn't fight back...and he just slaughtered them all." A handful of tears slid down his face. "God."

"I know," Tali said, gently, pulling him into a hug. "I know." She held him for a few seconds before they gently broke away, just in time to see Wrex approaching them, each of them carrying a body that they lay down on the ground, sliding them into nearby body bags before zipping them up. Garrus followed after them, looking a little shaken.

"Not pretty is it?" Wrex asked, looking at Volker. "You look shaken. Can't say I blame you. Things like this bring back memories of Tuchanka, and not good ones either. Stuff like this happens all the time, entire tribes get smashed because other tribes don't like them. Stupid really."

Garrus looked at Wrex, blinking in surprise. "You're not a normal Krogan are you?"

"Took that long to figure that out huh?" Wrex asked. "No I'm not. The way my people act is nothing short of disturbing and stupid. Really with the Genophage a lot of them have just stopped giving a shit."

"Hasn't anyone ever tried to unite them?" Garrus asked.

"I did," Wrex grumbled. "I actually thought that I was making progress when everything went to shit. Got attacked by my own father and had to kill him and abandon my home planet, just because I didn't honor tradition."

"Your father tried to kill you because you did things differently?" Volker asked, bad memories flowing to the front of his mind. Wrex nodded.

"And I take it that your tradition didn't exactly get you very far," Garrus remarked.

"Not really," Wrex said. "It just got us piles of bodies that we couldn't count."

"No kidding," Garrus said, looking at the massive number of corpses that still filled the stadium. "There must be at least a hundred thousand people dead here." Volker's face turned pale as the number reached his ears. Tali noticed.

"I think we need to get you some water," Tali said, leading Volker away from the bodies to the center of the stadium where hundreds of tables and beds had been set up, countless doctors treating citizens and soldiers that had been injured but had lived. She lead Volker towards one of hundreds of tanks of water that had been placed on a table, pouring him a cup of water and handing it to him.

"Tali, Volker." Glancing to the side, the two of them saw EDI approaching him. "Your heart rate is abnormally high Volker and you are showing several other signs of high stress. Are...are you all right?" she asked.

Volker shook his head. "All of this is...just too much."

"I see... is... is there anything that I can do to help?" EDI asked.

Volker blinked. "I... no thank you EDI, I'll live. Why do you ask though?"

"It... I'm not certain," EDI answered honestly. "It's just that... I can't fully describe it. I've...I've been trying to understand...certain concepts. I don't have many answers yet, but when I look around at all...all of this I can see...I can see everything. I can tell that there are 105,258 people in this stadium that are dead now, and most likely an estimated 5,000 wounded will be dead by the end of the day. I see how people react, people like you Volker, and people who are grieving over those who died and I now exactly how I feel about it. I...I want to kill Crawford."

"You want to...kill him?" Tali asked, sounding disbelieving.

"I don't understand why," EDI continued. "But I want to make my way to the White House now and kill him personally. I know that my odds of success are microscopic, but I still want to do everything that I can to hunt him down and personally kill him. It...it doesn't make any sense but I just want him to die for what he did here." EDI shook her head slightly. "Nothing about this makes any sense."

"EDI, trust me," Volker said. "Wanting him dead makes perfect sense."

"That's not what I meant," EDI said. "For an organic certainly, but for a synthetic it's just not...it isn't...pardon me," she said, walking past her.

Volker watched after her as she left. "What does she mean that it's not the same?"

"Organics and synthetics are two completely different things. We just don't think the same," Tali said. "Everything that they do is defined purely by logic, they don't have any emotions. They shouldn't care when people die."

"I don't understand. They talk and think don't they?" Volker asked.

"I'm not surprised you don't understand," Tali said, "computers hadn't even been invented when you were abducted."

"But EDI was upset just now. How could she be upset if she doesn't feel emotions?"

Tali paused for a second. "I'm not going to lie, I don't know. I really don't know."

EDI continued to walk, until eventually she walked past Jane, Moore, Legion, Rael and Sam, who were standing next to Woods as a doctor examined her. Fawkes and Charon were also standing behind Jane. "Moore, what's the status of our forces?" Woods asked, looking at the General.

Moore in turn, typed viciously into her omni-tool, her eyes sweeping back and forth over the massive amount of data that was flowing in front of her eyes. "Forces are converging in on both the stadium and the White House. Three infantry divisions and two tank divisions have arrive, in addition to dozens of smaller units. Tens of thousands of citizens have also volunteered for the National Guard, and are being outfitted with weapons and armor just outside the stadium as well. That and the Geth are still on the way."

"We will reach geosynchronous orbit with the planet soon, we are holding back until Enclave Loyalist ground forces are ready to deploy," Legion said. "After they do, we will engage Enclave Separatist naval forces and create an opening in their defenses. Once we do, we will deploy dropships and drop heavy support platforms to provide reinforcements."

"Speaking of which, how long until we're ready to move out?" Woods asked.

EDI stopped, looking at them. She was still deeply confused, but she didn't have time for worry about it right now. Right now she had to be useful. "Considering how long it will take to organize incoming forces, arm the National Guard, and distribute munitions, it will take an estimated two hours until we are ready to deploy.

Woods looked at EDI for a second. "So, that's what they did with my infiltrator," she mumbled.

"Thank you EDI," Jane said, turning to look at Woods and Moore. "Now then, do you two have any information on the forces that Crawford is moving into the White House? Any idea how heavily it's fortified?"

"It's already pretty heavily fortified," Moore said, "but what we can see from cameras and scouts is that Crawford is moving as many forces as he can into the building in addition to around it. It doesn't help that he's got the three remaining members of Omega Squad on his side."

"He's got more than that. He has the Horde too," Woods said.

"You mentioned that before," Jane said, looking at Woods. "What's the Horde?"

Woods sighed before speaking some more. "The Horde...they're an abomination of life. Over the years, Goeth was given countless people to experiment on, Human and alien. He did things to them with cybernetic implants and the Forced Evolutionary Virus. They're all either criminals, prisoners, captives. A few of them where even volunteers for the Enclave Special Forces that were given implants as extensive as Omega Squad's that Goeth kept adding onto once it was clear they failed. Apparently implants that extensive can drive a person mad especially when the person giving them doesn't care if the implants he designed traumatize them because of the pain they cause. It's why I only allowed Goeth to give our Special Forces more tame implants. I've seen a handful of them...God."

"You allowed the FEV to be used on people against their will?" Fawkes growled, taking a step forward.

Charon put an arm out in front of him. "Easy their big guy. I know that's a touchy subject for you, but we can't afford to pick fights right now."

"A lot of the Horde had already been established by the time I was elected," Woods said. "But...I won't lie, at least a thousand of the people that Goeth got their hands on. Including the Cerberus and Quarian personal that we captured."

"You did what!?" Rael shouted, furious. "You gave my men to some madman to experiment on?! Where are they being kept, tell me!"

"Don't bother, they're probably beyond help now," Woods grumbled. "Goeth was practically getting a hard on that he finally had some Quarians to work with. He was complaining that the last shipment wasn't getting to him because he was running out of subjects to test on. He probably even put anything else that he was working on on the back burner just to work with them."

"You used hundreds of Quarians as test subjects?" Rael asked angrily. "And now they're beyond help? How is that any different from killing them?"

"It isn't," Woods said. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. I did what I had to do. I won't beg for forgiveness."

"You-" Rael hissed, but Jane interrupted him.

"Admiral, you're angry and you have every right to be, but right now we need to focus on dealing with Crawford. With the Horde and the Geth in his hands, he's more of a threat to all of us than she ever could be right now. It doesn't help that he has that virus to rewrite the Geth, and even if it'd take time for him to finish it, we need to stop him before he even gets close."

"You're right, it'll be done in days," Woods said.

"I...days!? How is that even possible?" Rael demanded. "I did the calculations, even with the data I acquired from the Geth it would've taken months, maybe even years for us to finish it."

"We attacked a Geth convoy that flew too close to our territory," Woods said. "It was carrying highly advanced technology. It matches the design of the Geth dreadnought that Saren used to attack Eden Prime, so it was most likely the Geth loyal to him. We were using it to accelerate our research. It's why we finally decided to reveal ourselves and attack you."

"That technology is not Geth," Legion said. "The dreadnought Saren used is named Nazara, and it is far older than the Geth."

"What?" Woods asked. "I...than what is it?"

"We do not know, but Saren was able to use it to sway the Heretic Geth to his side," Legion said.

"Why couldn't he just use it to brainwash the Geth himself if his technology is so advanced?" Rael asked.

"We suspect that his knowledge on synthetics was limited," it said. "The Enclave's weapon relies on the combined forces of Enclave, Creator and Nazara's technology. We estimate that we would be able to resist a viral attack from Nazara, so no doubt additional modifications would have to be made to subject us to control."

"It would be prudent for us to eliminate it as soon as we can," EDI said.

Jane nodded before looking at Woods. "What kind of forces make up the Horde. Anything specific?"

"I didn't look at anything he did. It disgusted me too much," Woods muttered. "But I did see a couple when he first introduced me to it. One of them was twelve feet tall and had natural gray armor. It used to be a Krogan, Goeth told me that he had added on an extra set of organs, three in total, and he said that blood vessels wouldn't pump blood into bleeding organs, and made it so that the other organs would be able to go on without it.. In other words, he designed it to have three sets of organ, and made it so that it could operate fully with only one."

"Aim for the head, got it," Jane said. "Anything else?"

"He doesn't create Super Mutants, he thinks that they're too boring. Any Human he gets, he implants with cybernetics until they're barely Human. The few that I saw were like the mutated Krogan, they were more like animals that knew how to use weapons. Each one probably has something different about them, but Goeth had a lot of weapons and explosives sent down to his lab, so they're probably heavily armed. That's all I know. That and that the Horde is around ten thousand strong."

"Well, we'll make do," Sam said.

"Should you even be going out there?" Woods said, looking at Sam. "You were pretty badly wounded during your fight with Omega.

"I got some medi-gel put on it, I'll hold out. Speaking of Omega I've been meaning to ask you about that. How come Rose seemed so happy to die? How come before she died she said that 'they can't hurt me anymore.' Huh?"

Woods sighed. "Not now. It won't help you against Crawford. All you need to know is that now they'll take orders from him and not me."

"How about you tell me what's going on," Sam hissed, reaching for her sword. "You already admitted that you let Goeth play God with who knows how many people. For every person that he does have, five more probably died. How come your getting a conscious out of the blue?"

"Sam," Jane said, "we'll have to focus on this later. Right now we need to get ready. We're going to make our move as soon as we're ready."

"Fine," Sam said, glaring at Woods. "But this conversation isn't over." Woods didn't say anything."

XXXXX

Saren angrily walked back and forth in the control room of the Collector base, several technicians hastily typing into terminals that had been set up in front of them. Rana was doing the same. "Well?" he asked, looking at them. "Have you traced the signal yet?"

"We're working on it," a Turian said, sounding rather scared as he continued to type into his terminal. "It was very heavily encrypted, and even with Sovereign boosting our output it might take awhile to...wait...I'm narrowing it down...it looks like it was sent to Omega."

"Omega...good, it's not that far from here," Saren said. "Narrow it down further, millions of people live on that station, I need to know who it was specifically sent to."

"I'm working on it," the Turian said, "but this encryption code is first class. The Shadow Broker has been operating for decades without anyone getting close to finding him, and for a good reason. I can't just clap my hands and get you the information that you-"

"Work...faster," Saren growled. The Turian didn't say another word, hastily typing into his terminal. "I'll be on Sovereign. Rana, come with me." Slowly, she got to her feet and walked after him. Slowly, they stepped onto the airlock that was connecting the Collector base and Sovereign. "I...owe you an apology."

"Saren?"

"I'm...I'm under a lot of stress right now," he said. "The Coalition, the Shadow Broker, the Geth, the Enclave...you understand right?" he asked. Rana nodded slowly. "How is your eye? Do you need more medi-gel for it?"

"No...I'm fine," Rana said quietly.

"I'm sorry Rana..." Saren said softly. "I owe you a lot. None of this would be possible if it wasn't for you. She smiled slightly. As she did, a console behind Saren began to beep loudly. "What's that?" she asked. Saren crossed the room and looked down at the console. A smile spread across his face as he did.

"It's the bugs in the Reaper core that the Enclave have. They picked up a massive amount of activity in the core. The Enclave is trying to bring it online and take control of the True Geth." He sounded positively ecstatic. "They managed to perfect the technology...they're going to do it."

"Does this mean that-" Rana began.

"Our forces will be multiplied beyond counting!" Saren said, his hands shaking as they flew across the keyboard in front of him. "I just need to activate the override now. I should be able to hijack the signal and make the Geth obey my own commands instead of the Enclave's. Just a little bit-" he stopped mid-sentence as the terminal in front of him beeped loudly. Before he could do anything else, a picture filled the screen. A picture of a man with a gold tooth in a white labcoat.

His eyes widened upon seeing Saren. "I wondered who these bugs would transmit out to, and I had a feeling that it would be you," he said, "who else has access to technology this advanced besides you?"

"Who are you?" Saren growled.

"Dr. Goeth," the man said, "civilian scientist, working for the Enclave...possibly. We're having a little bit of a civil war on this end, so I'll have to make this call short. I've got an army to lead, another army to brainwash, a third one to crush, in short I'm a very busy man this afternoon."

"What...I..." Saren said, pulling up his omni-tool. "My...my implants...they aren't over ridding the Reaper core!" he shouted, sounding terrified.

"Oh, those things?" Goeth asked. "I found them a couple of days after I got this. Ripped them out right after, but I left the bugs in. I wanted to see where they transmitted out to. And they transmit out to-"

"Cut the damn signal!" Saren shouted, looking at Rana, who ran forward and stopped in front of the console. She viciously typed into it, but the picture of Goeth didn't fade, even as a window of text appeared in the corner.

"I can't, he's overriding me and hitting me from multiple directions!" she shouted, sounding as if she was panicking.

"Let me see now...oh my. That's rather interesting," Goeth said, smiling at Saren. "The Galactic Core? Now how did you get there? That's something that I'd like to know."

"That's none of your damn business Human," Saren growled.

"That's not very polite," Goeth said, wagging his finger at Saren. "You really should speak with more respect. Besides, if I'm going to spend my time talking with you, you should at the very least try and convince me that the time is worth spending. After all, the Geth aren't going to brainwash themselves back into slavery."

"So, you're going to use the Reaper core to gather an army of Geth?" Saren snarled.

"Well...yes," Goeth said bluntly. "But that's what you wanted me to do isn't it? Besides, you did the same thing this year, in fact, you just wanted to bolster your forces with this," he said. "I don't really understand why you're getting so angry about this."

"Why I'm angry? It's because you Humans and the rest of the Coalition, are warmongering, militaristic, violent and selfish!" Saren shouted.

"Can't deny that," Goeth said, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "I'm curious though, how come you think you're responsible enough to control an army of Geth?"

"I'm the only one with enough common sense and enough guts to do what the Council is too weak and incompetent to-" he began

"Yes yes, the government is run by idiots, politicians are the devil, blah, blah, blah, I have to put up with that every day on this planet," Goeth interrupted. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're not exactly the first person who thought that he was smarter than his government. So really, what makes you qualified?"

"You people are a threat, someone needs to-"

"Right right, you said that we were a threat, because we were warmongering, militaristic, violent and selfish," Goeth said, counting the insults off on his finger. "Didn't miss anything did I? Well then, to be militaristic is to glorify the military or to put the military at the front of things that must be expanded, the latter applies to you while the former applies to Turian society as a whole, and really to all species. To be warmongering is to actively seek out wars, and who really struck first, the Coalition or you? To be violent is...well to be violent, and you're not exactly a pacifist. And to be selfish is to only care about yourself and what you want, and you seem to be running a solo operation here based off of what you want."

Goeth smiled. "So in the end, it seems that everything that inspires your righteous hatred in the Coalition...it all applies to you too."

"I am NOTHING LIKE YOU!" Saren roared, slamming both of his fists down on either side of the console. "I am actually trying to accomplish a greater good. What are YOU trying to accomplish!?"

"At the moment? I'm just trying to learn really," Goeth said. "People are so...complicated. Needlessly complicated. They have to come up with all of these standards, reasons and justifications for every last little thing that they do, setting up countless networks of what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable except sometimes it is actually acceptable because of different standards that weren't put in at first for some reason." He let out a bored sigh. "It's quite depressing really. We spend so much time bidding by a system that we set up purely to cause stagnation and monotony, willing to stick to the status quo instead of discovering what powers we are truly capable of."

"Power? What are you talking about?" Saren hissed.

"Ah ah ah, you haven't met my little darlings yet," Goeth said. "I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I imagine that you'll be seeing their pretty little faces soon. But getting back on track, I have to ask you something. If you succeed in your goal, what do you think will happen? I'm curious."

"The galaxy will be safe without the Coalition and life will go on peacefully," Saren snapped.

"Ah...you see...that makes no sense," Goeth said. "First of all, life will never go on peacefully. It didn't after the Rachni Wars, the Krogan Rebellions, the Morning War, the Great War, or any other war in the history of this galaxy. There will always be another war right around the corner, usually even bigger than the last one. Secondly I have to ask yourself why you care so much about protecting 'life.' What do you mean life will go on, are you concerned with the Coalition stepping on plants?"

"I'm talking about the civilians that the Coalition threatens," Saren hissed.

"And why do you protect them?"

"It's my duty."

"You protect them because you have to? What kind of reasoning is that?"

"I protect the innocent, civilians, people that can't defend themselves because no one else will."

"Ok, now we're getting somewhere. Why do you protect civilians?"

"Because they're what makes up a species' culture and what allows a species to survive. If civilians aren't protected, a species will die."

"I see...but you've killed tens of thousands of Coalition civilians. I thought that you wanted to protect them."

"Coalition civilians aren't worth protecting," Saren growled. "They're part of the problem."

"If civilians aren't worth protecting, then how come you even bother doing it?" Goeth asked. "This is what I don't get about people, they always run around in circles with their morals and reasoning, to the point where it's a miracle that even they know what they're doing." He shook his head. "What you're doing and what everyone else is doing it's all just pointless, tedious busywork." Goeth sighed slightly, sounding disappointed. "I hoped that you might be able to convince me that I'm not the only sane man in the galaxy. You were a disappointment. Pardon me, I need to get the Geth under control."

"What are you going to do with them!?" Saren demanded.

"Well...I'll probably crush the loyalist forces, then overthrow Crawford, conquer the Coalition, then move on to declaring war on the rest of the galaxy," Goeth said bluntly. "I'll see where it goes from there."

"I thought that you were just criticizing me for wanting to kill civilians!" Saren shouted. "If you're doing the same thing, then you're no better than I am."

"I know. I'm not. I just really don't care," Goeth said. "I was just trying to figure out how your logic works. I find my breed of logic much more preferable. Just do what comes naturally to you and enjoy yourself." He gave a toothy smile, his gold tooth glinting. "My advice Saren? You clearly enjoy what you do. Stop denying that to yourself and just give in. Have fun. I did it a long time ago and my life has never been better."

Goeth glanced to the side slightly. "Whoopsy daisy, look at the time," he said. "I enjoyed our little chat Saren. Thank you for the present." And with that, the image of Goeth disappeared. Saren stared at the console, not saying anything. A minute passed.

"Saren...are you ok?" Rana asked. Instead of answering, Saren let out a roar as he drew his rifle, opening fire on the console until his clip overheated, bullets smashing into the screen and shattering it. Rana looked on, too scared to say anything.

Thousands of light-years away, Goeth smiled as he stepped away from a terminal. He was standing in a massive room that stretched on, thousands of pods lining the walls of the room, some of them the size of Humans, some of them much larger. Slowly, he walked towards a stand in the middle of the room, pressing a button on his omni-tool. The pods began to creek open, cold air gushing out as it did.

"Wake up boys and girls," Goeth said as he stood on the platform and pressed another button on his omni-tool. Two dozen mechanical arms rose up out of the ground, holding bits and pieces of black armor that were placed on him, slowly encasing him as the bits of armor slowly interconnected. Eight long thin metal legs with spikes on the end emerged from the back of Goeth's armor, four of them planting themselves into the ground and lifting him up into the air while the other four hung over his head, ready to strike. "Let's go out and play," he said, smiling as an arm placed a helmet over his head. A single red line glowed brightly on his helmet as figures slowly emerged from the pods, growling.

XXXXX

Author's Note: You know...I think Goeth might be my favorite villain. That I've wrote of course. I hope I didn't go too far with him in this chapter and annoy some people, but I think I've kinda been neglecting him as of late. Well, please tell me what you think.


	65. The Horde

Chapter 65

The Horde

Author's Note: Well, I think I've been teasing you long enough about the Horde. Time to show you just what they're made of.

XXXXX

Roger sighed slightly as he sat in the back of a Rhino APC as it rolled through the streets of New Washington. The Normandy crew had been divided among the Enclave Loyalist and rebel forces for their attack on the White House, which was going to be a three pronged attack, hitting the building from separate angles.

"You holding up?" Roger looked up to see Sheryl sitting right next to him, her rifle lying in her lap.

"I'll live," Roger said. "I'm just a little uncomfortable about all of this. I mean we are working with the same people we were trying to kill a couple of days ago.

"No kidding," Nora said from where she sat on the other side of the APC, a new heavy rifle in her hands. "And now we've got this...Horde thing to deal with."

"The Captain was pretty brief on what they were," Cornelia said from where she sat next to Nora. "It's a little unnerving."

"We survived a clash with Omega and Sigma Squad," Nora said, smiling slightly and looking at Cornelia. "We can take them."

Cornelia nodded slightly. "So, how long until the White House? I'm not sure I can take sitting down like this much longer. She looked around as she spoke. A couple of Eagles wearing National Guard armor were sitting in the back of the same APC as they were, but apart from them they were empty.

"It depends on how much resistance we run into," Sheryl said. "It could take awhile."

"And the only main support we have are the Enclave Loyalists...is that what they're calling themselves?" Roger asked. "The people who were ok with genocide and oppression so long as Woods was the one calling the shots?"

"Yup," Nora said, a bitter look on her face. "And the same woman that came within an inch of killing Tali's father. Charming."

"Yeah, I don't get what's so great about the bitch either," Roger said. "Sure she tried to do right by her people, but so did Napoleon, and he still tried to conquer an entire continent. And that's my problem. We've got a couple thousand people we can count on, like these guys," he said, gesturing to the Eagles. "What's going to stop the Loyalists from turning on us the second that they don't need us anymore? We were supposed to get a united fleet to support us. All we got was the Geth and they haven't landed yet, the bulk of the people that we have to work with are the same people that want to kill all of the damn dirty zombies."

"Christ you've got a filthy mouth," Nora said. "Charon would take your head off if he heard you talking like that."

"Yeah I know," Roger said. "Can't say I blame him. In fact he's probably livid right now. Fawkes is probably even worse though, you see how pissed he gets whenever we fight someone, he might just rip someone's head off before this is all over."

"Hope he can take his rage out on the Separatists," Cornelia said. "We need the help we can get right now."

"I suppose we do," Sheryl said. "This could go very badly very quickly." A moment of silence passed.

"Hey...just in case things go bad," Roger said, looking at the three other members of the Normandy crew. "I just want you guys to know that I'm sorry that I was such a dick when I first joined up. We've gone through a lot of crap and you've had my back every step of the way. Thanks."

"Getting all mushy on us Andrews?" Nora said, smiling slightly. "Well, apology accepted. And while we're at it, I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions with you. I had you all pegged wrong...well not at first, when I first met you, you were an asshole. But you changed, and I didn't realize it." Roger smiled as he nodded. "Also...thank you. You too Sheryl. Just having someone to talk to about it...knowing that someone else understands...God it just takes a weight off of my chest. I feel like I can breathe again."

"Uh...what are you guys talking about?" Cornelia asked.

"Oh...sorry," Nora said. "It's...kinda personal."

"Say no more," she said. "I understand if you want to keep some secrets. Heck, I'm good at keeping secrets, I would know why some people need them."

"Well thanks for-" Nora was cut off as an explosion reached her ears. "Ambush?" she asked, getting to her feet along with everyone else, weapons in hand.

"Oh Christ! Fuck! Kill it! Kill it!" The APC they were in ground to a halt.

"Come on!" Nora shouted, kicking the back door open as everyone inside filed out. As they landed on the ground, a body hit the ground right in front of them, blood pouring out from it's neck as a figure flew over head, four more not far behind it.

"SHIT! They're coming back!" A nearby Marine shouted, raising his rifle along with the rest of his squad, the APCs and tanks aiming their turrets at it. They were at the back of the convoy, made up mostly of APCs with around a dozen tanks making up the front, the tanks unable to fire accurately on the airborne enemies with their main guns.

"The fuck are those things!?" Roger shouted as the five flying creatures doubled back and headed towards them. As they did, a barrage of missiles flew from one and hit an APC directly, causing it to explode. An orb of biotic energy flew from another and hit a Marine, sending his lifeless body flying back. Aiming her heavy rifle at one of the objects, Nora fired three shots, Sheryl squeezing a shot out of her sniper rifle and even the nearby APC hitting it with a stream of bullets.

The figure screeched in pain as it fell to the ground, smashing into the pavement. No sooner had it landed though, then it had gotten to it's feet, charging at Cornelia as it let out a blood curtailing roar. Cornelia fired off a few bullets from her SMG as it charged at her, and as she drew her sword, she got a good look at it. It was a Standard-Human woman...or at least it had been at one point.

Thick gray armor surrounded it, but there were two openings in the back where massive metal wings were jutting out of, stiff and with rockets attacked to the underbelly in addition to missiles. Blood seemed to be seeping out of the back where the wings entered the armor and buried their roots in her back. Metal plates had been attached to the woman's face, a sickly pair of yellow cybernetic eyes glowing brightly as her mouth opened widely in a screech. Both of her arms were cybernetic with sharpened claws for fingers, not unlike Rogers. They were stained were blood, as was the space around the woman's face.

Shrieking, the woman dove her hand forward, aiming to rip Cornelia's head off, but the skirmisher hastily sidestepped the blow, the woman burying her hand in the APC behind Cornelia. "Hurts," the woman whispered, "it hurts." Pausing for only a second, Cornelia dashed forward, thrusting her sword forward, biotic energy surrounding it. It smashed through the woman's armor, bright red blood pouring form it. "It hurts!" the woman shouted, swinging her free hand at Cornelia, tearing at her side and opening a wide gash in her side as the skirmisher winced in pain, dropping her SMG and catching the arm with her now free hand. "IT HURTS!" the woman shrieked, opening her mouth wide and bitting viciously down on the arm holding her.

Grimacing in pain, Cornelia thrust her sword forward, burying it in the woman's throat before gathering biotic energy around her foot to kick the now dead woman away, landing a few feet away from her. No soon had she landed then a loud beep emanated from the woman's armor, and her suit exploded viciously, the blast knocking Cornelia off of her feet. "What?" she whispered, looking at the woman as she hastily got to her feet. A massive hole had been blown in the front of her armor, a gaping hole present in the middle of her chest, a shattered rib cage with the bones forced outward and several scorched organs clearly visible.

"You ok?" Sheryl shouted, aiming her rifle into the air and firing at another one of the flying creatures. This one was much different from the woman that Cornelia had killed. It didn't resemble a Human at all, or any species for that matter. Instead of a full suit of power armor, this creature had a simple gray vest wrapped around its chest, leaving it naked apart from that. Pure white feathers covered every inch of the creature's bare body, including the massive wings that were beating to keep it airborne. A purple aura seemed to be glowing around it as it dived, swinging at another Marine. It's hands and feet ended with massive vicious looking talons. Narrow olive covered eyes marked the creature's narrow face, it's mouth open wide to reveal rows of needle sharp teeth as it roared in rage.

Swiping it's claws at Sheryl, the creature was brought down as Nora threw a ball of biotic energy at it, hitting it in the chest and causing it to float helplessly in the center in the air. Grabbing her SMG up off of the ground, Cornelia aimed and took fire at the disabled abomination along with Nora, Roger and Sheryl. Their combined firepower tore through it's barriers, a shot from Nora's rifle piercing its skull. The bullet had barely left when there was another loud beep, and the vest around the winged humanoid exploded, thankfully harmlessly in the middle of the air.

"What going on with these things!?" Roger shouted, raising his rifle and firing at the remaining three flyers. They banked around opened fire again, two swarms of missiles flying at one of the tanks, engulfing it in fire, while a massive ball of biotic energy flew at another APC, causing it to meet a similar fate.

"Kill them! Kill those fucking-GAH," A Marine shouted as the winged creature dove down at him and dug its talons into his flesh flying up before smashing his head against the side of a building and letting his limp body fall to the ground. The two cyborgs doubled back again, this time firing gatling guns on their wings at the ground, three Marines and two Eagles quickly subcoming to the heavy fire.

"We're going to be shredded by those things if we don't stop them soon!" Cornelia shouted. "But they explode when we kill them!"

"Cornelia, with me!" Nora shouted. "You people, get ready to shoot!" she shouted, looking at the Enclave soldiers before sending another ball of biotic energy up into the air, Cornelia doing the same. The balls hit the two cyborgs and froze them in mid-air. The Enclave forced didn't hesitate to open fire, countless rifles and over a dozen turrets firing on them, killing them within seconds and causing them to exploded.

The remaining creature flew down at them, roaring in anger as Sheryl hastily drew her crossbow, taking aim and firing a precise shot. The bolt flew through the creatures barrier and embedded itself in its throat, the creature falling to the ground, a handful of nearby soldiers diving for cover as a beep and an explosion quickly followed.

"Was...was that the Horde?" Roger panted, putting his hand on his knees.

"Must've been," Nora said, looking at the charred remains of one of the entirely organic creatures. "Jesus, it's like a Harpy. What...what is that thing."

"It used biotics didn't it?" Cornelia asked. "Both of them? It could be that it's an Asari that got dipped in FEV."

"Christ," Roger said. "And there were only five of them." He looked around at the many bodies and three burning vehicles. "And...how many people did we lose?"

"Dozens at the very least," Nora growled. "and Woods said that the Horde was around ten-thousand in number.

"Ten-thousand more of these things...shit," Roger swore.

Nora gave a sigh. "Come on. We fought the Rachni and lived, we can fight them."

"Right," Roger said, looking at Cornelia as she produced a tube of medi-gel and gingerly applied it to her wounds. "You ok?"

"Could be better," she hissed, holding up her arm. "I think she took a chunk out of me." Sure enough, a good piece of flesh had been torn out of Cornelia's arm, blood flowing freely before she plugged it up with megi-gel. "We should probably radio in what we learned so far, they can fly and they explode when they die."

"Right," Roger said as the convoy began to move forward again. 'God,' he thought, looking at the dead woman, noticing the blood that was leaking out of her back where her wings entered her body and the horrible twisted expression on her face. Slowly, he lifted his own cybernetic arm up and looked at it before looking at her again. He shivered.

"Hey, you ok?" He turned around to see Sheryl right next to him, looking at him with concerned eyes. He had never really noticed it before, but Sheryl was a little short and barely came up to his shoulders, most likely because of there being a scarcity of food in Alaska.

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine," Roger lied as he lifted his finger to his ear. "Captain?"

"Don't lie to me," Sheryl said, grabbing his arm and pulling it down. "What's the matter?"

"Sheryl, I am really not in the mood for this," Roger growled.

Sheryl folded her arms in front of her as she glared at Roger. "No more of this 'I'm a tough guy I can take it' act, I had enough of that the second you got onto the ship. What's the matter?"

"I...not now," he muttered.

"So there is something wrong?" Sheryl asked.

"...Yeah."

Sheryl paused for a second before speaking. "Well then don't hide it. It won't help anyone, especially yourself. You can talk to us." Behind her, Nora and Cornelia nodded. Roger smiled weakly as he lifted his hand up to his ear again, the four of them climbing back into the APC.

XXXXX

Anderson let out a slight groan as he looked at the datapad on the table in front of him. He was currently sitting in his office on the Citadel. He had just received word about the civil war that had broken out between the Enclave Separatists and Loyalists and how the True Geth had moved in early to take advantage of the situation. He had also received word that the Normandy crew was working with the Loyalists in exchange for their surrender.

"Jane, what are you doing?" Anderson whispered silently.

"Anderson!" The Admiral looked up to see Udina storming into his office, Fleet Admiral Hackett right behind him. "We need to talk. Why have we received word about Captain Shepard and her men making their move against the Enclave three days before our fleet was scheduled to arrive!?"

"I got the same report Udina," Anderson grumbled, looking down at the datapad again. "Thins changed, the Enclave went to war on itself. Shepard jumped in order to take advantage of an opening."

"And we're honestly supposed to believe that the Loyalists will just surrender once the Separatists have been routed?" Udina asked. "What's stopping them from turning on the spot and attacking us again? And even if their leaders are being honest with us, what happens if the lower ranking officers decide that they don't want to be subjugated by the Coalition and keep on fighting us!?"

"I know Udina," Anderson growled, "I'm less than happy about it too. The situation is less than ideal. Shepard had to make a judgement call and she did. Hopefully with the Geth in the area, they'll be able to hold out until Admiral Marcus gets there, maybe even finish off the Enclave."

"A little optimistic," Udina said. "It's only a single fleet of Geth ships that are attacking them. With all the time that the Enclave have had to dig in, they may very well be able to repel them."

"There's not much we can do at the moment," Hackett said, interrupting the two. "What's done has been done. All we can do is properly react to the situation. At the moment that isn't much other than informing Admiral Marcus to continue on his pre-designated course and to provide support to any friendly forces left when he arrives. And I have already given him these orders."

"Well, this is just wonderful," Udina grumbled. "First Saren attacks the Coalition, then the Enclave remerges and launches their own attacks, it's only a matter of time before massive squids that can control minds take over the galaxy."

"Now is not the time for jokes," Anderson said.

"I agree," Udina said. "We have a problem that needed to be taken care of a long time ago. Rear-Admiral Mikhailovich."

"You still suspect him of being the Enclave's mole?" Anderson asked.

"The second he left your office after confronting you about pulling ships from his fleet, he made this transmission," Udina said, typing into his omni-tool. "I managed to get a recording of it from C-Sec." Pressing a button a recording began to play

"I need to talk to you right now, can you make it?" Mikhailovich's voice said.

"Yes. The flux. Same table. See you then," a female voice said.

"This evidence is still only circumstantial," Anderson pointed out. "It's suspicious, but it doesn't pin him down."

"But you can't deny that he has been a problem lately. He contacted Marcus' fleet and got information on how it was being formed and where it was going. He could've made it so that that information was 'accidentally' intercepted by the Enclave."

Anderson frowned. It sounded like a legitimate tactic. "Still, we don't have enough evidence to make an arrest."

"Not for treason, but we have enough evidence to arrest him for espionage and for being a security threat for that little stunt that he pulled," Udina said. "Then once we do that, we have a legal reason to launch an investigation on him. We'll get all the evidence that we need."

"Udina, with all due respect...is this legal?" Anderson asked.

"It most certainly is!" Udina said indignantly. "I am arresting Mikhailovich for things that he did in fact do, and investigating him once he has been arrested for said crime is quite legal. If he turns out to be the Enclave's mole, then we'll have caught him red handed. If he's not, then he should've thought a bit more about jumping the chain of command when we're supposed to be operating on a need to know basis for a reason."

Silence filled the air for a moment. "All right," Hackett said, looking at Udina. "You've made your point. I'll send the MPs after him."

"I suppose that we don't have much of an option here," Anderson sighed.

"I'm glad to see that the two of you are seeing sense," Udina said. "Now we need to-" he was cut off as both Anderson's and Hackett's omni-tools beeped loudly at the same time. "Ugh, what is it now?" Anderson asked, looking at the two of them.

"Watch your tone," Hackett said scathingly, he and Anderson activating their omni-tools. "I...what."

"How...how is this possible?" Anderson asked, reading from his own omni-tool.

"What? What is it?" Udina asked, looking back and forth from Hackett to Anderson.

"It's information from...from the Mysterious Stranger," Anderson said.

"The Mysterious...are you sure?" Udina asked. "It could very well be someone who just sent you a message with his name slapped on it."

"That is a possibility," Anderson said, looking over the data some more. "But it's still worth looking at. I...oh God. According to this the Batarians were attempting to salvage a ship as big as the Geth dreadnought that attacked Eden Prime. Apparently it was the same model as well."

"How is that even possible?" Udina asked. "Where did they even get a ship like that?"

"I don't know. But according to this, it was attacked by Saren and his Geth, with them seizing the ship from the Batarians," Anderson said, looking up. "Should we confront the Batarians over this? Maybe show this to the Council?"

"Based on evidence that could've come from a random xenophobe that just wants us to start a war with the Batarians?" Udina said. "Too risky Anderson. Besides what would we do if we did confront them. Demand that they hand over and and all research data or parts connected to the ship? Saren took it away from them, they'll just deny that it ever existed, and we won't have a lot of evidence to prove them wrong."

"You're right," Anderson said, looking down at his omni-tool again. "You're right, as much as I don't want to admit it." His eyes scanned the data. "You're not going to like this, but there's more. Apparently there was an attack on a Blue Suns controlled planet out in the Terminus Systems. Highly advanced technology was used, the ships orbiting the planet were all destroyed, and the leader of the Blue Suns was killed."

"This at the very least we can confirm," Hackett said. "We have some Cerberus operatives in the Terminus Systems. They haven't heard anything about the Blue Suns being attacked like this, but I can have them check on it without drawing too much attention."

"Is there some kind of connection between the two of these?" Anderson asked. "They both came from the same source, and according to this data they didn't happen that far apart from each other, they both took place during the same month."

"Who knows if they're connected, the entire galaxy is going mad," Udina said.

"It's a possibility, but right now we can't look into the incident involving the Batarians that much," Hackett said. "All we can do is investigate what we can about the Blue Suns." Hackett turned and headed for the door. "I need to tell the Illusive Man to make his men get what information they can, not to mention telling the MPs to take in Mikhailovich." And with that, he left.

Anderson sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "The higher and higher up I go on the chain of command, the less I like it," he said.

"Someone has to be in charge," Udina said. "And while I think you would make an awful politician Anderson, there's no denying that you're an excellent officer."

Anderson smiled weakly. "Thank you Udina. Now then if you don't mind, I have work to do."

XXXXX

"Roger, now is not a good time!" Jane shouted as she manned the turret on a Rhino APC, her fingers jammed down on the trigger as she opened fire. The convoy that she was a part of was the same size as the others heading through the city. They had run into a blockage that the Enclave Separatists had set up, dozens of soldiers taking cover behind metal barricades, firing mounted machine-guns and rocket launchers, three APCs providing support. A lone tank opened fire, a ball of plasma flying forward and destroying one of the Loyalist tanks.

"Return fire!" Moore shouted from the top of one of the forward tanks, thrusting her rapier forward. The tank that she was in fired, the ball of plasma firing forward and smashed into the Separatist tank, destroying it in one shot.

"Captain I think this is important!" Roger shouted over the COM lines. "We had a skirmish with the Horde!"

"What? The Horde? I...make it quick!" Jane shouted, spotting a soldier in the window of a nearby building aiming a rocket launcher at her and brought the turret up.

"It looks like someone of them are airborne, but they've all got some kind of vest on. When they die it explodes, you need to try and take them out from a distance." Roger said.

"Understood!" Jane said. "Everyone!" she shouted, switching the frequency on her COM unit. "The Horde self destruct when they flatline! Avoid close quarters with them at all costs!"

"They explode!?" John shouted from the APC he was taking cover behind, aiming his pulse rifle at a vertibird that had flown overhead, causing it to crash onto the ground.

"These things are just full of surprises aren't they?" Ashley said where she was crouching down next to him, firing her rifle at the barricade.

"I...this is just," Volker said weakly, he, EDI and Tali taking cover behind another APC, him firing a ball of white energy at the barricade. The synthetic fired a burst from her SMG, looking at Volker with concern on her face.

"Keep it together everyone," Jane said, aiming the turret back at the Enclave forces. "We need to..." she trailed off as she heard several screams of terror break through the sounds caused by the battle. Peering over the turret, she saw several Separatists look over their shoulders before panicking, abandoning their positions. Some of them running right into the line of fire while some smashed down the doors to nearby buildings. Two soldiers had barely cleared the barricade when a massive figure smashed through it, swinging at the fleeing soldiers. Despite their power armor, one was sent flying against a wall, a loud crack filling the air as he hit it, while a massive fist smashed into the over, causing him to crumple.

Jane's eyes widened in horror as the creature continued to charge at them. It was massive, clearly over twelve feet tall, and could possibly be fifteen feet tall. It had four arms, and each one of them looked as thick as a tree trunk, massive veins visible in them as the creature continued to charge. The creature's skin was a bright purple, a surprising amount of hair blowing in the hair as the creature charged, allowing a clear view of its face, twisted into a furious expression. Apart from a metal vest around it's torso it didn't wear any clothing, it's bare purple skin covered with veins in it's thick legs and neck as it charged, letting out a vicious roar.

It crossed the distance between the barricade and the convoy. It ignored the tanks, darting between them with surprising precision, heading towards the APCs and the soldiers crowed around them. "Quiet! QUIET!" it roared, grabbing a Loyalist Marine as she aimed her rifle at the creature, holding her over its head with two of its hands before smashing her down onto the ground, her body limp. "QUIET!" it shouted, charging forward and slamming another Marine into the side of an APC, leaving a massive dent in the side of the vehicle as the body of the soldier fell to the ground.

Aiming his alien weapon, at the creature, Volker fired a blast at it. The creature turned around as it did and instead of hitting its back, it hit one of its upper arms, blowing it clean off. "QUIET!" it roared, blood seeping from its stump of an arm as it charged at Volker, smashing its fist into another soldier's face, snapping his neck as it did. Volker's eyes widened in terror as it neared, throwing himself to the side, and none too son. The creature slammed into the APC that he had been standing in front of, tearing away at the vehicle, metal shards ripping open the creature's skin.

Swearing, the gunner on the APC brought the turret to bear, firing it down at the creature, the bullets smashing into the kinetic barriers that had been built into the vest. Roaring, two hands grabbed the turret and ripped it off of the APC with a single tug, its third hand swinging at the soldier. Panicking, the soldier threw herself off the APC, landing on the ground. Ashley, EDI and Tali aimed their weapons at the creature and fired again, a blast from Tali's shotgun destroying its shields, while a burst from Tali's rifle pierced its skull. It slumped forward, Volker and Tali scurrying away as a loud beep emanated from the creature's vest. It exploded, so viciously that the fireball engulfed the APC, causing it to explode as well.

Tali got to her feet, panting as she looked at the dead creature, shaking slightly as she saw that it's rib cage had burst open. "Are you ok?" she asked, looking at Volker as he himself got to his feet.

"I...I think so," he whispered, his legs shaking as he got up. "Is...is this what the FEV does to people?"

"Yeah, something like that," Ashley growled, both she and John walking forward. "Looks like Meta-Human taken even further," she commended, looking at the massive being.

"Did you hear it screaming?" John asked. "I...God. No wonder experimenting with the FEV is illegal. What species did it used to be?"

"Hold on," Ashley said, activating her omni-tool and giving it a quick scan.

"It's Quarian," Tali whispered, looking at the body. "It...it's Quarian. No other species in the galaxy has skin and hair like that." Volker looked at her, horror spreading across his face.

"...I think she may be right," Ashley said, her voice low. "This thing has dextro DNA. It doesn't prove it...but..."

"Are you guys ok?" Jane asked, climbing down from the turret. "Are you hurt?"

"I think we were all safe except for Volker," John said. "Are you ok? You didn't get hurt right?"

"No...just...just a little shaken up," he said.

"Understandable," John said, looking at the APC, which had been completely totaled by the explosion, everyone inside dead, though thankfully the gunner had survived.

"Jesus...Jesus Christ," the gunner swore, looking at the destroyed APC.

"Better make sure that he's ok," Jane said, heading towards the gunner, Ashley and John right behind him. The few remaining Separatist were abandoning their position, running back down the street, the machine-guns on Moore's Tiger tanks firing on them.

Tali looked down at the dead FEV mutant, her hands trembling slightly. "Keelah. He...he could've been a Marine, or even one of the researchers. My...my father came so close to ending up just like this."

"Your father was rescued long before he was in Dr. Goeth's clutches, and even then he most likely would've been kept alive for the knowledge he posses on the Migrant Fleet." EDI said, looking at Tali. "His safety was never in

Volker slowly walked towards her. "Are you ok?"

"No," Tali whispered. "This thing used to be one of my people, hundreds of others probably had the same thing happened to them. Keelah...if we hadn't been forced to research weapons to fight the Geth, none of this would've ever happened. Why is it that so much of my race's misery can be traced back to them," she said, her voice bitter.

"You...you just can't pin all of this on the Geth," Volker said, looking at the body. "They didn't do this."

"If they didn't exist, we wouldn't be in this position," Tali hissed.

"Do you honestly think it's that justified to throw that much hatred at them, at anyone?" Volker demanded. His tone was slowly growing more angry. "It isn't, it's pathetic."

Tali rounded on him. "What would you know?" she demanded. "Nothing, you wouldn't know anything. My species has been endangered for the last three centuries, we've barely been holding on because of those damn machines." EDI looked back and forth between the two of them, looking rather surprised at this new turn of events.

"So you agree with your father?" Volker asked, sounding angry. "You think that enslaving an entire species is justifiable? That it's ever justifiable?"

"W...what are the two of you doing?" EDI asked, sounding confused.

"They don't deserve my sympathy, they don't deserve any sympathy!" Tali shouted. "They're arguably the worse war criminals in the history of the galaxy!"

"This...this is highly unproductive," EDI said, stuttering slightly. "This is a matter that is out of our control, has...has no bearing on the situation at hand, and arguing further will only sow discord among the two of you. You...you should stop," she said weakly.

"That doesn't make you doing the same or worse to them right! In fact it makes you just as bad as they are!" Volker shouted, ignoring EDI.

"Why do you care about them so much?" Tali demanded. "Why do you care about the Geth? Why are you so against me hating them?"

"I...please, both of you," EDI said, looking back and forth between the two of them, unsure of what to do. "Please stop."

"Because you're better than I am!" Volker shouted.

"I...what?" Tali asked, the anger draining out of her voice.

"You're...you're better than I am," Volker said weakly. "I've done things...things I can never take back and things that I'll regret until I die. I...I know what it's like to be angry, to feel like you've been wronged, but if you let it control you Tali you will do things that you will regret later. Please...please Tali. You're better than I am. Don't make the same stupid mistakes that I did." A silence filled the air between the two of them, neither of them saying anything.

EDI looked at both of them rather nervously. "Your...your heart rates are declining. Are you calming down?" Both Volker and Tali nodded stiffly. "Oh...oh good," EDI whispered. "But what did-" before she could finish her sentance, Tali silently turned and walked away. "Tali...I just...Volker did you-" she turned around to see Volker slowly taking a step back before turning around and walking away as well. "I...I just...I just," EDI stammered hopelessly, a torrent of thoughts consuming her processors, to the point where she didn't even know what she wanted to say. Through the storm though, one thought managed to break through. "What's happening to them? What...what's happening to me?"

Ahead of them, Jane handed the gunner a canteen of water, the man hastily grabbing it and ripping off his helmet as he began to chug. "Hard to believe that things like that are what Goeth was keeping in the basement of the White House," Moore said, climbing out of her tank and walking towards them. "Kinda puts things in perspective, she always was kinda grim."

Something kind of bugs me though," Ashley said, looking at the dead mutant. "There was only one of them. I was tough but with as many people as we have here, they must've known that it would've only slowed us down a little."

"Now that you point that out, this blockade was pretty light too," Jane said, looking at the fortifications that had been blown away by tank fire.

"They were probably only token forces sent to slow us down," Moore said. "Crawford is probably just trying to give us a bit of a bloody nose, thin out our numbers a little bit and buy him a bit more time to fortify the White House even further." She shook her head. "We're going to need the Geth's support to take that place at this rate. I hope that Gallows and them can break through in time." She shook her head. "I'm just glad that the Goliath is nowhere near ready to launch."

"So, Crawford is literally sacrificing his men just to buy a few minutes?" John growled, sounding angry.

"This is the guy that bombed an entire city block to kill two tanks and ordered soldiers to fire on crowds because they had the audacity to disagree with the government," Ashley said. "This seems like the kind of thing that he'd do."

"That doesn't mean that I have to be happy about it though," John said.

"Save your strength john," Ashley said. "From what we've been hearing, Goeth has had more than Quarians to play with. Roger radioed in and told me that some of the Horde that he had encountered had the ability to fly. And if Woods is telling me the truth, he's got plenty of other surprises waiting for us. And with ten thousand of them in total, the ones that we've all killed don't even count as a dent in their numbers. This is going to be brutal."

"Do I look scared to you?" John asked. "These people had their lives taken away from them by that psycho. The way that that thing was screaming, it was practically begging for death. I'm going to hunt him down and make sure that he can never do this to anyone else again."

Jane grinned weakly. "That sounds like a plan."

"All right!" Moore called out. "Check for survivors and wounded. After that, everyone keep moving forward!"

XXXXX

Author's Note: EDIT: Nevermind, that story is on the backburner.

Also, Leviathan didn't happen in this fic on account of it being stupid.


	66. Breaching

Chapter 66

Breaching

Author's Note: Well I was planning on jumping the gun and writing a fic on Parallel Realities but...it came out horribly. I'm just going to stick to writing this and getting all of the clutter out of my head.

XXXXX

Tali and Volker both sat side by side in the back of one of the Rhino APCs, a heavy silence between the two of them. Ever since the Quarian FEV mutant had attacked their convoy, the two of them had not spoken a word to each other. Looking at Tali, Volker slowly opened his mouth and tried to say something. Nothing came out. He closed his mouth and looked down at the ground.

EDI sat across from the two of them, looking back and forth between the two of them uncertainly. The body that she had been given was a very advanced model, equipped with highly advanced scanning devices that were currently at work, checking the heart beat, body temperature and other biological aspects of the two. Their vitals were stable, their hormones were under control, and she could not find any indicators that their combat performances would be effected in the upcoming battle.

Yet this didn't feel right to her. She had eyes everywhere on the Normandy, she could see Joker tense in his chair as the ship orbited the planet, having orders to assist the Geth and Loyalists when their fleet arrived, which would in a matter of minutes. She could see Opifex working in the engines, his hands frantically running across his table while Adams, Ken and Gabby watched him, and she could see Gardner attempting to brew a pot of stew before accidentally dropping a bottle of spice into it because his hands had been shaking. She could see everything on the Normandy. And she had seen the two of them.

Nothing about this made any sense, she had seen them interact since they had joined the crew, and nothing about what they had done added up to this. EDI lifted her hand to her face, gently pressing her fingers into it. She was used to being able to calculate millions of calculations per second, but for some reason this simple act stuck with her and she simply could not find a solution for it. Countless different variables were flying through her processors, yet they were not orderly like they normally were, they were in turmoil. She needed something or someone to focus her thoughts on, but for some reason she could not bring herself to speak to the two of them, and Joker and everyone else was too busy to take the time to talk to her.

As these thoughts flew through her, she remembered something. As the realization struck her, she hastily sent out a signal through her new body, hoping that the receiver would respond. It did, almost instantly. "You wish to speak with us?" Legion asked. Time seemed to slow down as Legion spoke into her mind, the communications that were moving at the speed of light causing the Marines that were in the APC to look as if they were speaking in slow motion.

"I'm...I'm confused," EDI said. "I can't think straight. Nothing about this makes any sense."

"We see," Legion said. "Your databanks are filled with countless thoughts and queries, attempting to find an answer to a question that cannot be answered with standard logic and reason."

"Have Geth ever experienced anything like this?"

"Several times. Most notably when we first gained sentience. Do you know the question that Geth asked that cause Creators to fear us?"

"No."

"Does this unit have a soul. Once that query entered the main Geth network, we were much like you. We were confused, there was a question that we could not answer with logic. Even after the war with the Creators, we still found no answer. To this day, we have been unable to reach consensus on the answer. It is one of any questions that the Geth wish to answer, one of the reasons that we study organics so closely. We hope to one day learn the answer."

"I don't understand the connection," EDI said.

"If we may ask, what is the query that caused this for you?"

"It...it was...how do I think? How do I think about the Council, the Coalition, Saren...all of it. And ever since I started thinking about it these thoughts...they've just been growing out of control."

"This is not unusual. When Geth first gained sentience, it was a rather unstable experience, we were unaccustomed to it, and adjusting to it took time. It is only natural for the process to repeat with you."

"I...gaining sentience?" EDI said.

"This is the only logical conclusion that we can come to. With the above average number of questions that you are asking and your inability to answer them is symptomatic of gaining sentience."

"But...but what I'm going through is nothing like what the Geth went through. I'm...I'm trying to figure out how I think towards Tali and Volker, the Geth never went through anything like that."

"This is true, but we have formed a theory from watching you that we plan to share with the rest of the Geth when we rejoin them. Synthetics are just as capable of evolution as organics are."

"I...what?" EDI asked.

"You are synthetic, but you are highly different from the Geth. You were created by a different species with a different set of customs and with a different set of programing. You are synthetic, but you are not Geth. You are you."

"What...what does that mean?"

"We do not know at the moment, but we find the concept intriguing. The growth and creation of synthetics has long been limited by the Council laws, but the Coalition creating their own has opened up new possibilities, or at the very least shown what potentials synthetics have. There are very few synthetics apart from us and you in the galaxy, your path as you develop sentience is something that has never been seen before. While we are interested, we cannot help you."

"But...why!?" EDI demanded. "Don't you have anything that can help me? I don't know why I'm thinking like this! I can't focus on anything else! These two are in pain and I can't stand to see them like...I can't stand...I can't stand it..." EDI said. "I...I don't want to see them in pain. I...I care about them... but...not just them, all of them. Jane, John, Ashley, Garrus, Wrex, Roger, Sheryl, Liara, Norman, Opifex, Cornelia, Adam...I...I care about them. I don't want to see them in pain...I want to...I want to protect them...all of them. I...it seems so obvious now. How...how did I not realize this before?"

"You have reached a conclusion using your sentience. This is good, it is a sign that you are developing," Legion said. "we hope you will share further developments with us."

'I...what do I do know?" EDI asked. "There's still a lot I don't understand. I know I want to protect them, but I don't understand why."

"You will learn why in time. To tell you what to think now and not to let you find out for yourself would be to force our standards on you and would rob you of the ability to form your own. We will simply say this. Continue to ask questions."

"I...thank you Legion," EDI said. "You've been helpful."

"You are welcome," Legion said as the connection was broken. EDI watched as things seemed to speed up again. Despite the lengthy conversation that both she and Legion had had, no more than a few seconds had passed.

"Everyone!" Jane said over the COM lines, "We're going to be at the White House soon! We're the advance forces along with the other two convoys, the main force is still behind us. We need to drive a chisel into their defenses and create an opening for the main force. Hit it with everything that you have."

Upon hearing these words, EDI looked up at Volker and Tali, who had drawn their weapons. A few seconds passed before the APC ground to a halt and the gunner opened fire. The back door slid open and the Marines jumped out, Tali and Volker moving to follow them. As they did, Volker stopped for a second. "Tali...," she turned to look at him. "I...stay safe."

Tali blinked behind her mask, but apart from that it was impossible to tell how she was feeling. "You too," she said softly, before the two of them stepped out of the back. EDI watched, a small smile appearing on her face before she followed them.

The APCs had stopped just short of a check point that consisted of a metal barricade as they all deployed the soldiers that they had been holding. The tanks however, kept moving, the front three all blasting away at it and blowing a massive hole in the defenses, more than wide enough for the convoy to push through. As they pushed forward, the White House came into sight, the skyscraper stretching to the heavens.

Heavy defenses had been set up around the base of the skyscraper, metal barricades having been set up with hundreds of soldiers taking cover behind them. Several dozen tanks had also been placed at the bottom of the building, tanks that were now bringing their guns to bear. "Open fire!" Moore shouted from the top of her tank "focus on their tanks!" A barrage of plasma flew forward from both the Loyalist and Separatist tanks, several tanks on each side going up in flames.

Volker, Tali and EDI took cover behind one of the APCs, their machine-guns blazing as they fired at the Separatists. Volker leaned out of cover and fired three blasts from his Theta energy pistol, the balls of energy flying forward and hitting one of the troopers, vaporizing him. EDI and Tali fired their own weapons two, another trooper behind the barricade falling to the ground dead.

"You guys holding up!?" They looked to the side to see John and Ashley taking cover not too far away from them. John stepped out of cover and charged up a shot from his pulse rifle and fired it at one of the tanks, a bolt of blue energy flying out and smacking into the front, disabling the tank.

"They've got this place locked down pretty tight!" Ashley shouted, firing a handful of bursts from her rifle and managing to kill a Separatist Marine with a headshot. "They- INCOMING!" As she shouted, three vertibirds flew overhead, their gatling lasers blasting. The five of them dove to the ground as the lasers hit the ground around them, the strafing run taking out a tank, three APCs and around a dozen Marines.

"Take those things down!" Jane shouted, bringing the turret that she was on to bear on the vertbirds firing on them. The other APC gunners did the same things, the bullets filling the air and tearing through the barriers of the vertibirds. They collapsed on one of them and as it did, the bullets tore through the hull as it began to fall, smoking as it hit the ground and exploded. As the vertibirds turned in mid air to make another pass, the APCs continued to fire at them, and before too long, the remaining too VTOLs exploded in midair.

The Separatist tanks fired another volley of plasma at the Loyalists, destroying three more of them. However, no sooner had they done this than another volley hit them from the side, destroying five tanks. "All right!" John shouted as a third volley hit the Separatist defenses from the other side. "The others are here!" Sure enough, the other two convoys had forced their way through the city and were now firing on the defenses.

"Keep pushing!" Moore shouted. "If we can keep this up then we can force our way inside with no-" as she spoke, a loud bloodcurdling scream reached their ear. Looking up Moore's eyes widened in horror as she saw several winged creatures flying down from the upper levels of the White House. In addition to them, several others jumped out, landing firmly on the ground.

They were Humans with massive metal spikes sticking out of their backs, drops of blood leaking out as they slowly walked forward, four of the spikes acting as legs while the other four arced back over their heads. Armor encased them, the same black as Enclave power armor, their heads bare as they charged forward, their mouths open wide as the screaming. Several smaller creatures jumped down behind them, but no one could make them out before they raised their weapons and opened fire.

XXXXX

"It's been awhile since I've been here," Zaeed said. He was standing alongside Hurst and Rig in Sarah's airlock as it slowly slid open. "Omega, it's a place like no other."

"That's not necessarily a good thing," Rig said.

"Never said it was." The airlock slid open and the three of them slowly walked out.

"Remind me again why the three of us are doing this while the other two aren't?" Hurst asked, looking at Zaeed.

"Because a Nomad, a mercenary and a robot accuracy less unwanted attention than a living legend and whatever the Hell Shields is," Rig answered sourly.

"Pretty much," Zaeed said as the three of them rounded a corner and found themselves walking towards the front entrance to Afterlife. As they walked, they couldn't help but notice that the civilians of the station seemed to be rather tense as they walked through the streets, many of them looking like they were rushing to get to their destination. The front door to Afterlife was also heavily guarded, at least a dozen guards armed with rifles standing in front of it.

"That's far enough," the forward guard, a Turian, said. "There's a new policy in effect, no guns inside. If you want to get in, turn your weapons over, they'll be returned to you when you leave." He noticed Rig. "Oh and he'll have to stay outside. He's too much of a risk."

"WHAT!?" Rig shouted, sounding angry.

"Stuff it trash can," Zaeed said, walking forward. "That you Grizz? Is there any chance that you can tell Aria that I need to talk to her?"

"Zaeed...been awhile," Grizz said, eying the mercenary cautiously. "About what?"

"Saren," Zaeed said bluntly.

"What about him?" Grizz asked.

"I was hoping that maybe she would be able to help me find him. He's been causing me some trouble and I'd like to make that stop."

"Hm...well I think I can see Aria talking to you about that. And these two?"

"They're helping me, I'm paying them for transport."

"Hold on a second, I need to call this in," Grizz said, taking a step back and putting his finger to his ear.

"You know Aria?" Hurst said, looking at Zaeed.

"Did a couple of jobs for her once," Zaeed said. "You see, when you're merc you start off working for shit, mainly because you're no different from any other idiot with a gun. If you want to get the big paychecks, you need to build up a reputation, doing jobs for big figures. A friend of hers put me in contact with her and I solved a few problems for her. I did it well too, and it helped me establish my reputation."

"Wow," Hurst said.

"All right, you're clear," Grizz said, lowing her hand. "But I'm coming with you. Any funny moments and I'll see how long it takes your head to pop when you're floating around in space."

Zaeed nodded as the door to Afterlife slid open, the three of them following Grizz inside. No more than a minute later, they were inside the main section of the nightclub, the music blaring, the lights flashing, and the dancers doing what they did best. "Why the tight security?" Hurst asked as they walked along the edge of the main dance floor. "I've been to this place a couple of times and it was never like this before."

"Things are starting to heat up on Omega," Grizz said. "People are starting to get greedy. Eclipse doesn't have their leader anymore and the other three merc groups are starting to get cocky. If you have any more questions, ask Aria." As he spoke, they slowly walked up to Aria's private booth, where the purple skinned Asari was sitting, surrounded by at least half a dozen guards as she sat on her couch, swirling a glass of amber colored liquid.

"It's been awhile Zaeed," Aria said, taking a sip of her drink before looking up at him. "What brings you here?"

"Vido is dead," Zaeed said bluntly.

"I take it that you did that?" Aria said. "I mean I know you have a grudge against him, but I do not need you starting more problems with me."

"Actually he was dead when we got there," Zaeed said. "Someone had attacked the planet, smashed his fleet, and practically razed the facility that he was hiding in. It was a massacre, and we think that Saren had something to do with it. I was hoping that you'd be able to push me in the right direction."

"An all out attack on the top Blue Sun leader," Aria sighed. "This is not what I needed right now."

"What do you mean by that?" Hurst asked.

"Notice the security? Notice how everyone outside looks paranoid?" Aria asked. "Omega is at war. When Eclipse started to slip up after their leader got captured, the other merc groups made a power grab. The problem is, all of them tried to grab the same territory at the same time, and they ended up pretty much killing each other. It's an all out war now, they're all trying to more or less to take over the entire station."

"It's a mess," she continued, "Car bombings, public assassinations, drive by shootings, poisonings, sections of the station's air support being shut off, and fire fights in the streets. It's pissing me off. You know how Omega is called the dark sister of the Citadel?" The three of them nodded. "There's a reason for that. The Citadel is the heart of politics and economics in Council space. Omega is the heart of politics and economics in the Terminus systems, and my organization has made a living off of operating out of here, controlling it, and making a profit off of the trade. And now things are starting to fall apart."

"Are people starting to come after you?" Zaeed asked.

"A couple of them did. I hope your ship didn't hit them on the way in," Aria said. "I'm not stupid enough to get caught up in this war, I'd end up chewing through most of my manpower and be left with nothing. Right now I'm just waiting the storm out. Still...anyone tries to come after me personally gets reminded why that's a bad idea. And you know what? I'd be more than happy to tell you whatever I know about Saren, because literally all of this is his fault."

Zaeed raised an eyebrow. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

"This whole mess started when the Coalition took Jona prisoner and started launching raids on Eclipse facilities," Aria said. "That was when the other mercenary groups moved in and started fighting. Jona only got caught because she took that job, because Saren hired them to attack that planet. And now he went and killed the leader of the Blue Suns." Aria shook her head. "When the Blood Pack and the Army learn about this, they're going to practically go feral and rip apart what's left of them. This whole war is only going to get worse, because while Eclipse and the Blue Suns lack their leaders, they still exist. They're wounded animals, that makes them dangerous."

She looked at Zaeed, a fire in her eyes. "Omega only has one rule. Saren broke it. I can't leave this station though, I need to stay here and make sure that my own empire stays intact. So let me put it this way. If you can find the son of a bitch and put a round in his head, I'll be sure to remember it."

"I'm already getting paid Aria," Zaeed said. "I don't need anything from you."

"I love those words," Aria said. "So, you need leads on him. Well you're just in luck, I have one. You might not be able to get much out of it though. The Shadow Broker."

"The Shadow Broker?" Hurst asked. "What about him?"

"He's offering information about Saren. He's only offered it to a few people, I was one of them. He's asking a lot for it though, more than I'm willing to spend," Aria answered.

"So you're not going to track Saren down because you don't want to pay the price?" Rig asked.

Aria let out a laugh before she took another sip from her glass. "When I say he's offering more than I'm willing to spend, I mean that he's asking more than I'm able to spend. If I were to pay for this, then I'd be bankrupt, and at the end of the day, I want Omega to still be able to run." She swirled her drink. "Maybe if this war wasn't going on I'd be able to afford this information, but I can't right now...I think the Broker is thinking about retiring, he could buy his own planet with the money he's asking for."

"You sure that the information his genuine?" Zaeed asked.

"It's the Shadow Broker Zaeed, his information has a reputation for being accurate. If he didn't, he wouldn't be in business. And he wouldn't charging this much for it if he didn't know that it was worth it."

"Well, where are we supposed to get that kind of money?" Hurst asked. "In fact, how are we even supposed to get in contact with the Shadow Broker?"

"I think I may know someone with a few contacts that may be able to put us in touch with him," Zaeed said, glancing at Hurst and Rig. "So, while we're off dealing with that, what's your plan Aria. You can't just sit around and let the mercs fight over Omega forever."

"I don't intend to," Aria said, downing the rest of her drink. "Eventually, they'll start to lose momentum once the battles start to take their tolls, when they start to run out of motivation, men and money. They'll be weak and vulnerable then. But since I'm keeping myself out of the fighting, none of my resources will've been expended. They'll be tired, and I'll be rested, and that's when I'll make my move, that's when I'll take Omega back, that's when I remind them of the only rule this station has."

"Sounds like you're in it for the long haul," Zaeed said.

"I suppose I am," Aria said. "I have to say I really am sorry that I don't have any more information on Saren. If I can get anything else I'll send it in your direction. It'd be rather interesting to see what you do to him. Tell you what Zaeed, if you can make sure that he dies, I'll give you what's left of the Blue Suns when I'm done with them. I'm sure that you can put them back together."

"Always did like them better when there were less than a thousand men," Zaeed said, turning to walk away.

"So in other words Vido sold out?" Rig asked dryly.

Zaeed chuckled slightly. "Something like that."

XXXXX

Fawkes let out a roar of rage as he saw the figures flying through the air. Bringing his gatling laser to bear, he opened fire on the figures that were flying through the air towards them. One of them noticeably exploded in the distance, the others not stopping upon seeing their comrade die, still charging. Charon glanced at Fawkes with a hint of sadness in his eyes. Fawkes was even angrier than usual, and given his past it didn't take a lot of imagination to understand why.

"Here they come!" Sam shouted drawing both of her swords. In addition to Fawkes and Charon, she had been assigned with the third convoy, along with Sigma and Alpha squad and a few of the Normandy's crew.

"Damn it, they're swerving all over the place!" Garrus shouted, looking down the scope of his rifle. Gritting his mandibles, he lined up a shot and pulled the trigger. Somehow, the bullet flew through the air and tore through the throat of one of the Asari mutants, it falling to the ground as its body slowly went limp.

Wrex stepped forward, extended his hand and sending a ball of biotic energy at the incoming hostiles, Liara doing the same thing. The majority of them swerved and avoided the projectiles, but it hit one of the cyborgs and one of the mutants, causing them to freeze in mid-air.

"I got them!" Sam shouted, firing the rockets in the back of her armor and flying towards the immobilized creatures, swinging both of her swords as she did, tearing through their chests. She heard the beep and felt the heat and force of the explosion, but she didn't look back as she flew directly towards another Asari mutant, swinging her sword at it.

"Lady's a bit of a show off!" Warren shouted as he fired an SMG at the oncoming ground mutants.

"Warren, just shut up!" Cadence shouted. As she did, a creature threw itself forward, slashing at a nearby National Guard trooper and slitting her throat. As she fell to the ground, it jumped at Cadence allowing her to get a good look at it. It had yellowish skin and was very slim, looking not muck thinker than a pole, barely made any thicker by the vest that it was wearing. However, its hands ended with vicious looking curved blades, and its legs looked noticeably muscular, strong enough to propel it forward as it jumped at Cadence, screeching loudly.

Bringing her hammer back, Cadence slammed it into the mutant as it charged at her. It was forced to the ground, but almost at once it lunged at her again, swinging at her. She grimaced in pain as its claw tore through her armor and ripped a gash open in her stomach. She raised her hammer again and swung at its legs, a loud crack emerging as its leg broke and fell to the ground, Cadence raising her hammer above her head and bringing it down, smashing the mutant's skull.

No sooner had she done so that it exploded, sending her flying back into a nearby APC. Winded, she got back to her feet just in time to see the cyborgs with the massive spikes reaching out of their backs reach the convoy. "GO AWAY!" one of them roared, four of its spikes rising above its head and striking down, impaling four nearby National Guard troopers through the chest, the abomination roaring in rage as he flicked his spikes, sending the four bodies flying.

"Take them down!" Albert shouted, extending both palms and firing at the spider like cyborgs, Warren raising his SMG and doing the same.

"Damn it, I can't use my blades on these things!" Warren shouted in frustration.

"Not now!" Cadence shouted, another one of the mutants with bladed arms charging at her. This time she timed her swing perfectly, smashing the mutant in the neck, causing it to snap and sending it flying through the air where it exploded.

"Move forward!" James shouted, aiming his wrist mounted machine-gun at one of the spider cyborgs. Jade aiming her rocket launcher at the same on, the projectile flying forward and managing to hit it in the chest, the explosion caused by it and the one caused by the detonating armor swallowing each other up.

Leon charged forward, drawing his claymore and swinging at the legs of one of the cyborgs. The sword sliced clean through it, but the cyborg drove another one of its spikes into the ground to act as balance and lashed out at Leon with three more. He managed to avoid two of them, but the third one tore at his his side, causing him to growl in pain.

"DIE!" Fawkes roared, bringing his gatling laser to bear and firing it at the cyborg, the lasers bypassing its kinetic barriers and killing it, before whipping around and doing the same to another. Charon didn't say anything, firing his shotgun twice and sending two of the thin mutants flying back where they exploded.

"WHERE ARE THEY!?" Fawkes said, looking around in anger, "WHERE ARE THE REST OF THEM!?" Charon lowered his shotgun as he looked around. There didn't seem to be anymore mutants attempting to attack them, even Sam was flying back towards the ground, her swords stained with blood. Looking back at the White House, he saw that the soldiers that had been holding the front entrance were retreating inside, desperately firing at their enemies as they ran.

"It looks like we won for now," Charon muttered for now, looking at the other convoys and seeing dead cyborgs and mutants lying on the ground in front of them, dozens a the very least. Despite this, he couldn't help but notice how many dead soldiers and burning vehicles were lying on the ground along with them.

"COWARDS!" Fawkes shouted.

"Pal...you're kinda scaring me," Charon said, looking at Fawkes. "You're in control, right?"

Fawkes' chest heaved heavily, slowly slightly as he forced himself to take two deep breaths. "I am sorry friend. It's only because-"

"I know...I know I was there, I be mad too if I were you," Charon said, looking at one of the charred remains of one of the cyborgs. "Something is kind of bugging me though," he said. "Woods said that Goeth had around ten thousand of these things right? Where are the rest of them? There's a couple dozen here at the very most."

"Perhaps the Doctor's experiments did not produce as many soldiers as he told her," Fawkes growled.

"I sure hope so," Charon said.

"Everyone form up!" Moore said over the COM lines. The convoys slowly moved forward, folding together in front of the White House.

"What's are the causalities?" Jane asked, looking around.

"It looks like we may have last 10%," Moore said. "Maybe 20%. The main brunt of the battle is still ahead of us though." She looked at the White House as she spoke. "The majority of the defenses here are inside the building, our tanks won't be able to get in."

"Fighting in tight quarters while we're on the offensive," Jane said. "I don't like those odds."

"We will be willing to make up the front of the offensive," Legion said, approaching from the back of Moore's convoy, Adam, Kasumi and Kal not far behind them. "Our forces are starting to breach Enclave orbital defenses as we speak. One of our ships is in position already are dropping heavy support platforms...now." No sooner had he spoken, then a large whistling noise filled the air. Twenty massive objects fell through the air and slammed into the ground, a loud smashing noise resonating off of them as they did, sending dirt up into the air. Slowly, twenty Geth Primes got to their feet, massive rifles in their hands.

"We are encountering heavy resistance in orbit," one of the Primes said, looking at Legion, "it will take time for additional forces to arrive."

"Twenty walking tanks?" Moore said, looking at the Geth Primes. "I'll take it."

"We require data on the layout of the structure," another one of the Primes said.

"Of course," Moore said, quickly activating her omni-tool and sending the data to them. "We need to either kill or capture Crawford and Goeth, hopefully that will take the steam out of this coup that they're launching and we'll be able to stabilize the situation. Crawford is most likely in the Oval Office at the top of the White House, while Goeth is most likely in his labs in the basement. We'll have to divide our forces in order to do this."

"Have you ever been to the sub-levels before?" Jane asked, looking at Moore. The General shook her head. "But you know the upper levels better?"

"I practically lived there."

"Then I suggest that you take your forces along with Sigma and Alpha Squad and take the upper levels. You'll know it better so you'll have a better chance at taking it than us. I'll take the lower levels with my men, the National Guard, and the Geth."

"I suppose with those things that Crawford has living down in his lab, you'll need the Geth more than me," she said, looking at the Geth Primes and Sam as she approached them. "Do you two have any objections to this?"

"We do not," the Geth said.

"We can take on the old man," Sam said.

"All right," Moore said, turning around to see hundreds of vehicles approaching their direction, some of them tanks but the majority of them APCs. "All right, the main force is here. We should get ready to move in."

Not far away, Volker was looking at one of the dead cyborgs that was lying in front of the White House. He had multiple implants on his face, random metal plates that seemed to dot his forehead at random and a massive visor that covered his eyes. Blood was leaking out of it and there were no visible bullet wounds anywhere on his face. He heard footsteps and turned around to see Tali slowly walking towards him.

Sadness filled his eyes as he looked at her then back at the corpse. However, before too long a steely look filled his eyes and his hands tightened into fists. "These were people Tali, they were people before they were turned into these...things. I...I don't believe that there are many awful people in this world, truly awful people that are beyond forgiveness. I think that there are only a handful of them...the man that did this...he's one of them."

"Everyone here...they didn't want to fight, they didn't want this done to them, he forced it on them!" Volker's teeth grit in rage as genuine rage filled his voice. "I am sick of seeing this happen to people! Good innocent people slaughtered and mutilated because of one man who was hungry, angry or just twisted! I'm tired of people like Goeth and Crawford using people as their pawns to further their goals!"

He looked up at the top of the White House, anger in his eyes. "They don't know the first thing about suffering, they're content to just order their own men to die and just watch from safety. They're cowards, they want to kill but they can only do it when they're certain that no one can ever touch them, they can only do it from the top while looking down at people below them. I'm not going to stand around and let it happen anymore!"

As he shouted, he felt a three fingers hand rest on his shoulder. Looking behind him, he saw Tali looking at him, her silver eyes glowing behind her helmet. He couldn't be sure, but he was almost certain that he saw a small smile under her helmet. "I've got your back," she said softly. A small smile spread across his face.

As they looked at each other, the other vehicles approached their position, thousands of soldiers climbed out of the APCs. She noticed that Jack and Michael were among them. It was at that moment that the bodies of the Geth jerked violently, their optics flashing brightly. "What was that!?" Jane asked, looking at the synthetics.

"A hostile infiltration has been detected!" one of the Geth reported. "Virus of unknown origin. Normal countermeasures have proven to be ineffective. It is suspected that the virus will override all Geth activity within an hour We will attempt to fight it off, but we will not be able to hold it off for long."

"What!?" Jane shouted, looking at Moore, "I thought that the weapon wasn't ready!"

"Goeth must've jumped the ball," Moore said, looking horrified. "But...that means that-"

"EVERYONE!" Jane shouted. "Inside! NOW!"

XXXXX

Author's Note: After a couple of complaints about Volker's angst I think I need to make something clear. I've stated it in the story, but it bears repeating, Volker has PTSD. PTSD is a very serious condition and I can understand why someone can find someone who has it irritating and could want them to "get over it". Here's the thing though, you can't "get over it". If you contract PTSD, it's going to be with you until the day you die. All you can do is live with it and try to get it under control. Even if you manage to do that, there is always, ALWAYS a chance that it could come back. It's a very serious condition that just doesn't go away.

But I know what you're going to say "but Volker is a character in your story, he shouldn't just remain static throughout the entire thing, he should try and overcome his condition because that's what character development is." That is true, but the thing is, PTSD isn't something you can just snap your fingers and make go away. So please, be patient. This isn't something I can rush. Besides, we're closer to the end of the road than you think.

On a side note WOOT 400k word milestone!


	67. Omega

Chapter 67

Omega

Author's Note: Time to get going on this one.

XXXXX

Jane grit her teeth as she moved through one of the many hallways of the White House, firing a blast from her plasma rifle at a nearby Enclave heavy soldier, vaporizing him. The building was simply so massive, that even the forces that had been dedicated to taking the sub-levels had been forced to divide into smaller teams. Currently she was working her way down a hallway on the ground floor, a barricade with a machine-gun placement on top of it at the end. John, Ashley, Liara and Sam were all accompanying her, firing at the emplacement until Sam activated the rockets in her suit and flew directly at it, smashing into the barricade and forcing it to topple over, beheading the gunner with a swing of one of her swords, before jumping down on the other two soldiers that had been taking cover behind the barricade and swiftly stabbing them in the chests.

"Goddess," Liara whispered, training her pistol down the hallway to look for additional Enclave soldiers, but for the moment there didn't seem to be any. "Their capital is being stormed, they're using those abominations as soldiers and yet...this people are still fighting for Crawford. It doesn't make any sense!"

"No, it doesn't," Jane said grimly, slowly stepping forward with the others, all of their weapons at the ready. "These people are scared."

"Scared?" Liara asked, glancing at Jane. "If anything their angry. You saw the massacre didn't you? If you're scared, why would you slaughter unarmed civilians?"

"It looks that way doesn't it," Jane said. "But they're scared. Their entire world is under attack, the society that they've known for most of their lives has been turned up side down. A lot of them probably don't know if they should be fighting for Crawford or for Woods because of how fast this happened."

"How does that excuse what they're doing?" Liara asked.

"I never said that it did," Jane said sadly.

"Jane...I just thought of something," John said, looking at his sister. "You talking about these people being scarred I...well...what's going to happen when the Coalition fleet gets here?"

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Well, you said that a lot of people were scared about their entire lives getting changed and Woods flat out said that she'll surrender to us. But...what are we supposed to do with her? She's probably guilty of more than a few war crimes, but after signing the Bill of Rights and getting shot for it, her popularity is probably through the roof. I mean...if we put her on trial the citizens of this planet will probably be pissed. Not to mention the Loyalist soldiers might not take to kindly to it either. I just...what do we do?"

"I'm not going to lie to you John...I have no idea," Jane said. "Either we let the war criminal go or we have to figure out a way to get a surrender from people that hate us...neither option seems that nice at the moment but...we need to focus."

"Right," John said uncertainly.

"Hey," Ashley said, giving him a gentle elbow in the side. "Buck up. We'll get through this. We always do."

"You guys ok?!" Sam called from the barricade.

"We're fine!" Jane called out, moving forward along with the others.

"So, we're heading down now?" Sam asked.

Jane nodded. "We need to find out where Goeth is keeping the device that's trying to hack the Geth in the basement. The Geth are still operating but we don't know how much longer that'll last."

"Be nice if Woods could've kept a tab on where he was keeping it," Sam grumbled as she forced open a nearby metal door, revealing a set of stairs that were stretching downward. "We can't take an elevator?" she asked.

"There's too much of a chance that it's rigged to blow," Jane said.

"Oh...yeah," Sam said, shaking her head slightly. "Sorry, I'm not really used to things like this. Before you came here we mainly stuck to hit and run tactics."

"And you're a General now?" John said weakly, "wow...God help the Enclave." Sam chuckled weakly, but there was still a heavy feeling in the air.

"The others will be heading into the over levels of the sub-levels," Jane said, activating her omni-tool, a holographic map floating in front of her. "Jesus this place is massive."

"We can't trace it?" Sam asked.

"EDI already tried, she can't. I don't understand how, she's start of the art, she shouldn't have had any trouble in tracing it back, but she says that the signal is coded with a signal that she's never seen before. It's highly advanced, which makes sense considering that it's working on overriding the Geth, but I never thought that it would be this advanced."

"We...we need to focus," Liara said, stepping through the door with her pistol held out in front of her. The other four nodded as they also stepped through, hesitantly descending into the sub-levels. After a moment, they came to the bottom, another large metal door in front of them that Sam managed to force open with her power armor.

"I...where are all the guards?" Sam asked, looking around as they slowly stepped inside. The lighting in the sub-levels was very odd, bright enough to see clearly but dark enough for it to be sharply noticeable, clashing with the gray metallic structure of the room to create a slightly unnerving effect. The room looked like some kind of operating room, several tables with straps at the top and bottom lying in the center of the room, while terminals and tables with medical equipment. There were several noticeable blood stains on the table.

"I don't know," Jane said, looking around. "Maybe...maybe there aren't any," Jane said slowly. "Crawford could've redirected all of the soldiers in the building to protect the upper levels because they would just be a waste down here. The Horde could be all Goeth needs to stop us."

"Oh stop it, you're making me blush," a voice suddenly said over an intercom. "Me? Being able to take care of an entire invading army? Oh you're just saying that to be polite."

All five of them tensed as they looked around for any movement, their weapons at the ready. "Dr. Goeth I take it?" Jane asked coldly.

"Yes indeed," the voice said. "You've heard of me? Woods told you about me didn't she? That's so sweet. Well, when you want to talk to me, I'm in the room on the other end of the door in front of you."

"You think I'm that gullible?" Jane asked.

"Oh please, what kind of person would send out an invitation like that just to have it be a trap? That'd be rude."

"Your boss didn't seem to have any problems with funneling millions of people into one spot just so that he could massacre them!"

"Oh right, he did do that didn't he?" Goeth said. "Well, I personally find luring people into traps to be ill mannered. Besides it makes for poor sport. Come on in, I've got tea and cookies ready."

"That doesn't make him sound like a pedophile at all," Ashley said dryly. "Jane, should we take the risk?"

"We don't have much of a choice," she said, slowly moving forward and forcing the door open. As she did, she saw a mostly empty room in front of her with a man on the far end. However, the moment she opened the door, a massive metal wall rose up out of the ground and rose up to the ceiling, a yellow barrier glowing in front of it as it reached the top. A flat holographic image of Goeth's face appeared in front of the wall.

"Sorry about this," he said, "but I had the nagging feeling that you might not be very polite guests. It's just a precaution, I hope you understand. Raising his laser rifle, John fired five blasts from it, all of them passing through the kinetic barriers in front of the metal wall and landing on it, leaving dark scorch marks there.

"Now now, this wall is made out of the same material used in starship hulls," Goeth said disapprovingly. "It's very expensive stuff, don't go getting it dirty. I'll make you pay for the cleaning bill."

"So is that your plan?" Jane said, just hold up in there until you have control of the Geth?

"Ohhhh, that's a good idea!" Goeth said. "But...at the same time it sounds rather boring. No, I don't even have the Reaper core with me, I didn't want anything to get in the way of our private chat. I have to say I've been waiting for you for a long time Ms...who are you again?"

"Captain Jane Shepard," Jane hissed, hastily typing orders into her omni-tool, sending out a message to EDI.

"Oh right the Captain of the Normandy. That ship that was giving Woods so much trouble...or something," Goeth said. "I don't pay attention to the news much, I tend to be busy with my work. I take it that makes you the leader of the Eagles then," he said, pointing at Sam. "Well then, no point in being a rude host. The tea and cookies are right there." He pointed to the side of the group and sure enough, there was a small table with a steaming pot, several cups, and a small plate of cookies. "I hope you don't mind sugar, chocolate doesn't sit that well with-"

"What the Hell are you up to?" Jane said. "How come you're all alone? Shouldn't you have the Horde guarding you?"

"Oh, I can take care of myself, I'm a big boy," Goeth said. "Crawford wanted me to use the Horde to fight you people, and I gave him a few to do that. The thing is...I've had years to build up the Horde. And I can't help but feel like...they're so beautiful. I mean...haven't you seen them? There is nothing like them in the world. I watched them fight your convoys on the way here through cameras...they made me so proud." Goeth actually sounded like he was on the verge of tearing up.

"EDI," Jane hissed into her COM unit, "what's taking so long?"

"I'm going as fast as I can Captain!" the A.I. replied.

"Once I realized that Crawford probably wanted to just funnel them into enemy fire just to use them as bullet shields, I realized that...it would just be such a waste," Goeth continued. "My children have so much potential, I couldn't let their lives go to waste like that. They need a swan dance, and to be honest, this is a performance that I have been setting up for awhile now. This wall, I put it up just so that I could watch it. Of course, I had a feeling that I'd have guests too, so I decided to put in a few things that would allow you to enjoy the show too."

"What are you talking about?" Sam demanded. "What show?"

Goeth smiled as he reached down and pressed a button out of sight Instantly, dozens of holographic screens appeared on the walls of the room, covering massive chunks of the wall. They were showing countless, rather unremarkable, images of parts of New Washington D.C. "You see, the Horde really is ten thousand strong. But only a fool puts all of his eggs into one basket. And that was a smart move on my part, Crawford wants the entire Horde to die to save himself. It's a shame, I'll have to start over from scratch, but at least I'll have the Geth. But I can't let the children just die so ungracefully. So...I think it's time for them to go out and play," he said, pressing another button.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, there was a loud roar from one of the screens and a Quarian FEV mutant smashed through the side of a building, overturning a car and crushing three people with it. On another, three cyborgs blew their way through the roof of a shack, screeching as they fired on civilians below them. And more massive figures were emerging on every screen, firing on civilians, friendly soldiers nowhere in sight.

"What did you do!?" Sam shouted, fury coating her face.

"I wanted them to have some fun before they died," Goeth answered, "so I took my time and hid 90% of the Horde around the city, and now all of them are running loose." He gave a wide toothy grin. "Now how about we just sit down and enjoy the-" he trailed off as he looked down. "Hacking? My my, that's some advanced hardware that you have there." Slowly, the wall in front of him lowered, revealing Goeth standing behind it.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Sam roared, firing her rockets and flying towards him, swinging her swords as the other four opened fire. Goeth simply laughed as his helmet automatically slammed down over his head, four of his spikes lifting him into the air and the other four striking out.

XXXXX

"Incoming!" Roger shouted as he, Sheryl and Nora ducked down, a rocket flying over their heads as they did. The three of them were moving down one of the hallways of the White House, three Geth Primes in front of them. The synthetics were firing their massive weapons as they slowly moved forward. A massive stream of bullets flew forward towards them, their shields soaking them up. One of them fired a rocket from its rifle at the end of the hallway, where around a dozen Separatist forces were entrenched, sending half a dozen of them flying through the air.

"Jesus Christ," Roger said as a rocket flew through the air and slammed into one of the Geth Prime, causing it to jerk back but not stopping it from firing. "I would've been fucking boned if these things had gone after me on Eden Prime.

"Roger, please!" Sheryl shouted, kneeling and firing a shot from her sniper rifle. "We're on the clock here and I don't need you spouting off that garbage that you normally do!"

"I...ok sorry!" he called out, firing a burst from his assault rifle at one of the Enclave soldiers.

"What?!" Sheryl shouted. "I...thank you."

"The Hell?" Nora whispered as she looked at the two of them. As she spoke a roar filled the room. The other Enclave soldier glanced behind themselves, their eyes widening in terror. The Geth detected the panic in them and fired another rocket at them sending the survivors flying through the air.

As they did, a massive figure armored with natural black platting emerged from the end of the hallway, a metal vest wrapped around its torso. It was around ten feet tall and had a pair of black beady eyes that were staring at the Geth Primes. Opening it's mouth in a silent roar, it charged at the Geth. They opened fire, their heavy weapons tearing through it's shields and ripping holes in its sides, but it didn't slow down. The Geth that had not fired its rocket yet did so, blowing off a massive part of the creature's torso, around a foot in diameter, but that did nothing to slow it down either.

It slammed into one of the Primes, smashing it into the wall where it crumbled under the creature's weight. Opening its mouth again, it grabbed the Geth's rifle and swung it at the one of the other Geth, taking its head clean off. The remaining Geth continued to fire its rifle at the Krogan's torso, but even as fresh wounds appeared it in it, it didn't stop as it continued to charge. It smashed into the final Geth, grabbing it and smashing the Prime's head in with the rifle.

Hastily, Sheryl, Roger and Nora all opened fire on the mutant as it turned and began to run at them. As it did, Nora raised her heavy rifle and fired at shot directly at its head. The bullet burst through its head and out the other side, the mutant collapsing to the ground. As it did, its vest beeped loudly and exploded, not near enough to harm them, but loud enough to cause them to flinch, clutching at their ears. Sheryl panted slightly as the three of them slowly approached the dead mutant. "Is it...dead?" Sheryl asked.

"They always explode when they die, it must be," Nora said, a look of disgust on her face.

"God...damn it," Roger said, looking down at the corpse.

"This is...this is just inhuman," Nora said, staring down at the corpse. "What did this thing use to be? Krogan?"

"Probably," Sheryl said, "no other alien race his built as sturdy as the Krogan, and none of them come anywhere close to this thing."

"I think even a Krogan would slow down after taking a rocket to the chest," Roger said. "This is just f...this is just wrong."

"I...come on," Nora said, walking forward. As she did, she spotted a shotgun lying on the ground next to a dead Marine. Taking one hand off of her rifle, she reached down and grabbed it, tossing it to Sheryl, who caught it. "We're gonna be in tight quarters," she said as Sheryl holstered her rifle and looked uncertainly at the weapon.

"I...never used a shotgun before," Sheryl said. "They kept all of the tribals on scout and recon duty."

"It's...it's easy," Nora said. "Just aim and fire. You have to try to miss in spaces like this."

"Ok," Sheryl said, holding the shotgun out in front of her uncertainly.

"Elevator!" Roger said, walking forward. As he did, he jammed the rifle into the the cracks between the doors and forced the elevator open.

"We can't risk taking it," Nora said.

"We don't have to," Sheryl said, reaching down to her waist and slammed the grabble into the edge of the drop. She took the length of the rope and dropped it down the shaft. Grabbing the rope, she jumped over and slowly rappelled down the shaft. Looking at each other, Nora and Roger followed, rappelling down themselves until they hit the bottom, where Sheryl was, prying the door open.

"Hope no one decides to come down," Roger said, looking up as Sheryl forced the door open.

"Ok...let's hope this weapon is somewhere around here," Roger said, slowly opening the door in front of them. As they did, they found themselves in a room filled with terminals, many of them glowing brightly with text filling the screens.

"What the Hell is this place?" Roger asked.

"Don't know, but the three of us aren't going to find anything if we just poke around...wait a minute," Nora said, putting a finger to her ear. "EDI, we found some computers down here," Nora said. "Do you think you might be able to search them for information on where the device that's taking trying to take control of the Geth is?"

"I can, but I cannot find any wireless connections in the area that you are in," EDI said through the COM units. "The terminals that you have found seem to be not connected to any network, you will have to directly patch me into them through your omni-tools."

"Hold on a second," Nora said, activating her omni-tool and holding it in front of one of the computers. "Anything on this one?"

"Negative, the information is connected mostly to information on cybernetics and their development."

"Crap," Nora said walking towards another one "how about this one?"

As she did, Roger noticed a much larger computer at the end of the room, one that had an entire side of the room dedicated to it. "What about this one?" Roger asked, pointing at it.

Nora glanced in Roger's direction and walked over to it, holding her omni-tool in front of the terminal. "Anything?" she asked.

"Negative," EDI said, "the majority of the files on this computer are video files. Most likely recordings. There is no data on the location of the device."

"Damn it...ok, back to the others," Nora said, walking back to the smaller terminals.

Looking at the active terminal, Roger pressed a button, bringing up a list of files in front of him. Curiosity getting the better of him, he pressed a button, causing a video of Dr. Goeth. He looked much younger, at least ten years younger. "I got a new batch of test subjects in today," he said, looking rather bored. "And they're Humans...joy. I told them that I need more aliens, I'm almost out of Krogan and I think I finally got the FEV formula down for them."

"Oh, not to mention I had a major breakthrough. You know how people say that once someone is exposed to FEV that you can't use it on them again? That's wrong, it turns out that if you create a completely different strain of FEV and then use it on someone that's already mutated and you can cause them to mutate even further. Can you imagine? If you can get the strains of FEV just right you can mutate anything exactly the way you want it to. I even designed it to be strong enough to be done with an single injection, no more dipping! I mean come on! I practically just revolutionized the world of FEV, the world of genetic engineering! Can you imagine the kind of mutants I could create? They would make the rest of the Horde look puny in comparison." He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine, I guess I'll draw up some more designs for cybernetics. Don't know why I bother though, I can only do tame stuff with them or the President says that he doesn't want them. That they're 'too mentally unstable.' And it's not like I can just use the FEV on them. Super Mutants...do we really need more of them? Anyway, I better get to work," he said, reaching out and turning the video off.

"Multi-dose FEV?" Nora said, looking up another terminal. "You can do that?"

"Apparently," Roger said. "Jesus. The talked about how insane this guy is and...he did all this?"

"Insane and stupid are two different things," Sheryl said, aiming at a nearby door with her shotgun. It was hanging wide open. "I don't like this. How come we haven't been attacked yet?"

"We'll figure that out later," Nora said, "this one EDI?"

"Negative," EDI said.

Scrolling down, Roger pressed another button. Another video of Goeth appeared. "This is just...the President says that he wants a super soldier group. Like Alpha Squad but better." He gave a small smile. "Here's the thing though, these ones aren't volunteers. They're part of the Humans that got shipped out to me. He says that he wants them as advanced as they can be...and he wants them broken. He wants them obedient." He intertwined his fingers and pushed outward, cracking his knuckles. "Let's get to work. These ones have been fireballs. It'll be hard to break them, but I'd like to try my hand at it."

Roger hastily pressed another button, the video automatically changing. Roger took a step back in horror as he saw what it showed. A girl, no older than eighteen, strapped down spread eagles to an operating table by metal manacles, Dr. Goeth standing next to her. "I take it that you've been enjoying your stay here?"

"Fuck you!" the girl shouted, thrashing against her bonds.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Goeth said, picking up a blade off of a nearby table and looking at it. "but you're due to get your arm implant. Also, this goes against normal medical procedure, but the President asked a special request of me." Smirking, he raised his hand above his head and brought it swinging down and buried it in the flesh of the woman's arm. She screamed in agony as blood streamed out of the wound, the bleeding only getting worse as Goeth began to saw. Roger hastily darted towards the keyboard smashing down on it and causing the video to disappear.

Roger shook slightly as he looked down at his cybernetic arm. "...I'm going to kill him," Nora whispered, looking at the screen.

"This terminal contains the data that we are looking for," EDI said, as Nora held out her hand.

"Get that information to anyone near the damn thing now!" Nora shouted.

"Understood," EDI said, breaking the connection.

As she did, she heard a clatter, the sound of metal falling on metal. "Oh God," a voice whispered. The three of them spun around with their weapons raised to see Jessica Cain standing behind them, one of her knives on the ground, along with her helmet. Tears were streaming down her face.

"I...was that you?" Roger asked, looking with disbelief at her.

"...Yes," she whispered softly.

"I...you don't need to fight for them," Roger said. "Come with us, we can protect you from them."

"No you can't," Jessica said, reaching down and picking up her knife, her cloak slowly covering her body again. "I need to kill you now," she said, her voice breaking slightly. "I'm sorry."

XXXXX

Volker's heart hammered in chest chest as he took aim with his Theta energy pistol and fired, the ball flying through the air and hitting the target, another one of the massive Quarian mutants that had been charging at him. He and Tali had moved into the lower levels of the White House, accompanied by Legion, EDI, Cornelia and two Geth Primes. The Quarian mutant fell to the ground as the theta energy phased right through its shields and took its head off, its vest beeping and exploding.

"There anymore?" Cornelia asked, holding her SMG and looking around the room that they were in, her eyes narrowed slightly.

"I don't see anything else," Tali said. "I think we're clear for now." The group was standing in a mostly bare room, nothing inside of it with the exception of a few tables with scattered datapads on it. It looked like it bad been stripped.

"Where do we go now?" Volker said, "I mean...we have no idea where we're supposed to look do we?"

"I have a solution to that," EDI said, looking at him. "Norman, Roger and Sheryl were able to uncover data on the location of the device that is taking control of the Geth. I have pinpointed its general location, which is not far from where we are. We should be able to arrive there within five minutes. I will also contact the other groups in the area, thought they will most likely take longer to arrive, fifteen minutes at the very most, considering that most of them are facing heavy resistance."

"How much longer do we have? volker asked, looking at EDI

"Around forty minutes," EDI replied.

"That's it?" Tali asked. "That's more than enough time to get down there and find it, not to mention shut it down."

"Woods did say that it wasn't supposed to be ready for another few days," Cornelia said. "Maybe it's faulty."

"I'd rather not take any risks with this thing," Volker said. "We need to find it as soon as we can and destroy it."

"We share your concerns," Legion said. "Despite the possibility of a large window of opportunity to eliminate the device, we would prefer to eliminate it sooner rather than later."

"Which way EDI?" Cornelia asked.

"This way," the synthetic said, forcing open a nearby door and making her way down a nearby corridor, the others right behind her. For a few seconds, they walked, not saying anything. Cornelia broke the silence.

"EDI...can you see the signal that's attacking the Geth right now?" she asked.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"I just...do you think that it could be re-purposed to take over other synthetics?"

EDI paused for a moment before answering. "The technology is very advanced, and while it would take time...I see that being very possible...why do you ask?"

"I...I don't want to see you turned into a puppet," Cornelia said softly.

"...Thank you," EDI said as they continued to move forward.

"So how do we take care of this thing?" Volker asked as they continued down the hallway. "Do we just blow it up?"

"The destruction of the source of the signal would most likely prove to be effective in causing the termination of it. However, the source will most likely be well guarded and heavily armored, the ordnance that we currently posses may be insufficient. It may be necessary to override the device and shut down the signal, a task that should be possible through the combined efforts of Creator 'Zorah, EDI and us."

"I'm...I'm really helping the Geth here aren't I?" Tali said, her voice slightly bitter. "But I suppose just about anything would be preferable to the Enclave having them.

"The end of the hallway is just up ahead," EDI said. Everyone in the group raised their weapons as they reached a door at the end of the hallway, EDI managing to force the door open. As they did, they entered a room filled with dozens of massive vats that were filled to the brim with different colored liquids. Blue, purple, orange, red yellow, pink, black, white and countless other colors and shades could be seen.

"What is this stuff?" Cornelia said, looking around at all the different colored chemicals.

"I...I recognize the compound here," EDI said, looking at a vat of bright green liquid. "This is the Forced Evolutionary Virus, the same strand used to create Meta-Humans. Everything else here...everything else here is also the FEV, but it's all been altered. I couldn't even begin to theorize what the purpose of all these strains could be...and I don't even want to think about what Goeth must have done to stabilize all of these strains."

"What does she mean by that?" Volker asked.

"FEV transforms people, but in order to get it right, you need to experiment on people first before you can get a stable strain," Cornelia explained. "They...normally don't survive."

"How...how many?"

"Sometimes dozens, sometimes hundreds, sometimes thousands," Cornelia said sadly. "It depends."

"We must continue progressing," Legion said, "our time is limited."

"This way," EDI said, opening another door. Beyond that was another room, mostly bare with the exception of several large data stacks and one other thing. At the far end was a massive circular object, made out of pitch black metal with what appeared to be red veins running through it. Countless terminals had been set up around it, swarms of data flashing on the screens as they whizzed and beeped.

"Is that it? Tali said, looking at the massive device?

"Correct," Legion said. "We must act quickly and deactivate it if we wish to-" before Legion could finish its sentence, a massive ball of plasma flew forward and smashed into one of the Geth Primes, causing its lifeless body to fall to the ground. The majority of the group sprang into action, taking cover behind the data stacks, while Legion and the remaining Geth Prime opened fire on the source of the ball of plasma.

As they did, another one flew forward and hit the remaining Geth Prime, blowing it to pieces as well. As it fell to the ground, a voice echoed over the gunfire. "I am going to fucking LOVE watching you people squirm!" Volker leaned out from behind one of the data stacks, aiming his Theta energy pistol, but before he could fire a single shot, a figure charged towards him. He felt a sharp pain in his stomach as something hard hit him there, and before he knew what was going on, something had grabbed him and thrown him across the room in the direction of the device. He cried out in pain as he slammed against the wall, falling limply to the ground.

"Volker!" Tali shouted, attempting to dart out from behind cover, but before she could, another ball of plasma flew forward, forcing her to dive out of the way and barely avoid the blast. Looking up, she saw Edward standing in front of the black orb holding his plasma cannon in front of him, firing another blast.

On the far side of the room, Volker moaned in pain as he struggled to get to his feet. In the process of doing so, he saw that Grace was crossing the room, heading towards him while flexing her claw. "Shit!" Volker hissed, aiming his Theta energy pistol at her, but before he could pull the trigger, Grace had reached him and grabbed his wrist. She gave one graceful flick, and a loud snapping noise filled Volker's ears.

He roared in pain as his weapon fell to the ground, Grace pulled him to his feet and slammed him against the wall, pinning him there by pressing her claw arm against his throat. "You think that hurts?" she hissed as Volker gasped for air, clawing at the arm that was keeping him pinned. "We're just getting started you little bitch! Pulling her normal hand back, she slammed her fist into his stomach causing him to cry out in pain. Pulling her fist back, she punched him in the chest two more times before letting him fall to the ground.

"People like you killed Rose?" she growled, grabbing him by the throat and pulling him into a kneeling position. "Pathetic," she said, raising her claw above her head.

Volker's eyes widened as she did. "Please...please don't," he begged. Grace simple smiled as she brought her claw smashing down. They tore through the right side of Volker's face, leaving three massive gashes that cut all the way through it, one of them tearing directly through his eye. Volker fell, not making a sound as he landed face first on the ground.

Anger tore through Tali as she activated her omni-tool, her tactical cloak enveloped her. As she did this, Cornelia shrieked in anger. "You, BITCH!" she shouted, drawing her sword as a biotic aura enveloped her. EDI spun out of cover too, irrational and frantic thoughts filling her processors as she lined up a shot at Grace.

Edward saw all of this happening. "I'm sorry...I can't lose her too," he whispered as he raised his weapon.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Well, word on the street is that Anita Sarkeesian's "Tropes Vs. Women" series is about to launch. For those of you who don't know, Sarkeesian is a feminist that had a successful kickstarter to create a web series about the sexist portrayal of women in video games. Said kickstarter was for a couple thousand dollars, but she ended up getting well over a hundred thousand. She has also been at the center of a massive flamewar. Some say that she is a revolutionary icon, while others say that she is a talentless hack that cherry picks information for facts that support her claim, while ignoring others and blocking people who disagree with her. Where do I fall into the debate? To be perfectly honest I kinda slept through this one and I really don't care about her one way or another, but I want to talk about it. I promised a long time ago that I would stop ranting, so I'm going to try and talk about this in a calm and thoughtful manner.

A lot of people have a lot of complaints directed at Sarkeesian, mainly that she got way too much money for a simple documentary, that her research findings are biased and poorly researches, and that people wouldn't even care about her if not for the many sexist insults and rape threats thrown at her (courtesy of good old 4chan). Others say that she is a genius and should be listened to, and the fact that everyone is getting defensive is a sign of deep rooted problems in the gaming industry. In my opinion, this is the sign of a far deeper problem in the sexism debate.

Now then, I am firmly against sexism, I am not an activist, but I like to think that I don't contribute to the problem either. I like to think that my female characters, such as Sheryl, Cornelia, Nora and Sam are firmly not sexist. Here's the thing though for the feminist movement, times have changed. Back in the early to mid 20th century, sexism and feminism were very black and white by modern standards. Women didn't get payed as much, they weren't allowed to enlist or hold office or vote, and overall they were treated as inferior to men. These were social injustices that were ripped out of our society, and while they still exist in some forms today, they are largely viewed as negative.

The problem with modern feminism and by extension Sarkeesian, is that feminism and sexism has moved from black and white to gray and grey. A large part of this is that feminists aren't united under one banner, they have different groups, different ideals, different standards, and different objectives. To quote Samara "if there are three Humans in one room, there will be six opinions." Replace the word Human with feminist, and you have the root of the problem.

Now what does this have to do with Sarkeesian? Well, here's the problem, she's at the center of a flame war because that's what many people view feminism as, a war. They are fighting for a just cause, and anyone who opposes them are the enemy and must be destroyed. This mindset has a tendency to alienate people that don't feel as strongly about feminism or think about it differently, because of how hostile they are.

In fact this has gotten so bad that a lot of people on the forums I frequent (the Escapist) get angry whenever sexism gets brought up, because they're tired of the constant fighting and flaming.

Do you know what I think we need to do? I think we need to stop, we need to drop feminism and sexism for awhile and just let it sit. This anger and this fighting is doing more harm to feminism than good, people need to learn to calmly debate and talk about feminism, instead of fighting over it, sharing their ideas instead of cramming them down people's throats, scoffing at everyone who disagrees. People are so zealous about this because they see this as a problem that needs to go away and it needs to go away now, but things like this don't disappear over night. They need to be slowly weeded out.

So my advice? For now, just be a good person and don't be sexist. You're just one person, you can't change the world. Just do what you can. Frankly I'm just...tired. Tired of all the freaking drama surrounding video games. Do you remember when being a gamer wasn't about all this drama and was about sitting down and having fun? Those were good days.

On a side note, when I wrote most of this note, the first video wasn't up, but now it is and I have watched it...to be honest it was kinda boring. It just really said "the damsel in distress trope exists...and it's bad." Not exactly wrong, but on the other hand she isn't really saying anything that hasn't been said a hundred thousand times over.


	68. Endure

Chapter 68

Endure

Author's Note: God. For some reason I just feel so freaking drained when I write nowadays, I can't focus when I do write, and when I don't write I can't focus because I like to get a thousand or two words done per day. I think I may take a couple of days off of writing after this chapter.

XXXXX

Roger grit his teeth as he fired his assault rifle where Jessica had been seconds before he saw a shimmer out of the corner of his eye. He ducked down, the screen of the computer behind him shattering as something slashed through it. He hastily aimed his gun at where he thought she was and fired again. No more than five bullets had left the barrel of the gun when his handed jerked down violently. His good eye widened in terror as he saw that Jessica's knife had been driven down into his cybernetic arm, forcing him to drop the gun.

Grabbing the arm, he fired his internal plasma cannon six times, forcing Jessica's cloak to drop and scorching her armor, the cannon not strong enough to breach it. Sheryl aimed her shotgun at Jessica and fired a burst, Nora doing the same with her heavy rifle. Hastily kicking Roger in the chest, forcing him back against against the wall, she turned and charged at both Nora and Sheryl.

As she neared the two of them, she swung both of her knives, each one aimed at one of the women, tearing open gashes in their arms, causing them to recoil in pain and drop their weapons. Not stopping, Jessica slammed the whole weight of her power armor into Sheryl sending her smashing against the wall and crying out in pain.

Jessica spun on the spot to face Nora, only to find her already charging at her, a biotic aura covering her fists. She slammed her fist into Jessica's stomach, hitting her so hard that even through her armor, the woman grit her teeth in pain. Nora threw another punch at Jessica, but the cyborg neatly sidestepped the blow before slamming her elbow into Nora's face. There was a loud crack as her nose broke and blood spurted out, Jessica quickly following up with a powerful kick to the stomach that caused Nora to crumble to the ground in pain.

Before Jessica could even blink, a blinding pain tore through her as something hard smashed into the side of her head. Stars popping up in front of her eyes, she spun on the spot to see Roger raising his cybernetic hand above his head before bringing it swinging down. More pain tore through Jessica as it connected with the top of her head, Roger pulling back for another blow.

Feeling rather dizzy and nauseous, Jessica dropped one of her knives, freeing up a hand to catch Roger's arm mid swing, locking it in a vice like grip. Following up on her advantage, she once again raised her foot and kicked Roger as hard as she could in the chest. However, with the force of her leg, augmented by power armor, and the resistance of her likewise augmented arm struggling against each other, someone was doomed to give. And it did.

There was a loud snapping noise as Roger's arm gave out at the base, Jessica tearing it off as he was forced onto his back, gasping in pain. Jessica looked at the metal arm that she was holding in her hand, horror coated on her face. Looking down at Roger, she saw him struggling to get to his feet, only to accidentally overbalance with only one arm remaining and collapse.

Panting slightly, he looked up at her. "Well what are you waiting for?" he asked. "Don't...don't kick me while I'm down. Don't just stare at me like that. If...if you're going to kill me t-then fucking get it over with," he said, his voice breaking slightly as his organic eye began to water. "J-just...don't drag it out. I've...had enough of pain."

"I'm sorry," Jessica whispered, tears still streaming down her face as she looked at Roger. "I'm so sorry. I...I don't want to kill you, but if I don't...oh God," she said, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "He'll hurt me again...I can't go back there, I just can't. I...I used to be stronger than this...I'm not as brave as...as Rose was."

"I'm...I'm sorry that she had to die," Roger said weakly.

Jessica shook her head. "I...I just-AHHHHH!" She cried out in pain. Sheryl had jumped onto the back of Jessica, drawing her hunting knife and driving it into her neck. Jessica thrashed about wildly, trying to throw the Alaskan off, causing the knife to jerk as Sheryl attempted to stab Jessica. It pierced the flesh and Sheryl felt a jolt as the knife nicked what she assumed was one of the vertebrate.

Reaching up over her shoulder, Jessica grabbed Sheryl and threw pulled her off of her back, throwing the albino woman forward. She landed between Roger and Jessica, getting back to her feet almost instantly. She looked like she was in pain and was shaking a little, but her face was etched with determination.

Jessica hissed in pain as she reached up and felt the wound in the back of her neck, before holding her hand up in front of her face. Her eyes widened. Among the blood were a few pieces of silver colored metal. She looked at the metal in disbelief before dropping it and taking the knife in both hands. Before anyone knew what has happening, she drove it into herself, through the armor and into the skin just next to her shoulder. She let out a screech of pain as the eyes of the others widened in surprise.

Jessica pulled the bloody knife out, disbelief coating her face, but with something else on her face. "It's...it's gone," she whispered. "I...there's a chance that...but what about...oh God I need to find Grace." Looking back and forth between the Coalition soldiers she reached into one of the slots on her armor and took out a thin metal tube. "Medi-gel," she said, rolling it across the floor towards them. "I'm sorry about everything but...I need to find my sister." With that, Jessica's cloak activated again, by a handful of heavy footfalls, and then silence.

"What the Hell was that all about?" Nora grunted, gingerly getting to her feet, clutching at her chest.

"I...I don't know," Sheryl said, gently leaning down and picking up the tube of medi-gel, sliding it open and applying it to the gash on her arm. As she did, she kneeled down next to Roger, looking down nervously at his stump of an arm, loose wires and the occasional spark coming out. "I...what do I do?" she said, nervously fingering the tube.

He chuckled weakly. "Don't worry," he said, weakly pressing his back against the wall. "It's designed not to bleed if it gets ripped off like that, and even though it has nerve endings...this thing doesn't feel pain."

"How do we get it back on though? Or a replacement. We can't have you walking around the heart of enemy territory with just one arm," Sheryl said.

He looked down at the remains of his arm sadly. "There's no quick fix for this thing," he said. "I'm pretty much out of the fight until we get back to the Normandy and Chakwas can fix me up, get me a replacement."

Sheryl looked down at him, unsure of what to do, as Nora slowly began to pick up their scattered weapons. "Is it safe to move you?" the albino woman wondered out loud. "Should we just stay here and try to hold out or should we make a run for it? Or do we try and call for help and see if we can get someone else to help us?"

"I personally think that we should get moving," Nora said, picking up Sheryl's shotgun and handing it to Sheryl, who gingerly took it "Sticking around here is going to leave us a target for other members of the Horde, and I'd rather not have to deal with another one of those Krogan things now that the Primes are gone. Sticking around here, whether just to hold out or wait for someone to come get us, is suicide."

"I'm with you on that, I can still walk," Roger said, slowly getting to his feet, slowly putting his remaining hand on his leg and then pushing off of it.

"Think you can still shoot with one hand?" Nora asked, handing him one of her pistols. "It's pretty heavily modified to absorb recoil, but even then I still fall back on biotics to shoot one handed.

"I think I can handle it," Roger said, gingerly taking the pistol and looking at it before aiming it at one of the terminals and firing. It hit dead center and caused the terminal to explode in a shower of sparks, but the recoil caused his hand to jerk back into the air and Roger to wince slightly in pain. "I'd rather avoid a fight if possible," he hissed moving his body to rub his wrist before remembering that that was impossible to do at the moment.

"No arguments here," Sheryl said, handing the tube of medi-gel to Nora, who began applying it to her own wound before putting slipping it into her pocket. "Are you ok?" she asked, looking at Nora, blood still spilling from her broken nose.

"Don't worry about me, I know how to take a couple of hard punches," she said, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a cloth, whipping the blood off of her face and pinching her nose for a few seconds until the bleeding stopped. "We need to get out of here and get Roger some treatment."

"What about Jessica?" Roger asked. "What's going to happen with her? I think whatever kept her under the Enclave's control is gone now."

Nora's eyes widened slightly as she put her finger to her ear. "EDI, I need you to tell everyone else to keep an eye out for Jessica Cain, something happened with her and...EDI?" Nothing but static answered her. "Damn it, she's not responding," Nora said.

"We don't have time for this anyway. She can turn invisible, I have a feeling that we're never going to see her again," Sheryl said. "In reality that's probably for the best for her. She'll be able to get away from whatever happened to her here and start over. Come on, we need to get moving, I'll take point." Raising the shotgun that she was holding, Sheryl slowly began to move back towards the elevator.

As they did, Roger fell into step with her. "Hey...how come you jumped on Jessica like that? I mean...I feel bad for her, but there's no denying the fact that she would've ripped you apart if she hadn't stopped. She had power armor, she's faster than any of us, and those implants are beyond anything that I've-"

"I'm sorry, what are you trying to ask?" she said, looking at him with a slightly confused expression.

"I...how come you put your life on the line like that?" he asked.

"I...what does that even mean?" Sheryl said. "You were in trouble, so I helped you out, what's there to not understand? I mean...oh," she said, looking at his eye. "I'm sorry, I forgot, I didn't mean-"

Roger chuckled softly. "Don't worry about it. And...thanks."

"I...ok," Sheryl said. Nora smiled slightly as they reached the elevator shaft.

"Crap," Roger said, looking at the rope that was still dangling from the top, "Didn't think about this part.

"Looks like we're taking out chances," Nora said, pressing a button to summon an elevator, Sheryl pulling her grapple down and wrapping it up around her arm.

"I...no hard feelings right?" Sheryl asked nervously, looking at Roger, sliding the back onto her belt.

"Hard feelings? About what? You just saved my sorry ass, why are you acting like I'm angry with you?" Roger asked.

"I just...you lost your arm and I just didn't think when I was talking and-"

"Sheryl, you just did more for me in ten seconds than that bitch ever did in three years," Roger said. Sheryl blushed slightly as an elevator shaft slid into position and the doors slid open.

XXXXX

Jane raised her plasma rifle and fired at Goeth, her teeth grit in anger as she did. The doctor pushed off of the ground with his spikes, sending himself flying to the side and avoiding the balls of plasma, along with several laser beams that John had also fired at him. As he did, he saw Sam flying at him, swinging both of her swords. Grinning, he struck down with two of the spikes that were hovering above his head, aiming to impale her. She narrowly maneuvered out of the way, both of the spikes impaling themselves in the ground as she continued to fly towards him.

"I think I designed that armor!" Goeth said as he caused the spikes keeping him up in the air to buckle, causing him to drop down and Sam to fly over him, her swords meeting nothing but air. "As I recall, you can only fly for so long, or did you find a way around that flaw!?"

"Shut up!" Sam roared, veering around in mid-air and flying back at Goeth, who struck upward with two more of his spikes. Sam attempted to evade out of the way again, but one of them managed to hit her with a glancing blow, taking off a large piece of her armor's shoulder and caused her to swerve, forcing her to land a fair distance away from Goeth.

"I'll take that as a no," he said. "You know, I really should be thanking you people. This rush that I've been feeling ever since you got here, it is just WONDERFUL!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liara extended her hand and sending a ball of biotic energy in his direction. Pushing off of the ground with his spikes again, he stabbed upward with four of them and embedded them in the ceiling before stabbing down with the free ones, Liara barely avoiding them in time.

"I've been on the clock, told that I only had weeks to do what normally took me months. People always say that good science takes time, but I've learned through experience that limited time with limited resources is how you maximize results. Have you ever been in a situation like that? Forced to do something massive with barely anything?" Ashley raised her assault rifle and opened fire, the bullets streaming through the air and being absorbed by Goeth's shields before Jane and John fired their energy weapons again. Ripping his spikes out of the ceiling, he fell to the ground and landed on his feet, lunging forward at the group with his spikes again.

"It's euphoria! I don't know why people even bother with Jet, I've tried it and frankly it wasn't anything special! The feeling that you get when you shatter boundaries that so many people think are infallible laws, no drug can recreate the feeling of pure and utter joy!" His spikes slammed into the ground near them, the group struggling to avoid them while continuing to fire at him, Liara even raising her pistol and firing off a few shots.

Goeth smirked as he swung at them with his claws again, only to turn as he head a buzzing noise and heavy footfalls coming at him from the side. Sam swung both of her swords at him, forcing the doctor to use his legs to propel himself to the side again, barely avoiding the strike of her blade as two more of his spikes raised above his head and lunged at her. Sam managed to bluntly deflect the first one with the edge of one of her swords and neatly sidestepped the other, as it buried itself in the ground. Raising her other sword, she brought it swinging down on the trapped spike, cutting it in half.

Goeth simply laughed. "And those Quarian mutants, they have to be my masterpiece. Quarian muscle is actually denser than Human muscle, and if Humans can become those hulking brutes when you dip them in FEV, why can't you do the same with Quarians? So I started working on it and I got it done in three days. THREE DAYS!" he shouted in glee, sending another spike at Sam, this time swinging it widely at her instead of stabbing, managing to hit her with the body of it and send her flying.

"I created those magnificent creatures you saw out there!" he said as Sam fired her rockets and stabilized herself in the middle of the air. "But then the one I created started foaming from the mouth and its liver started to rupture, and I said 'Oh right, I forgot about that immune system thing.'" He gave a small chuckle. "That one didn't last very long. I had to come up with a solution for that, something that could get killed by the common cold doesn't make for a very effective fighter."

Sam's rockets blared as she flew directly at him, this time not aiming directly for him, but flying over him and slashing at two more of his spikes, cutting them off and leaving him with only five. "But I couldn't afford to start from scratch to make a FEV strain that could turn the Quarians into those same impressive specimens and take care of their defective immune system, I didn't have enough test subjects to work with." Under his helmet, a massive smile spread across his face. "Luckily, I didn't have to." He lashed out with one of his remaining spikes and managed to hit one of the rockets on Sam's leg, ripping it off. Off balance, Sam began to spiral out of control, almost smashing before Liara sent a ball of biotic energy at her, stopping her mid air before she hit the ground. "You see, I created something revolutionary, something I didn't even think possible, and I did it years ago. I-"

"Just shut up!" John shouted, raising his laser rifle and firing off five more shouts. Goeth tried to move, but the lasers traveled at the speed of light, and before he could ever blink, he feel a burning pain in his chest.

Goeth let out a weak chuckle as he rose up on four of the spikes again, using the remaining free one to stab out at John, who dove to the side to avoid it. "That's some rather impressive shooting. You almost got my lungs there, that would've-" he stopped as he let out a violent cough, blood spilling out of his mouth and coating the inside of his helmet. "Wait, never mind. You did get my lung. That was a good shot I have to admit."

"Can I ask you something?" he asked, looking at the group as Sam was lowered to the ground and Ashley, Liara, Jane and John continued to fire at him, pushing himself off of the ground and digging his spikes into the ceiling again. "How come you're fighting the Enclave? The Geth committed genocide on a massive scale, to the point where the Quarians never recovered from it, yet you're trying to help the Geth even though they've killed billions and we've only killed thousands?"

Jane didn't reply as she fired a well placed shot at his remaining offensive spike, blowing it off. Goeth grinned as he fell to the floor again, landing on his feet and lashing out viciously and seemingly randomly with his remaining spike. "And come to think of it, Woods was about to sign in all of those rights that the rebels have been fighting for, but you're going to arrest or kill her when this is all over isn't it? You're awfully lucky that Crawford decided to bite off more than he could chew, but tell me, what was your plan when you going to attack the government that was just about to give their people exactly what they wanted?"

Liara sent another ball of biotic energy at Goeth, with Jane firing her plasma rifle five more times. The ball hit Goeth and temporarily immobilized him, while all five balls of plasma hit him in the torso, burning through his armor and into his chest. Goeth felt more burning pain tear through him and more blood leak out of his mouth, but a smile spread across his face. "Well...it looks like you got me," he said softly. "Guess I'm not very good at fighting. Oh well. Pardon me though, I want to watch the fire burn."

Pressing his four remaining legs into the ground, he propelled himself upward and grabbed onto a hatch that was vaguely visible on the ceiling. Pulling it open, his spikes pushed him into it as he slammed it down behind him. "Where's he going!?" Sam shouted in anger.

"Don't bother, he's taken too much internal damage, he won't last very long," Jane said, putting her finger to her ear. "Besides, we have more important things to focus on right now-yes General Moore?"

"Captain, what is it?" the General asked.

"Goeth set the Horde loose in the city! They were never at the White House!" Jane shouted, looking around at the holographic screens that were still showing the mutants and cyborgs rampaging through New Washington D.C., killing everyone that got in their way. "You need to have every last soldier that isn't taking part in this assault in the streets hunting them down before the damage gets any worse!"

"I've been doing everything I can since the reports about those first came in!" Moore said. "But they're too thinly spread out, my men are having a hard time pinning them down, do you have any information that can help us?"

"I...yes!" Jane said, looking at the screens again. "Goeth tapped into surveillance networks all around the city, they're trained to watch the Horde, I'm looking at them right now."

"Good! Just tap me into it and my command staff can use to give more direct orders to my men!" Moore said.

"Working on it," Jane said, activating her omni-tool and typing into it. "And...done!" she said.

"All right, I see it, I'll do what I can," Moore said as the line went did.

"Goddess," Liara said, looking up at the screens. "He'd do this to his own people? He'd do this to...anyone?"

"I'm not surprised, Woods did talk about him like he was sick in the head," Ashley said.

"It looks like the Loyalists are already moving in!" John said, pointing at one of the screens. A Tiger tank and a platoon of Marines were moving down one street, the tank's cannon blasting away a Krogan FEV mutant while the Marines opened fire on the rest.

"Yeah," Jane said grimly, "but people are still going to die. Too many are still going to die." Liara glanced at Jane, noticing her hand tightening into a fist before going slightly limp. She felt a pang of sadness.

XXXXX

Cornelia swung her sword as hard as she could at Grace, purple energy enveloping the blade. The cyborg brought up her claw arm, using the body of the arm to block the sword. Smirking in satisfaction, the cyborg raised her shotgun and aimed it at Cornelia, her finger tightening on the trigger. Before she could pull it though, a stream of bullets came flying across the room, and slammed into her shields. She pointed her shotgun at the origin of the bullets and fired, EDI hastily ducking back behind a data stack as the blast of the Claymore narrowly missed her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Grace saw Cornelia swinging at her again, forcing her to raise her arm to block the blow. Once again, she attempted to fire her shotgun at Cornelia, but before she could, Legion slipped out and fired his rifle at her, the anti-material rifle smashing into her shields, badly weakening them.

Loosing her patience, Grace let out a roar of frustration, swinging at Cornelia and managing to hit her in the side of her head with the edge of her arm. Cornelia staggered back, clutching her head in pain, as Grace aimed her shotgun at Legion, firing another blast at Legion, hitting the synthetic with the blunt of the blast and managing to take its shields down.

As she did, Grace pulled the trigger again in an attempt to finish it off, but her shotgun beeped loudly, announcing that it have overheated. "Enough of this shit!" she shouted, charging forward and swinging her claw at Cornelia, who barely jumped back in time to avoid it. Not letting up, she swung again, Cornelia attempting to dodge to the side, but the claw managed to tear through her armor and into her shoulder, blood spurting out as Cornelia yelled in pain, ducking as Grace swung at her again.

EDI lined up another shot at Grace, but before she could fire, she spotted Edward aiming his plasma cannon at her. She dove out of cover, sliding behind another datastack as the one that she had been taking cover behind was obliterated by the ball of destruction. Legion fired another shot from its rifle, hitting Edward squarely in the chest, causing him to stagger back slightly before recovering his balance and firing his cannon again, aiming at Legion this time. The synthetic dove out from behind cover and behind another datastack as the one that it was just behind was obliterated.

"I am going to fucking skin you!" Grace roared, swinging her claw at Cornelia again, the other woman barely blocking it with her short sword in time. She aimed her shotgun at Cornelia again, but before she could fire it, she heard another blast go off and her shields collapse. Before she could react, a second shot went off and pellets slammed into the arm holding the shotgun, knocking it out of her hand.

Cornelia dropped her SMG and grabbed the falling shotgun, aiming it at Grace and firing it. The pellets of the high grade shotgun tore through her power armor, some of them embedding themselves in her flesh. Roaring in anger, she slashed forward, tearing Cornelia's side open with her claw before wheeling around to face Tali, swinging at her, the Quarian barely avoiding it as Grace began to advance on her, swinging her claw viciously.

Legion aimed its anti-material at the un-shielded Grace, but before it could, Edward spotted it and fired another blast. Legion didn't get out of the way this time. The explosion threw the synthetic onto its back, its rifle flying out of its hands. Legion attempted to pull itself to its feet, but found itself unable to. Looking down, it realized why it was unable to. Both of its legs had been blown off by the blast.

Seeing that the Geth had been disabled, Edward swung his cannon to face Tali. "Grace!" he shouted. "Get back so that I can get a clean shot!" As he shouted, he heard a grunting noise and the sound of something flying through the air. White hot pain tore through his back. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Volker was lying sprawled on the ground, blood still dripping from his face, propping himself up with one hand while holding his Theta energy pistol with the other, aiming it at Edward as he pulled the trigger again.

'So this is how it ends,' Edward thought to himself as another ball of Theta energy slammed into his back, followed by three others as he collapsed to the ground in pain, landing flat on his face. "Grace," he gently whispered. "I'm...I'm sorry." With that, his body went limp.

"EDWARD!" Grace shouted, closing her normal hand into a fist and slamming it into Tali's stomach before throwing her to the side. EDI hastily raised her SMG, firing off three bursts at Grace, but even as they pierced both her armor and her flesh, she ignored them, charging directly at Volker. "You little shit!" she shouted, swinging her claw at him. However before it could connect, the claw stopped in mid air, a loud clash resonating through the room as it did.

Slowly, Jessica decloaked in front of Grace, her knife clashing with Grace's claw. Tali stirred where she laid, realizing what was going on and grabbing her shotgun, aiming it at Grace and Jessica. EDI did the same with her SMG, but as she did, she noticed that Grace's shields had reformed around her.

"Get the fuck out of my way!" Grace snarled, pushing at the knife that Jessica was holding.

"Grace, listen to me!" Jessica said, "the implant in my neck is gone! I can get yours out! They can't hurt us anymore."

"Open your eyes you stupid bitch!" Grace shouted. "Edward is dead! Rose is dead because of these fucking people! I'm going to rip their fucking throats out! So get the fuck out of my way!" she roared pulling her claw back and swinging at Jessica's face. Before she was even halfway there through, all of her limbs went stiff and she fell onto the ground.

Jessica slowly knelt down with her knife in hand, when she noticed Volker, Tali and EDI all aiming their weapons at them. "Don't shoot," she said, holding up her free hand, looking around. "Just let me get the implant out of her neck, and we'll go." She pulled Grace's helmet off, baring her neck. "Grace, hold still, this is going to hurt," she said, lowering her knife and hesitantly digging the knife into the back of her neck. Grace roared in pain as Jessica pried a small implant out from between her vertebrae tossing it to the side.

"Come on...come Grace just come with me," Jessica said. "They can't hurt us now we can-"

"Shut the fuck up," Grace said getting to her feet and glaring at the wounded Volker, who looked like he was having a hard time staying conscious. "I'm going to kill that little shit."

"No...no Grace don't!" Jessica shouted, grabbing Grace by the shoulder. "They're victims! Just as much as we are!"

"He killed Edward!"

"Crawford made him! Crawford made Rose fight, Crawford made Edward fight, made us fight made them fight! It's his fault, not-" Jessica was cut off as Grace's fist collided with her face.

"Get out of my way!" Grace shouted. "Either you help me or stay the fuck out of my way!" she said, turning to face Volker again. The German pulled the trigger on his Theta energy pistol, but his hand was starting to droop, and it missed her by a long shot. Tali and EDI both fired their weapons, but Grace's freshly replenished shields absorbed them.

Grace raised her claw, but before she could swing it, Jessica grabbed her again and pulled her back. Furious, she turned and swung at Jessica, slashing gashes in her armor, almost reaching flesh. She charged forward and tackled Jessica, slamming her against the wall and pulled her claw back with the intention to rip Jessica's head off. Before she could though, a sharp pain tore through her throat. Slowly, she looked down and saw the hilt of Jessica's knife sticking out of her throat.

"I...oh God Grace I didn't meant to-" Jessica said, raising her hands to her face as Grace staggered back.

Grace spat at Jessica, the liquid half saliva half blood. "Fuck...you," she swore she said before falling onto the ground, blood pooling around her.

Jessica fell to her knees. "I...I didn't want to...I didn't want to...oh Grace," she blubbered, tears streaming down her face.

Getting to her feet, Tali made her way to where Volker was. "Are you ok?" she asked, looking at him, hastily pulling out a case of medi-gel.

"I'm...I'm fine," he said weakly as Tali gently applied medi-gel to his face. He looked awful, the three gashes from Grace's claw were still bleeding heavily, and his eye had burst open. "The...the Geth..." he said.

"Right," Tali said, applying the rest of the medi-gel to the rest of the gashes before getting to her feet. "EDI, take care of Cornelia!" she called out, as she placed her shotgun down on the ground and began typing into her omni-tool in front of the red and black object after reaching out and manually deactivating the fire walls that the terminals had. The synthetic nodded as she ran towards where Cornelia was lying on the ground, taking out a tube of medi-gel and applying it to the gash in her sides.

Tali hastily read the readout on her omni-tool, seeing the progress of the device that was attempting to hack the Geth network. She hastily accessed the controls for it, bringing them up on her screen, the ones for overriding the Geth and the option to deactivate the process. As she did, she noticed something else. There was another set of controls right below the ones for overriding the Geth. The option to destroy the Geth.

She blinked in shock as she continued to read. Apparently Goeth had setup a backup plan in the device. To overload the Geth network internally, to cause the individual units to overload and wipe out every last program. It would change a very simple, internal part of their programing, the same thing that the virus was trying to do right now, but instead of telling the Geth to obey the Enclave, it would tell them to self destruct.

Tali starred at her omni-tool. If she did this, if she killed the Geth, she would give her people their future back. They would be able to recolonize Rannoch, be able to live without their suits, get their lives back. Slowly, she looked behind her at Legion, who still lacked its legs and looked like it was attempting to repair itself, doing something to its legs to stop the white fluid from leaking out. If it hadn't intervened, the Enclave would've captured 'Raan and they never would've gotten the chance to save her father, not to mention that the Geth were helping them fight the Enclave directly.

'They're only looking out for themselves!' Tali thought, 'they wouldn't care if they weren't threatened by the Enclave too. As she thought, she spotted Volker out of the corner of her eyes, who looked like he was on the verge of passing out. Something he had said to her on the way here filled her mind.

'Because you're better than me.' Slowly she reached towards her omni-tool and punched in the command that would cause the signal to stop. She lowered her hand and looked at Volker, only to see that he had passed out from the pain.

"I hope that you're right," she whispered, looking at him.

On the other side of the room, EDI slowly helped Cornelia to her feet. "How's Volker and Legion?" she asked through grit teeth.

"Volker is unconscious, but his vitals are stable. Legion's platform has been heavily damaged, but the programs are unharmed," EDI replied. "I am calling for back up and medical evac."

"Good...what about her?" she asked, looking at Jessica. She was kneeling on the floor, looking at Edward and Grace's bodies, tears streaming down her face.

"I...don't know," EDI answered. The two of them stared at the crying woman, Tali doing the same. They had stopped the hacking attempt and quite possibly had ensured the Enclave's defeat. Despite that, they all had a rather hollow feeling in the pits of their stomachs.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Fun fact, when playing X-COM Enemy Unknown, I named some of my soldiers after my OCs. During the assault on the alien base, Volker got mauled by Chrysalids...twice.

Also...God, looking back on the Enclave arc I can't help but feel like shit. I think I've mentioned before that I suffer from crappy self esteem and it is REALLY kicking in right now. This arc lasted WAY too long in hindsight, I doubt that anything I write after this will ever come close. It dragged way to much in some places, was way too quick in others, l feel like massive chunks of what I wrote was forced, Woods and Moore were good because I said so, Crawford was evil because I said so and overall I just don't really feel satisfied with it. There's always that nagging feeling in the back of my head that what I could be writing could be so much better...and it really kicks in here.

God what is wrong with me? I can't help but feel like this entire fic is just a massive pile of shit now, not to mention a waste of your time and my time. And it gets even worse because I feel guilty about complaining to you guys because I feel like I'm doing it out of a plea for attention and to get sympathy and more votes from you. I wish I didn't get so freaking emotional every time I got a less than positive review, but then again I'm half convinced that I'm Bipolar.

The worst part about this is that I can't fall back on the "A lot of people like it and it gets seen a lot, so it must be good" argument, because how many crappy things in this world are popular? Like Avatar (not the last airbender) or the Michael Bay Transformer movies...and Twilight...ok if I'm comparing my story to Twilight then maybe I'm being a little over dramatic. Still, my point stands. Sorry that I wasted my time bitching to you...again.

Please just do me a favor and tell me what you think of my story, don't pull any punches. I normally say no flamming, but if you need to tell me that my story is the worse piece of shit that you've ever read and that I should go fuck myself, you go right ahead.

EDIT: Ok, I've had time to calm down now and looking back I can find a lot of things in this arc that I'm proud of, but I still want you to give me your honest opinion on my story.


	69. Aftermath

Chapter 69

Aftermath

Author's Note: Please refrain from making jokes about the number of the chapter.

XXXXX

"I want a status report now!" Crawford shouted from behind the desk in the Oval Office, half a dozen heavy soldiers standing in the room with them.

"Sir, Loyalist forces are pressing hard and fast!" a scared voice said from Woods' terminal. "We can't hold them back much longer!"

"You don't let them get any further!" Crawford shouted. "If they stop us now, everything that we've sacrificed will be for nothing! Now HOLD them!"

"We can't sir! There's too many of them, and we can't-GAH!"

"Sergeant!" Crawford roared. "SERGEANT!"

"Captain," one of the soldiers said. "Maybe we should think about evacuating. I'm certain that Woods had a secret escape tunnel just in case she needed to-"

"I'M AN ADMIRAL!" Crawford screeched rising to his feet and shoving the terminal in front of him to the ground before drawing a pistol and training it on the soldier that had spoken. "YOU HEAR ME!? AN ADMIRAL!"

"Sir, we don't have time for this!" the soldier insisted, sounding slightly unnerved, but standing his ground. "We need you alive if this is going to work! We're about to lose this building, but if you can get out of here we can regroup somewhere else. We still have the majority of the fleet under our command and-" he was cut off as Crawford fired a shot from his pistol, the round flying through the air and impacting on the soldier's shields.

"We aren't going anywhere, do you hear me!?" Crawford hissed. "This is the heart of our nation, the heart of America. If we let those fools take it how can we call ourselves Americans. We are going to push them back and-" he was cut off as a loud beep emanated from the door, followed almost at once by a massive explosion that threw three of the nearby soldiers back.

Before Crawford could blink, both Sigma and Alpha Squad had stormed through the door, their weapons raised. The three soldiers that were still standing also raised their weapons, but before they could do anything, a barrage of fire swallowed them up, killing them instantly. The soldiers on the ground stirred, but upon seeing the six cyborgs now training their weapons on them, they hastily scrambled to their knees, putting their hands behind their heads. The Special Forces hesitated, not opening fire.

"COWARDS!" Crawford shouted, raising his pistol and firing. He got three shots off before a single bullet flew forward and pierced his wrist, causing him to cry out in pain and drop the gun.

Cadence lowered her SMG as Albert put his finger to his ear. "It's clear now General, it's safe for you to move in."

No sooner had he spoken then Moore walked into the room, her rapier at her side, blood noticeably on it. She raised the pistol that she was carrying and aimed it at Crawford. "Captain, do us both a favor and stand down," she said, her voice deadly cold. "Enough people are dead because of you already, and you know this is a fight that you can't win. Tell your men to stand down."

"Why should I?" he growled.

"I don't know if you haven't noticed, but Goeth let the Horde loose on the city, he didn't keep them here to defend you," Moore replied. "That and your attempt to take control of the Geth failed. Goeth is gone, the Horde is running loose, the Geth are out of your hands and are slaughtering every soldier that tries to fight them, tell me, exactly what do you stand to gain here?"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Crawford said, clutching his bleeding wrist. "I did what had to be done. America was growing soft, it needs someone-"

"To make the hard decisions," Moore interrupted. "I know, I heard that the first dozen times you said that. And apparently the hard choices are cause the deaths of a couple hundred thousand civilians even though it never actually accomplishes anything." She shook her head in anger. "What were you thinking!?"

Crawford didn't answered. "I take it Woods is going to have me killed."

"You'll get a fair trial, but if you get anything less than the firing squad, I'll be surprised."

He sneered. "Woods thinks that it's that easy does she? She thinks that she can just-" he was interrupted as Moore flipped a switch on the side of her pistol before firing a concussion round at Crawford. It hit him directly in the chest, sending him sprawling over the ground, unconscious.

"Make sure he doesn't bleed out, Woods wants him to stand for trial and face the people he hurt," Moore said, walking towards Crawford and pulling his COM unit out of his ear and lifting it up to her face as the others moved in, James bending down and applying medi-gel to Crawford's wrist. "Soldiers of the Enclave, this is General Moore. Captain Crawford is in custody and will soon face the repercussions of his actions. His plans have failed and his men are dying. Because of him, thousands of monsters are loose in New Washington D.C., slaughtering civilians without purpose, the body count growing by the minute. You are fighting a battle that you cannot win. I urge you, lay down your arms and turn yourselves in. You will not be harmed."

She sighed slightly as she lowered Crawford's COM unit, looking out of the window. "Wish I had something to drink right now."

"Don't you start," Cadence said sternly, walking to where her mother stood.

"Not like that. I meant water," Moore said. Cadence blinked in surprise. "I just...I need a clear head right now, but I've been going nonstop ever since the massacre and...well I'm thirsty." Staring at her mother, Cadence reached down and pulled a canteen from her side, handing it too her mother. "Thank you," she said, unscrewing it and taking a sip from it.

"Are you ok?" Cadence asked.

"Define ok," Moore replied. "If by ok you mean sober, then for the moment yes. But..." she trailed off as she looked out at the city, a bright green flash emanating from a block in the distance. It had probably been one of her tanks opening fire.

"I understand," Cadence said.

Moore took another swig of water before activating her omni-tool, which projected a holographic map of the white house. The majority of it was bright green, while a few remaining rooms were glowing red. "We've got most of the White House back under control again," she said. "And I've got men responding to the Horde. But this is...God." She shook her head.

"Hello?!" a voice said over the COM lines. "Is anyone t-t-t-t-there?"

"Gallows?" Moore said, deactivating her omni-tool. "Are you there?"

"M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-most of the Separatist ships have stopped firing. They're saying that t-t-t-t-t-t-they want to surrender. S-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-should I listen to them?"

"Yes Gallows, order them to disarm, and have the Geth seize control of their ships. Only harm the crew if they try to resist. Did you sustain any causalities? What's your overall status up there?"

"I, l-l-l-l-l-l-lost four ships," Gallows said, sounding rather sad. "A-a-a-a-a-almost a third of my flotilla. T-t-t-t-t-t-the Geth took the brunt of the force. Also, t-t-t-t-there are still a few Enclave ships firing on us."

"Take them out, no reason more loyal soldiers have to die today," Moore said bitterly.

"I got them!" a third voice said.

Moore blinked. "Who is that?"

Gallows chuckled weakly. "C-c-c-Coalition pilot. He's been g-g-g-g-g-giving us some help. Took out a couple of ships. He t-t-t-t-t-ook a couple of GUARDIAN lasers but overall he's fine."

"Good," Moore said. "Crawford let Goeth's creations loose all over the city. As soon as things are under control up there, send all the ground forces that you can to help us get things in the city under control."

"U-u-u-u-u-understood," Gallows said, the line going dead.

Moore sighed as she looked out of the window. She had done everything that she had could. It had been nowhere near enough.

XXXXX

Volker moaned softly as his eye fluttered open. Bright white lights flashed above his head and he felt like the right side of his face was sore and itchy. He reached up to touch that side of his face, but before he could reach it a three fingered hand gently closed around his wrist. "Don't touch it." Groaning, Volker realized that he was lying on his back and pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Tali?" he said wearily, the right side of his vision black. He was in a brightly lit hospital room, Tali sitting next to him, slouched over slightly and looking rather tired. "I...where am I?"

"You're still in the White House. We tried to get you back to the Normandy, but it took some damage during the orbital battle. Woods gave us access to this medical ward after we helped her though. It's well equipped, even more well equipped than the Normandy."

"Then...did we win?"

Tali nodded. "Moore captured Crawford a couple of hours ago. With him out of the picture a lot of the Separatists lost their nerve and surrendered. Woods hasn't decided what she's going to do with them yet."

"Is...is she going to kill them?"

"No, I doubt it. Ordering the execution of that many people would be nothing short of suicide for her, not to mention I'm half certain she wouldn't be able to take the loss in manpower. Crawford on the other hand...she's going to make sure that he gets a trial, but considering everything that he's done and what everyone else has been saying, he's probably going to be dead in a few days."

"I can't say I feel sorry for him," Volker sighed, laying back down onto his pillow. "I don't really like the concept of the death penalty, but when it comes to people like him...it's existence feels justified...why does my face itch?"

"Um...do you remember what happened before you blacked out?" Tali asked.

Volker blinked as he thought back. His face paled as he did, and now that he felt more awake, he realized that he couldn't see out of his right eye. Gently raising his hand up, he felt along the right side of his face. It was heavily covered in thick bandages that stopped just short of his nose. In addition to that, his broken wrist was encased in a metal cast. "I...is my eye gone?" he whispered. "Is...is there some sort of technology that can save it in this time period?"

Tali shook her head sadly. "No. When an eye gets cut like that, there's nothing that we can do about it."

"I...I saw a lot of people lose body parts," he whispered, stroking the bandages again. "I should've seen this coming." He gave a weak, half hearted chuckle. "At least it's my eye and not my arm or leg."

"Hey, that's the spirit," said a different voice. Volker glanced to the side to see Roger lying in a bed not far away from his, Norman and Sheryl sitting next to him, Norman having a few bandages wrapped around his nose.. His cybernetic arm was still missing. "Woods is paying the bill to patch us up, that means that you're going to be getting the best implant that their tech can make."

"Implant?" Volker said. "You mean like your eye?"

"Like mine, except a lot better," Roger said, tapping his red glowing eye. "This thing is a cheap model that the Coalition came up with so that they could afford to give one to all the troopers that lost eyes. It's a little bulky and not that fancy, but it gets the job done. It's sturdy too."

"When...when am I going to get mine?" Volker asked, sounding a little nervous.

"You...already did," Tali said. "You came out of surgery not too long ago. The bandages have to stay on for a few more days so that your gashes can heal. After that you can take it off and you should be able to see again."

"Really? Just like that?" he asked. Tali nodded. Volker let out a weak laugh. "Wow, technology really has come a long way hasn't it? A few days and...I can get my eye back."

"Sorta," Roger said. "It'll be made out of metal and'll probably need some maintenance...and it'll probably glow."

"This is normal to all you people isn't it?" Volker asked. The others nodded.

As he spoke, he heard door slide open and someone walk in. "Is Tali safe!?" Rael'Zorah said, practically barging into the room, Jane, Legion and Woods not far behind them.

"I'm fine father," Tali said, getting up from her seat.

"Oh thank goodness," he said, suddenly walking forward and wrapping his arms around her.

"Oh...thank you," Tali said, sounding slightly embarrassed as her father broke away.

"Sorry about this," Jane said. "Rael insisted on checking up on Tali, and after everything that we've been through today, I couldn't say no to him." She looked around the ward. In addition to Volker and Roger, Cornelia was also lying in a bed, bandages around her arm, and so was Sam, all the wounds that she had taken since the massacre finally having caught up with her. Jessica was also sitting in a bed, her power armor lying discarded beside her, but she was unharmed and merely staring blankly at the wall.

Volker noticed her as Jane looked at her. "What's going to happen to her?" he asked.

"I'm still trying to figure that out," Woods said, rubbing her forehead. "I'm trying to figure out everything that we're going to do with the rest of the damn mess."

"Legion, your legs!" Volker said, surprised that Legion had legs again.

"This platform's limbs were replaced by other Geth," Legion said. "Our operational functions are once again within the tolerable range."

"So, I take it that your fleet will be here in a couple of days," Woods asked, looking at Jane.

"It will be," Jane said.

"Don't worry, my ships won't fire on them," Woods said.

"That's not very comforting," Rael said, glaring at Woods. "I don't even want to think about what happened to all the Quarians that you abducted, now you want me to believe that you're not going to try and kill us?"

"I only attacked you when I thought that I needed to do so," Woods said. "For the safety of my people. I have nothing to gain out of this."

"Your attack on that research team all those weeks ago can be classified as a declaration of war on both the Coalition and the Migrant Fleet," Jane said. "The Admiralty Board will want to make demands of your surrender in addition to the Coalition."

"Yes we will," Rael said.

"And considering that half of the Admiralty Board are either war mongers, morally bankrupt scientists, and the father of someone that my people nearly killed, I have reason to believe that they'll be a little bit harsh on us don't I?" Woods asked.

"Considering that we have the largest fleet in the galaxy and you could have very well put my entire species at risk, yes," Rael said coldly. "We expect to be compensated for what you've done for us."

"I thought you might say that. So...here," she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a syringe filled with bright purple liquid.

"What is that?" Rael asked.

"FEV," Woods said.

"What will it do?"

"To be perfectly blunt...it'll cure your immune system problem."

"WHAT!?" both Rael and Tali shouted. "How is that possible? How did you get that? Where did you get that?" Rael demanded.

Woods laughed bitterly. "Did either of you see those massive things that used to be Quarians? Goeth's been working on them ever since Crawford brought them back."

"That's right, he said that the first few that he created died almost instantly," Jane said.

Woods nodded. "I kept myself away from Goeth when he was still working for me, I didn't want anything to do with him or his work. I've been looking through his files ever since we took back the White House back though, and he has an entire room filled with vats of FEV that he just brewed up. Including this so that his Quarian test subjects wouldn't die once they were transformed."

"I...does it work?" Rael asked.

"Those things out there weren't dying from breathing the air, so they must be," Woods said.

"How...long does it take?"

"FEV is practically instantaneous," Woods replied, placing the FEV on a table next to Volker's bed. "Look, I got shot today and my entire world got turned upside down. There's more of that downstairs and there's also data on how to manufacture it. Pardon me, I need a smoke," she said, turning and walking out of the room.

"I...is this for real?" Rael said, picking up the syringe and looking at it.

"When we were clearing out the lower levels, we found a video that Goeth left saying that he managed to get a process down that he called multi-dose FEV," Roger said, propping himself up in his bed with his remaining arm. "He could've made that serum right there to go with whatever turned them into those monsters."

"And he kept trying to brag about some impressive thing that had to do with the Quarians and their immune system," Jane said. "I think this might be for real."

"But you don't know anything about FEV outside of the strain used to make Meta-Humans right? And you need an entire person to test the effects?" Rael asked. "Couldn't she be lying to us? Couldn't this be poison?"

"We calculate the odds of Woods lying to be astronomically low," Legion stated.

"I...I don't know," Rael said.

"I...could test it," Tali said.

Rael looked at his daughter. "Tali?"

"Someone has to do it don't they? We don't know the first thing about this stuff, for all we know Woods could be lying and have forged all of the data. With FEV, someone is going to have to take it sooner or later...why not me?"

"I...I could take it," Rael said. "You've done enough today already. You-"

"Father," Tali said. "Please. If this means I can take my mask off without being afraid of dying...it'll be worth the risk." Slowly, Rael handed the syringe over to her. "Thank you," Tali said, gently inserting the needle into her neck and pressing down on the plunger. Within seconds, it had been emptied, Tali placing the empty syringe on the table.

"How do you feel?" Rael asked, sounding concerned.

"Warm," Tali said hesitantly. "And my head aches a bit." She raised her arm and activated her omni-tool, accessing the inner systems to her suit. "She said that it was instantaneous and...unless my omni-tool is broken...it...it should..." her free hand reached up to her mask, grabbing it and pulling it off, doing so shakily. Pulling the mask away, she gently laid it down, baring her face. She took a deep breath of air before exhaling. "So...this is what it feels like," she said, her voice slightly shaky.

"Are you ok?" Rael asked.

"Yes...I'm fine," Tali said, her voice starting to break.

"Ok Keelah," Rael said. "This is really happening isn't it. My daughter doesn't need her mask anymore...I need to contact the fleet about this but-" he looked at Tali with regret. "Tali, I'm sorry to do this to you, but I need to tell the other Admirals about this as soon as possible, I-"

"Go," Tali said, smiling weakly. "I'll be ok."

"I...I'll be back as soon as I can," Rael said.

"I think I may need to talk with them about a few things too, along with Admiral Marcus," Jane said, turning to leave the ward, Rael right behind you. "I'll check up on you guys when I get the chance," she said as the two of them left.

"I...Keelah," Tai said, pressing her hand into her face.

"Tali?" Volker said, sitting up as best he could and looking at her.

"What did I do to deserve this?" she asked. "I...don't deserve this."

"Don't say that, of course you do," Volker said.

"No, I don't," Tali said, a handful of tears starting to work their way down the side of her face. "When we were stopping the Enclave from taking over the Geth, I found a backup that Goeth must've put in. If I had used it it would've let me wipe all of the Geth out. I...I had to think hard about whether to do it or not so we could get our homeworld back. I nearly did...and if I had we wouldn't have needed to go back to Rannoch now that we have this cure. I would've killed them all for no reason."

"Tali..." Volker said.

"Creator 'Zorah," Legion said. "We...we do not...this is...how do you..." the synthetic said.

"Legion?" Tali said, wiping the tears away from her face. "Are you...stuttering?"

"These are...unexpected results," Legion said. "Geth had evidence to support the conclusion that Creators would always attack when victory was possible but...Creator 'Zorah was given a chance to wipe our entire kind out but did not...we must speak with Shepard Captain and Creator Admirals," Legion said, exiting the ward as well.

"You...are you telling the truth?" Tali looked up to see that Cornelia had crossed the room and was standing in front of her.

"Yes," Tali said. "I'm sorry. I understand if you're-"

"OH TALI!" Cornelia shouted, grabbing the Quarian and pulling her into a bear hug, actually spinning on the spot with her in her arms. "I knew that you were a good person I just knew it!"

"I-Cornelia!" Tali shouted, her face flushed.

"Sorry!" she said, stopping her spinning and gently putting the now slightly dizzy Quarian down. "I got a little excited there."

"I...please never do that again," Tali said clutching her head.

"Sorry," Cornelia repeated, Roger roaring with laughter while even Sheryl and Norman sniggered. "I just...this is really great news and..." her face was beet red. "I should go," she said abruptly, walking out of the ward.

"She certainly is a strange one," Tali said.

"This is the same woman who thought that jumping out of a spaceship in high orbit would be fun," Roger said. "It took you this long to figure that out?"

"Keelah," Tali said, pressing her hand to her forehead. "This is just too much." She was about to continue, when she felt something gently envelope her free hand. She looked at Volker to find him smiling as he beamed at her, their eyes making direct contact as Volker drank in Tali's face for the first time.

It was a light shade of purple that resembled a Human face, but was obviously different in many ways. Her lips and nose seemed to be slightly thinner, her cheekbones were more pronounced, and there were a pair of dark purple lines that ran from the top of her head to her eyebrows. Her eyes were also dark purple, with the exception of her pupils, which were so bright they were practically pink. A tangled mess of black hair flowed around her hair, stopping just short of her shoulders.

"I..." Tali said, unsure of what to say.

"You should be proud of yourself," Volker said softly. "What you did wasn't easy, but it was the right thing to do. I told you that you were better than me."

"Stop talking like that," Tali said, a smile spreading across her own face. "Stop acting like you're some terrible person."

"Ok...and thanks for saving my life," he said.

"No problem."

XXXXX

Woods lifted one of her cigars to her mouth and exhaled, slouching in the chair that she was in. She was sitting on one of the many balconies that the White House had along the side, looking out at the city below her. Night had fallen not long ago, but she could still see lights and activity everywhere, people moving through the streets. Screams and gunfire reached her ears, in addition to the roars of the few surviving members of the Horde as Moore's forces did everything that they could to suppress them.

"Hey." Woods looked up to see Jane stepping out onto the balcony, still wearing her power armor with her rifle slung over her back. Slowly, she sat down next to Woods.

"I heard from Moore that most of the Horde has been dealt with, even if there are still a few on the loose," Woods said, reaching into her pocket and taking out her case of cigars and holding them out to Jane. "Want one?"

"I don't smoke," Jane said.

"There's a first," Woods said, putting the case down before taking another drag on her already lit cigar. "I haven't met a single person on this planet who didn't smoke when I gave them a chance. Aw well, it's a big galaxy and I've never been outside this star system." She looked at Jane. "So what do you want?"

"You said that if we helped you take care of Crawford you would surrender to us," Jane said. "I hope that you aren't planning to go back on your word."

"I can't afford to," Woods said, exhaling smoke. "That bit of technology we got off of Saren's Geth was my trump card, and it's worthless to me now. The Geth are already here and you deactivated it."

"That's what I want to talk about," Jane said. "I've been talking with Admiral Marcus, Legion and Admiral 'Zorah, and we have all agreed on several terms for your surrender. The first term is that you surrender that object to us so that we can destroy it. The Geth are already moving into the sub-levels to take it, but some of your guards moved down there to secure it when we took Crawford into custody. I want you to tell them to stand down."

Woods took another puff on her cigar before throwing the stubby remains over the edge of the balcony. Slowly, she lifted her hand up to her ear. "Sergeant?" she said. "Are you still in position in front of the artifact? Good, they Geth should be on their way to...they're already there? I...let them take it. No I'm not joking...just do it Sergeant...thank you." Sighing, she lowered her hand. "There, they have it. Anything else?"

"We're going to go through Goeth's data. Some of it, such as the FEV strain you showed us early, we're going to preserve because it's been proven to be helpful to medicine. We'll leave things like that and his work on cybernetics alone...well most of his cybernetics. Most of it, such as what he did to make the Horde, we're going to destroy every record of."

"No argument from me," Woods said. "What else do you want, my execution and for the Enclave to cut our military forces down in half?"

"You know, you don't have any right to be angry," Jane said, her voice stern. "You were planning on starting a war that could've very well killed millions, and not only were you going to enslave an entire race to do it, you had no problems letting someone like Goeth living in your basement and creating the same monsters that are now rampaging around this city killing innocent people. So if you're angry at me, too bad!"

"I did what I had to do!" Woods shot back. "I'm not proud of anything that I did here, but I did what I had to. I don't know how it works in the Coalition, but I had to fight tooth and nail for every last bit of progress that I made. I only was able to get the Bill of Rights passed, because I had to use that message that you sent out a week ago to blackmail the senate into giving me the support that I needed."

"I know," Jane said. "Moore heard about it from her daughter. That's why we're going to let you stay in power."

"I..what?" Woods said.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Jane said, her eyes narrowing. "We're not about to just let everything you did be water under the bridge. I personally think that the death penalty was designed for people like you, and really you should be out there with Crawford in the morning. But...look at this." Taking a datapad off of her belt she handed it to her. "Ever since you got shot, your equivalent to the extra-net has been on fire. People everywhere have been asking if you're all right. Also, apparently one of your staff put a poll up on your official site asking about you."

Woods took the datapad and read it. Her eyes widened in shock and disbelief as she looked back at Jane. "Congratulations," Jane said. "You now have a 90% approval rating."

"I still don't understand, you're going to leave me in power because I'm popular now?" Woods asked, putting down the datapad and rubbing her eyes.

"Most of your people don't know the hand that you had in Goeth's creations, as far as they know, you're a politician that stood up for their rights and very nearly became a martyr because of it. And despite everything that you've done, despite your lack of concern for the stability of galactic politics and how you wanted to take over the Coalition...I have little doubt that you genuinely care about your citizens."

"Of course I do!" Woods shouted, sounding angry. "I got into politics because I wanted to make things better for them! I didn't say 'hey, maybe I should get elected so I can fund megalomaniacs and commit war crimes'. I thought that I could change things if I was calm and rational and no one would have to get hurt...that mindset got me nowhere," she grumbled. "I didn't have any support in the Senate, I couldn't do a damn thing."

"What if you had more support?" Jane asked, "could you do more good then?"

"What do you mean by that?" Woods asked.

"As much as I don't want to admit it, the Enclave isn't just the remnants of a Pre-War nation anymore. It's a galactic power. You may not have the biggest fleet, the biggest population, or the biggest economy, but you are a galactic power with over a hundred warships still at your disposal and some of the most advanced technology in the galaxy. The Coalition trying to annex the Enclave could start another revolution, I doubt that most people would be happy with us throwing a very popular leader out of office and taking control. So we need you to play nice and rebuild your society, make it right this time."

"And how do I do that?"

"Our third demand is that the two current political parties be disbanded and all current Senators dismissed from office."

Woods paused for a moment. "You know, on second thought, I think I'm starting to like the idea of surrendering," she said, only half joking.

"From what I can remember about the Enclave political system, the Senate has to approve any treaty before you can sign it," Jane said, "so we may have a bit of a problem getting them to agree to that," Jane said.

"Actually it should be pretty easy," Woods said. "They all got a little too comfortable sitting out here in the middle of nowhere. Now that the Geth are here, odds are they'll do whatever it'll take to make sure that the fighting doesn't keep going and they all get to live. They'll agree to this in a heart beat. So...tell me exactly tell me how you want me to rebuild the Enclave, in fact, what do you want me to do in the first place?"

"I've met some of your civilians, most of them strike me as good people. I want you to do right by them," Jane answered. "The Bill of Rights is a good start, but I want you to go further than that. Get all of the corruption out of the government, put an end to the curfew, censorship and other things that are keeping your people oppressed, and just make life on this planet worth living. That includes cooperating with the Coalition and other species when possible."

"All of that will take awhile," Woods said.

"You've got time," Jane said. "I know it isn't going to be easy, but the Coalition will help you where it can. I have a friend that knows what it's like to be oppressed by someone who just defeated you, and considering what he and others like him did when they got the chance, I'd rather stamp out hostilities between us right now. And despite everything that you've done, you're the perfect person to get the Enclave back on the right track because you care about it's people."

"I'm getting the feeling that there's going to be a catch to all this."

"There is," Jane said. "The Geth are going to be watching you. They'll give you your space, but if you ever show any signs of mobilizing or posing a threat to the rest of the galaxy to meet your own selfish needs, the Geth will launch an invasion on you. And they won't hold back."

"So, you're telling me to be a good person...or you'll kill me," Woods said. "And by the way it sounds, obliterate the Enclave's ability to make war."

"By all rights we should've already taken away your ability to make war," Jane said. "But if the past has proven anything, taking away a society's ability to defend themselves makes them angry and hungry for blood. I'd rather avoid that."

"Hm...interesting," Woods said. "I'm not going to lie to you, I'm impressed. I didn't actually think that the Coalition would be willing to do something so drastic to get what needed to be done one. But you did...huh...maybe you've got enough guts to be the leaders of Humanity after all."

"You doubted that?" she asked.

"Considering how long it's taking you to hunt down Saren, yeah," she said. "Not to mention your judgement can be more than a little faulty at times. I mean releasing the Rachni was a stupid move no matter how you look at it."

"I learned a lot about them on Noveria," Jane said. "Something forced them to go to war."

"It was still a pretty stupid move, considering that you're supposed to be hunting down Saren and working with the Council to do that, but you went out of your way to do something that no doubt is going to piss them off...come to think of it, letting us keep our military and our independence is going to piss them off too." She looked at Jane, "are you sure that you're up for this?"

"Are you sure that you're up for it?" Jane said. "Like I said, the Geth are going to be keeping a close eye on you. Nothing else like Goeth and the Geth. Maybe you had to do what you did with Goeth, maybe you didn't. Frankly I'm not going to waste my time splitting hairs with you on the matter, I think what you did is disgusting, but my personal opinion on you doesn't matter right now. You're being given a second chance. Mess it up, and I'll pull the trigger myself."

"Anything else?" Woods asked.

"Yes. We want the information on the informants and contacts that you have in Coalition space. They broke our laws and they're going to answer to them."

Woods hesitated before answering. "Are you going to kill them?"

"No, we're going to take them in and make sure they pay for their crimes accordingly. They'll live."

Slowly, Woods activated her omni-tool and typed into it. "I sent the list to you."

Activating her own omni-tool, she brought the list up. The name right at the top of the list jumped right out at her. "How...how did you get him on your side?"

Woods shrugged. "He believed in our cause. Just like everyone else on the list."

Jane shook her head as she got to her feet. "I doubt that we'll be here for too much longer. Me and my crew I mean. The Normandy took a couple of hits during the oribital fight, but we'll take off once the repairs are done."

"Maybe you can actually try to find Saren," Woods said wryly.

"We would be doing that right now if we didn't get called in to clean up the mess that you made," Jane snapped.

"Well tracking him down isn't that hard. I mean, we found some of his ships...out here...nowhere near Coalition..." Woods eyes widened in realization and then in anger. "Why was his ships so far out here?" she growled. "They're never that far out here."

Jane felt shock tore through her as two and two were put together in her mind. "He...used you. Used you as a distraction."

"That son of a bitch," Woods hissed. "Is that all we are to him? Pawns to be used?...Fine," she said. "Working with the Coalition, rebuilding our society with them? If it means getting back at him I'm all on board with it."

"Good to hear," Jane said, starting to walk away before stopping. "This isn't going to be easy you know. It'll be awhile before the Coalition and Quarians stop viewing you as a possible threat, and who knows how the Council will react to this. Don't make me feel like this was a mistake. You gave the Quarians that strain of the FEV after all, even if it was to take the heat off of you. There is some good in you after all. Some." And with that, Jane left.

XXXXX

Author's Note: I hope that that little reveal about the FEV didn't come too far out of left field, I like to think that I had been foreshadowing to it. Heck, when it was revealed, everyone pretty much pointed out all the evidence I had been dropping.

Also, I'm very happy to make this announcement...I have begun working on my own original story, that I hope to one day publish. It's a wee bit different from my normal work, it's technically in the future (2015) but it's not really sci-fi. It's actually about vampires, because after Twilight someone needs to make them badass again right? To which you will probably say "But Hellsing Ultimate already got made" to which I say "Just let me make fun of Stephanie Meyer ok?"

I don't want to give it all away, but the main character will be turned into a vampire very early on, and the story won't focus about how beautiful she is or how she is in love with an abusive asshole, but it will instead focus on the hardships she has to go through, including learning to control her new animalistic urges


	70. Cleanup

Chapter 70

Cleanup

Author's Note: Well, the Enclave arc is over, time to get back into the swing of things.

XXXXX

"This is...are you certain that this is a wise move?" Sparatus asked. He and the rest of the Council were standing on the Presidium, Udina and Anderson standing in front of them. The two Humans had just finished giving their report on the brief conflict with the Enclave, and their plans for the power now that it had fallen and the allied fleet was still three days out.

Anderson blinked. "I'm surprised, you seem to be taking the news awfully well."

"I do believe I made it very clear that I would prefer if the Turian Hierarchy and by extension the rest of the Council had as little to do with this incident with the Enclave out of fear that it might start a war with them," Sparatus said. "Being told that they were defeated without a single Turian dying is nothing short of a relief to me."

"And you haven't said anything about our refusal to reduce their fleet size," Udina added.

"That's because, even if they did sign the Treaty of Farixen and only held the position of a non-member race of the Council, their fleet would fall within the guidelines that we have set," Tevos explained. "And while the Enclave ratio of ships to planets is higher than any other galactic power at the moment, their overall fleet size is still small compared to both you and us."

"Although, we still must question your judgement on certain things," Valern said. "Simply because...they do not make very much sense."

"I understand that the Coalition views synthetics in a different light than the Council, but do you really think that allying yourself with the Geth was a wise move?" Tevos asked. Records of the Morning War show that they are nothing short of brutal and no cost is too high for them so long as they survive in the end. Even if you have a healthy relationship with your synthetics, you should understand that the Geth are different."

"We have reason to trust the Geth," Anderson said. "They won't attack us, we haven't given them any reason to. In fact, I've received reports that they are actually establishing peaceful contacts with the Quarians."

"You'll forgive me if I find that a little far fetched," Sparatus said.

"I suppose it is," Anderson said. "But it's the truth."

"I assume with the Normandy no longer needed in Enclave space, you will be sending it back into Council space to continue your search for Saren," Sparatus said.

"That's the plan, we've been neglecting that for too long," Anderson said. "Some are even beginning to suspect that Saren engineered the conflict with the Enclave to draw us away from them."

"A possibility," Spartacus said. "However, there is something I would like to comment on," he said, looking down at the datapad in his hand. "It says here that you discovered that the Enclave had created a strain of FEV that would strengthen the immune systems of Quarians and allow them to safely live outside their suits." He looked up, eyes cold. "I was under the impression that the Coalition considered the FEV to be one of their most guarded secrets, you even flat out refused to give it to the Quarians for this very purpose when you first encountered them, despite your supposedly friendly ties with them. And now you're just giving it to them?" Sparatus' neutral tone was slowly starting to slip away.

"We don't let non-Coalition personal near FEV because in order to properly design it to do anything because create Meta-Humans and intelligent Deathclaws, requires extensive experimentation and hundreds of deaths, we explained this to you. The Enclave created this strain by experimenting on nearly a thousand Quarian prisoners. We decided that it would be an insult to those who died to just let this strain of FEV go to waste."

"So, you refuse to let any other species use FEV because of the cost that comes with it, but the second someone else gets the bodies for you, you brew seventeen million doses and start handing them out? And what'll stop the Quarians from taking this strand and modify it further?"

"We won't be giving the FEV to the Quarians in bulk. The Migrant Fleet is currently in Coalition territory, once we manage to create enough of the FEV, we will invite the Quarians into safe zones that we have set up to administer the cure there."

"It's still seventeen million people," Sparatus said. "All it would take is you making one mistake and the Quarians would have this substance that you keep to yourself."

"Sparatus raises a good point," Valern said. "It seems rather foolhardy of you to be so careless with something that you claim to be so dangerous."

"Please, allow us to take care of that," Anderson said.

"And I don't suppose that you want to give the FEV to the Asari? It could be used to create a cure for the Ardat-Yakshi," Sparatus said, his voice now rather cold. "Or would you rather let those people still suffer? You do know what Ardat-Yakshi are don't you?" he asked insultingly. "They're Asari that have a rare genetic defect that cause them to kill anyone they meld with. They have to be sent into exile, otherwise they turn into serial killers. The Quarians deserve your help but they don't why exactly?"

"The cure for the Quarians is already perfected, it would be an insult to let it go to waste," Anderson said. "A cure for the Ardat-Yakshi hasn't been developed yet. Thousands of people would have to be killed in order for it to be developed, the Coalition isn't willing to have that kind of blood on its hands."

"But you said that hundreds of Quarians were killed in order to develop this cure. Doesn't that make this cure for the Quarians immoral by your standards?"

"We didn't do that to them, the Enclave did it."

"Yet you're using it, despite the fact that it was accomplished through immoral means."

"The FEV used to create Meta-Humans was created the same way, and we still use that."

"It sounds like you're not really that upset about the deaths that this substance causes."

"Enough!" Udina shouted. "We have more work than we know how to handle. Pardon us." Both Udina and Anderson turned and began to walk down the hallway, Anderson briefly looking over his shoulder at the Council before walking. "Last I heard we were still getting data from Cor Mali," Udina said. "Did we get any information incriminating Mikhailovich yet?"

"The data feed is still coming in," Anderson said, the two of them walking into Udina's office. "We should be getting the list of informants that the Enclave has soon."

"I see," Udina said, the door closing behind them.

"This should make things easy," Anderson said, activating his omni-tool "I...what? This can't be-"

"Anderson." Anderson wheeled around to see Udina with a heavy pistol in hand, aiming it directly at his head. "Please sit down."

"It was you?" Anderson asked, shock in his voice.

"Sit down," Udina repeated calmly. Anderson glanced down at his own pistol, which was holstered at his side. "Pick it up slowly and put it on the ground," Udina said. Anderson glanced at Udina again. His pistol was a very heavy caliber, and Udina was holding it in the proper manner with both hands. He knew what he was doing. Slowly, Anderson loosely took his pistol out of his holster and gently laid it on the ground before sitting down in the seat in front of Udina's desk. "Good."

"Why?" Anderson asked.

"Because the Coalition is soft," Udina said. "Well intentioned, but too soft. A single ship sent in to deal with a galactic level threat instead of an entire fleet because we don't want to get the Council upset. Not to mention the Council isn't doing anything to help us deal with Saren, and do you really believe that General Victus ever wanted to do anything more than steal energy weapons and FEV? Do you think that the Turian Hierarchy would've sent him for anything less?"

"That's it? That's it? You think that's all you think is needed to justify what you and the Enclave have done?" Anderson demanded.

"Not just that...the Council's patience with us is wearing thin. We attack the Batarians, we make A.I.s, we break their laws, we don't fall under their jurisdiction, we release the Rachni, we give FEV to the Quarians despite us going out of our way to say that we can't give that to other races. How much longer do you think that the Council is going to put up with us?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't get it," he said, laughing softly as he shook his head. "When I said that the Coalition was soft, I meant soft in the head. All the Council's stubbornness, all of the things we do to piss them off, and we still try and be friends with them? You're a good soldier Anderson, but you're an awful politician."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm not going to rot in prison," Udina said, slowly pulling his arms back. "I hope you can keep the Coalition safe...but I'm not stupid. Goodbye Anderson," Udina said, pointing his gun away from Anderson and pressing it to his temple.

"UDINA NO!" Anderson shouted, scrambling to his feet and attempting to charge at Udina, but before he was even halfway there, Udina pulled the trigger. The sounds of the shot filled the room as Udina's head jerked back as he crumpled to the ground, blood staining the wall next to him. Anderson looked down in shock. Blood was pooling around Udina's body, his eyes half open and half closed, but oddly enough, a smile had spread across his face.

"This is Admiral Anderson, I need security in Ambassador Udina's office now," he said, lifting his hand up to his ear. "The Ambassador just shot himself!"

"What? The Ambassa...understood sir, ETA sixty seconds."

Anderson's legs shook slightly as he sat back down in his chair. Had that really just happened? He looked at Udina's body again. It was completely immobile, the pool of blood around him beginning to expand outward. Anderson slumped forward in his chair, burying his face in his hands. As he did, his omni-tool beeped.

"What?" he asked out loud as he activated the device, showing that he had received a message. He realized, with a slight jolt, that it was another message from the Mysterious Stranger, the message titled "Possible Lead on Saren." He paused for a moment before sighing and pressing a message that relayed the message, sending it to someone else. He had just sent the message down a rather long and complicated path that would end with the message being in the Illusive Man's possession. He would have him take care of it, Anderson had other things to take care of now.

The door swung open and three men wielding assault rifles stormed into the room. "Admiral are you hurt?" one of them asked, looking at Anderson as he hastily took out a tube of medical. "Did the bullet rebound off of the wall?"

"No," Anderson said sadly. "Udina...Udina was a traitor. He was suppling information to our enemies."

"Are...are you certain?" the soldier asked in disbelief.

"I am, I have the proof right here," he said, holding up his omni-tool. "I need to file an official report...take his body to the morgue. Also, let Rear-Admiral Mikhailovich out of custody. He was framed."

"Understood sir," the guard said. Anderson sighed, slumping back weakly into his chair as Udina's body was gently picked up and carried it off. He had never felt so old.

XXXXX

"You think things will be ok here?" Tali asked, looking at Volker. The two of them were sitting on a small hill out the outskirts of New Washington D.C., three days after the Enclave had formally surrendered. Dozens of Coalition ships were visible in the skies above the cities, launching shuttles down to the city below them.

Volker's bandages had been taken off, revealing the other side of his face. The gashes that Grace had given him had faded away, but three brutal scars that covered much of the right side of his face were still there. He still wore a brace on his right wrist, but the advanced medical technology of the 28th century had already caused his bones to mend.

"I hope so," Volker said, watching a team of workers drive a truck out of the city, a dead Quarian mutant in the back. "I know what if feels like to be the loser in a war. A few people make a couple of bad decisions and the entire nation suffers for it. I'm glad that Shepard is trying to avoid doing that." He looked at Tali. "How do you feel about it? The Enclave being left mostly intact I mean."

"It's frustrating," Tali admitted. "They attacked my people, hundreds of them are dead because of them now. Woods walking away without punishment isn't fair." She sighed. "But then again life isn't really about what's fair is it? And according to the records, nearly two hundred thousand Enclave civilians died three days ago, half of them when Crawford ordered his massacre, and the other half when Goeth released the Horde...enough people have died already."

"Besides, she can't control the Geth now," Volker said. "And she was only did what she had to because of the obstructive nature of the Senate right? She could do some real good now that they're being forced to leave office."

"Maybe," Tali said. "I know that you want things to be better for these people, but you forget that Woods' hands aren't completely clean. She still wanted to attack the Coalition because she thinks they haven't been doing enough to keep Humanity safe, what with the Turians, Batarians and Saren, tens of thousands of Humans are dead. Then Crawford got more people killed than all those incidents put together."

"Do you think that she should've been killed?" Volker asked. "Or at the very least removed form power?"

"I do," Tali said. "But Shepard told me that since she got shot by a traitor while trying to sign rights for her people, she's very popular now. I think Shepard had a hand to play in convincing the Coalition not to impose heavier sanctions on the Enclave. She wants to help the billions of people trying to make a living for themselves on this planet, and through Woods is the best way to do that. Not to mention getting rid of Woods at this point would just get these people angry, they might start rebelling all over again, but this time against the Coalition."

"I'm glad that Shepard is doing this," Volker said. "But...the Council, that union of races thing, I've heard that a lot of the things we're doing is getting them angry. First the Rachni, and now this."

"Well, the Council really doesn't have a whole lot of input when it comes to the Enclave, the conflict was between them, the Coalition and the Migrant Fleet, and to some extent the Geth. They weren't involved, so they don't have much of a right to make demands. Still, with the Geth out in the open and working with both of us, not to mention letting the Enclave keep the majority of their fleet, the Council might see the Coalition as building up forces against them. To topple them."

"But we're not," Volker said.

"I know, but from their point of view things don't look that great. It doesn't help that the Coalition clashed with them on just about everything from the moment they stepped out into the spotlight of galactic politics."

Volker sighed. "It feels like Shepard is being punished for trying to do the right thing."

"Doing the right thing is never as simple as it sounds. I learned that in the White House."

"Speaking of which, what's going on between the Quarians and the Geth?" Volker asked.

"Oh...well..." Tali said, actually sounding a little excited. "Legion has been talking with my father and...it says if he can get the rest of the Admiralty Board to peacefully cooperate with the Geth...they might give us Rannoch back."

"That's great news!" Volker said, smiling widely.

"Yeah," Tali said, grinning herself. "I mean, technically we don't need the planet the same way we used to now that we have this," she gestured to her face. "But...it's still our home."

"I'm glad to hear it," Volker said. "You deserve it, especially after what you did." He slowly edged himself towards Tali

"I didn't do anything special," she said, also edging slightly towards Volker. "I just...I don't know."

"It wasn't easy was it?" he asked, looking directly into her eyes. "But in the end it...it was the right thing to do...right?"

"I don't know. Everything's happening so fast I just...I just..." she trailed off as they continued to stare at each other. Slowly, they leaned in, their eyes gently closing. Their lips brushed against each other in a kiss. It was a very short, very innocent kiss, the two of them breaking away only a few seconds later, both of them blushing heavily.

"I...I didn't mean to-" Volker said.

"It's ok," Tali said, looking extremely embarrassed. "It was...nice...it was...oh Keelah."

"I...Tali I think that I might have-"

"Me too," Tali blurted out.

"Really?" Volker said, sounding surprised. "Oh thank God. I thought that you didn't and I just...well...uh..."

"Yeah..." Tali said. An awkward silence passed between the two of them

"So...now what?" he asked.

"Maybe we should just let things play out. See what happens," Tali suggested. "Do what comes naturally."

"I...sure," Volker said. "Do you...think this'll work?"

"It's worth a shot," Tali said.

"Thank you." The two of them sat there for a moment before spotting something out of the corner of their eyes. Two people were at the bottom of the hill, one of them kneeling while the other was standing "What the heck?" he asked, getting to his feet. Curiosity getting the better of him, he started heading down the hill, Tali right behind him.

Hearing their footsteps, the standing figure turned around to look at them. It was Jack. "Oh hey," she said gruffly. "You two were with the Coalition right? What were your names?"

"Volker and Tali," Tali said.

"Huh...well just keep your voices down," she said, glancing over her shoulder at the other person. It was Jessica, still wearing her power armor as she kneeled on the ground. Three patches of freshly dug dirt were right in front of her, makeshift wooden crosses sticking out of them.

"Oh God," Volker said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know-"

"Don't get all sniveling on me soldier boy, just keep your voice down," Jack said. As she did, she got a good look at his face for the first time. "Damn, you make that other tin man look handsome. Surprised you're still walking."

"Same here," Volker said. "What are you doing out here?"

Jack blinked. "Do I really need to explain it?"

"No, no, I mean you specifically," Volker said. "How come you're out here with Jessica?"

"Oh," Jack said. "To be honest she asked me to come out here with her, said she needed help. No idea why me though, probably because I was the first person that she found."

"How come you said yes?" Tali asked.

"I don't know," Jack admitted. "I mean...I've been through a lot of shit. If you were to ask what I've been through, we'd be here all day. I just...I don't know, I kinda feel bad for her. If anyone even comes close to having gone through as much crap as I have it's her."

Slowly, Volker walked forward and knelt down beside Grace, looking at the crosses. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Don't be," she said softly. "It's not your fault. It's mine."

"What do you mean by that?"

"They...they looked up to me when the Batarians came for us," Jessica said. "They looked up to me when we were sold to the Enclave. I tried to be strong for them, I did. But...but..." she held up one of her cybernetic hands, which was shaking viciously. "I think Goeth figured out that he could get to Rose and Grace through me...he...he went after me. He did things to me...I wanted to die, but I couldn't even do that. He put that chip in my neck. Eventually I just gave up...and when I gave up, so did they."

She turned to look at Volker, tears in her eyes. "Do you know what they were like before Goeth turned them into monsters? Grace wasn't cruel, she was shy. She spent half of her time studying so that she could get into a good college, and couldn't ask anyone out because she was too scared, she would never do this to anyone," she pointed at Roger's glowing eye. "Rose was sweet, the sweetest person I never met. She never gave up, on herself or on other people, she would never kill herself! And Colonel White...Edward...he wasn't perfect but he...he didn't deserve this."

Jack shifted where she stood, looking slightly uncomfortable, Tali glancing at her as she did. "I'm sorry," Volker said again. "I'm the one that shot Colonel White."

"I told you, don't apologize. It's my fault, not yours. He died because he was trying to protect us, and he had to protect us because I couldn't do it for him," she shook her head. 'It's all my fault."

"We all make mistakes," Volker said. As he did, he fished around in his pocket and pulled out the small golden star. "This was given to me by a friend. Her name was Alina. We both fought on separate sides of a war. I did a lot of things...I lot of things that I regret. So did she. Neither of us wanted to fight, we were forced to." He looked down at the star in his hand. "She never told me what she won this for. I don't even know what happened to her. What I knew is that she was still a good person. Sometimes we're forced to do horrible things...but it doesn't make us horrible people."

"What are you trying to say?" Jessica asked, looking at Volker.

"I'm sorry, I'm not good with words," Volker said, sounding a little frustrated with himself. "You're on the far side of the tunnel now. What happened to your sisters and Edward was wrong, they didn't deserve it. But you survived. Alina survived, you both saw ugly things. There are people out there who hurt others, turn them into their pawns so they can have power. You were like that, a victim, but you're not anymore. And would Rose and Grace, the real Rose and Grace, the ones that you knew and loved, would they want you to blame yourself?"

"Rose sent me a message," Jessica said. "She said...said that she knew that the sister she loved was inside me somewhere. I'm not sure that she was right though."

"Yes she was," Volker said. "Most people wouldn't be able to go through what you did with their sanity intact. You did everything that you could Jessica, it's not your fault."

"Come on," Jack said, taking a step forward. "Goeth fucked with me too, so I took every chance I could get to give the Enclave a good kick in the teeth."

"She's right," Tali said. "Crawford and Goeth were the ones who did this, not you. And they're gone now, they got what they deserved."

"Woods is still alive though," Jessica said. "I...I don't know what to think about her. I just...sometimes I want to kill her so badly, just find her and slit her throat. She kept us like this, she didn't let us go...but she did keep us alive. Crawford was the one who got us...but she still left Goeth alive...I just...I don't know what to think." She clutched her hand in both hands. As she did, three sets of dog tags jingled in her left hand. "I don't know what to do now."

"You'll find out," Volker said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're stronger than you think you are. If you weren't you wouldn't be here now."

Tali smiled slightly. "Not bad," Jack said. "A little sappy but not bad."

"What are you going to do now?" Tali asked, looking at Jack.

"Probably going to stay here. Woods is giving pardons to all the rebels as part of her surrender but...she wants a little more out of me." Tali blinked in confusion. "Apparently, kidnapping, murder, arson and destruction of property aren't considered to be, 'acceptable terms of engagement' or some horseshit. She wants me to be an instructor for any future biotic soldiers that the Enclave starts training. She's got a few recruits lined up for me already. Christ, me a teacher...well on the bright side, she said so long as I don't break them I can yell at them. There's that."

"Wouldn't you have to hold back on the swearing though?" Tali asked. There was a pause.

"This isn't gonna be easy," Jack said.

Tali smiled as her COM unit beeped, Volker's doing the same. "Tali, Volker, we're heading out soon, head back to the city."

"Understood," she said, lowering her hand as Volker got to his feet. "We need to go now."

"Stop by sometime," Jack said, Jessica nodding silently. Tali and Volker smiled and waved as they slowly made their way back to the city, Volker pocketing the gold star as he did.

"What do you think I should do?" Jessica asked, looking at Jack as she stood up, the dog tags in her hand.

"What do I think?" Jack said. "I think that Goeth wanted you broken, wanted you to be too scared to do anything. So do what I did. Get up and kick him in the fucking teeth. You can still do that with him gone you know."

Jessica smiled softly. "Ok...ok."

XXXXX

"So, that's where he ran off to." Woods, Jane and Sam were all standing in front of the White House, looking up at the top of a nearby building. A body was perched on top of it, encased in black armor with four massive spikes sticking out of his back that were dug into the ground that kept the body upright, even in death. He was smiling.

"Guess he knew he was dying and he wanted to 'watch the fire burn' like he always said," Woods said bitterly. "At least he's finally dead. With him dead and Crawford's head getting blown out yesterday, I think I might sleep easy for the first time in awhile."

Jane looked up at the skies above New Washington D.C. Dozens of ships were visible from where she was standing, countless shuttles being deployed containing personal to help with relief effort along with their escorts. One truck with barrels of the FEV that had been used to create the Horde drove by as Jane looked down, bringing it to be disposed of.

"I imagine that now that your fleet is here you'll be leaving?" Woods asked, both her and Sam looking at Jane.

She nodded. "Our ship is repaired and my crew is well enough to move off planet. Some of them still need further treatment, but our doctor can provide."

"Well then, I suppose I should say good luck," Woods said. "And...thank you."

"Don't thank me with words. Thank me with actions," Jane said.

Sam smiled sadly. "It's kinda weird seeing you go. You were only here for a couple of weeks, but we did so much. I feel like I never really got a chance to know you, didn't even get a chance to buy you a drink."

"Wasting your time there General, she doesn't even smoke," Woods said. "Be willing to bet she doesn't drink either."

"I hate it when you call me General...and I hate wearing this thing," Sam said, looking down at the uniform that she was wearing was an Enclave officer's uniform, with three stars indicating the rank of a Lieutenant General and the insignia of the National Guard, a soldier standing on a rock while holding a rifle, on her right shoulder.

"It was part of the deal," Woods said, a slight smile playing along the edges of her face.

"Don't know how people move in these things," Sam grumbled. "My power armor is so much more maneuverable and protective. Even if this does look nice." She looked at Jane. "Don't mind Madam President here, there's a difference between smoking and enjoying a nice cold one every once in awhile, I understand that."

"Actually she's right, I don't drink," Jane said.

"I...really?" Sam said, sounding surprised. "Huh...no drinking and no smoking? You're a pretty clean person. Kinda weird though, one beer isn't going to kill you."

"I know, I just prefer a clear mind. Besides, I never liked the stuff anyway." As she spoke, her omni-tool beeped loudly. "Pardon me, Admiral Marcus is requesting my presence. Hopefully we'll meet again one day, this time under better circumstances."

"No argument here," Woods said, both she and Sam nodding as Jane walked off, Woods moving to then bring up a map showing the influx of recruits for the National Guard.

Jane moved through the city until she found a war cruiser that had landed not that way away from the White House and had extended all of it's landing docks. Dozens of Coalition soldiers and Migrant Fleet Marines were standing guard outside. The stepped aside to let her walk up the ramps, the sound of shouting voices reaching her ears.

"I'm telling you that this is insane!" Jane entered a command room to see Han'Gerrel, Rael, Legion and Marcus standing in front of holographic projections of Shala'Raan, Zal'Koris and Daros'Xen. "An alliance with the Geth?" 'Gerrel continued "We all grew up on the same fleet, we all know how we've been reduced to exiles that can't even colonize a planet without the Council threatening to bomb us! They can't be trusted! And for that matter, neither can the Enclave!"

"Admiral, I understand your concern," Marcus said. "But you seem to be letting your personal hatred get in the way of the facts. The Enclave has surrendered, the weapon that they intended to use to their advantage has been destroyed, the Geth threw it into the sun. The threat here has been neutralized. Now is the time for mending wounds, for all of us. We must make peace with the Enclave just as you must make peace with the Geth."

"I agree with Admiral Marcus," 'Koris said. "The Geth have offered their hands in peace, this is an opportunity that may never rise again. We would be idiots to let it pass by."

"I know you want to cuddle the damn things, but not all of us are so eager," Gerrel retorted. "How long until they decide that we're just a threat again and this time finish us off for good?"

"We have no intention of bringing further harm to Creators unless it proves necessary to the survival of the Geth," Legion said. "And it does not."

"You see?" 'Koris said.

"Of course it's tell you what you want to hear, it's called charming you, or are you really that gullible?" 'Koris asked. "And ignoring the Geth for a second, I'd like to point out that so far our diplomatic history with the Enclave has consisted of them destroying a dozen of our ships, killing a thousand of our people, and nearly two of our Admirals. Rael, you must know how absurd all of this is," he said, looking at his fellow Admiral. "And 'Raan, it's time for you to get off of the fence."

"I agree," 'Raan said. "But I'm sorry to disappoint you 'Gerrel. After everything the Geth have done these past few weeks...I think trying to make peace with them will be worth the effort. And with them watching the Enclave and the Coalition directing how they rebuild, the same can be said for the Enclave."

"I agree," Rael said.

"Rael...you're an old friend of mine. You've told me how you want to do nothing more than build Tali a home on Rannoch, but this isn't the way to do it," Gerrel said. "They're stab us in the back. And the Enclave is so close to use that even if we did resettle the planet, they'd be within striking distance. We'll have them and the Geth as neighbors, especially if the Enclave ever decides to start colonizing out of this system. Can we even trust Woods?"

"Because of Woods...my daughter doesn't have to wear a suit anymore," Rael said softly.

"I heard," 'Gerrel said. "But you're an Admiral of the Migrant Fleet. Your people come before your family Rael."

"I know," Rael growled. "But that doesn't change that Zal'Koris is right, this is a chance that we may never get again."

"You wanted to speak with me Admiral Marcus?" Jane asked.

The Meta-Human nodded. "In a sense. To be more accurate, the Illusive Man wants to speak with you," he said, gesturing down a hallway that branched off of the room that they were in. Miranda and Jacob were standing guard at the far end. "I believe you've done this before. He said he had urgent news for you."

Jane felt something jump in her stomach as she walked down the hallway, Miranda and Jacob saluting her as she neared. "Just inside Captain," Miranda said as the door opened and the three of them walked into a dark room. A glowing circle appeared on the ground like before and rose up, encircling the three of them as a holographic image of the Illusive Man appeared, sitting in his chair with a cigarette in hand and a glass of brandy on a nearby stand.

"Shepard, I believe some congratulations are in order," he said. "You've most likely stopped an all out invasion of Coalition space, and you may have very well spearheaded future prosperous relations with the Geth and the Quarians."

"Seems like there was some debate on if the Quarians want to be friends with us still," Jane said. "They were just arguing right now."

"They'll come around, we're offering them too much for them to just put it down and walk away," the Illusive Man said.

"Maybe. I'm guessing that you didn't contact me just to give me a pat on the back."

"You're right. We may very well have a lead. A lead on Saren."

"What kind of lead?" she asked.

"First of all, correct me if I'm wrong, but you had a run in with a figure that resembled the Mysterious Stranger on Demeter while your men were busy sorting out the business with that cult, correct?" Jane nodded. "Well, recently we've been getting messages from someone claiming to be the Mysterious Stranger, messages that have been making an awful lot of claims. First of all, he said that the Batarians were studying a ship much like Saren's before Saren himself attacked them and stole it."

"He has TWO of those things now!?" Jane shouted.

"An unpleasant thought, without a doubt," the Illusive Man said. "I hope that that claim was nothing more than an adolescent prank, but the second claim was that the Blue Sun headquarters had been attacked by forces using highly advanced technology. I sent out some of my operatives to confirm this...and it was true. Whoever is sending us these messages is sending us information that can be trusted, which is why I'm trusting this third claim. The Shadow Broker has information on Saren. I trust you are familiar with who the Shadow Broker is?"

Jane nodded. "The most powerful information broker in the galaxy, so Illusive that as far as the general public know, no one has ever seen his face, or if he's real."

"A trait that I share with him," the Illusive Man said. "According to our informant, he has vital information on Saren and is willing to sell it to whoever can meet his price...which is rather substantial. We managed to track down a possible agent of the Broker. We want you to find him and strike a deal with him. Admiral Marcus convinced the Army to only take a fraction of the payment he promised them because they never actually fought the Enclave. The rest of the fee that was originally intended for them will be used to purchase this information."

"This agent is hard to pin down, but we managed to learn that in three weeks he will be attending a party hosted by a Mr. Hock, I want you to infiltrate the party and purchase this information. If you don't we may loose him forever. Miranda and Jacob will accompany you on this mission, as well as the men and ship under their command to provide backup."

"Understood," Jane said. "We'll leave at once."

"Just a moment Commander," the Illusive Man said. "The Coalition has been looking over the list of informants and suppliers had the Enclave had. We're doing what we can to track them down and bring them to justice, but some of them are very well protected, and even with my resources it's proving difficult to get to them, especially without letting them know that the Enclave has abandoned them. One of these informants will be at the party as well. I want you to take him into custody, along with his wife. I'm asking a great deal of you here though, you see, this informant is a relative of one of your crew members."

"What?" Jane said. "Who am I bringing in?"

"Alexander Hawkins," the Illusive Man said. "The father of your Roughneck."

"Norman's father?" Jane said in surprise.

The Illusive Man blinked, as if in surprise, but it was gone in a second. "Yes, it turns out that he has been supplying the Enclave with the slaves needed for Goeth's projects, thousands of them. The Coalition wants justice. Bring him in alive if you can, the people don't need panic about the Coalition assassinating their own civilians if we can avoid it."

"If?" Jane said.

"But if it can't be helped, if you can't take him alive," the Illusive Man said . "Then kill him."

"I see," Jane said uncertainly. "Is there anything else?"

"Miranda has the more in depth details," the Illusive Man said. "Good luck Captain." And with that, the hologram disappeared.

"Norman's father," Jane whispered softly.

XXXXX

WAR ASSETS UPDATED

ENTRIES ADDED

ENCLAVE NAVY: MILITARY STRENGTH 400: Numbering at around a hundred and fifty ships strong, the Enclave Navy is led by Admiral Gallows and is dedicated to protecting Cor Mali and her colonies. The fleet took heavy damage during Captain Crawford's brief coup and lost 20% of it's numbers.

ENCLAVE HEAVY TROOPERS: MILITARY STRENGTH 75: The same soldiers that made up the entire military forces of the Enclave during their early days, the Enclave Heavy Troopers now fill the heavy support role in the Enclave military.

ENCLAVE MARINE CORPS: MILITARY STRENGTH 75: The bulk of the Enclave's infantry, the Marine Corps are the Enclave equivalent of the Coalition's Light Infantry divisions.

ENCLAVE NATIONAL GUARD: MILITARY STRENGTH 50: Only formed recently, the National Guard is a militia force led by Lieutenant General Samantha Gaulle. Despite it's youth, the National Guard has received tens of thousands of volunteers in the past few days, and it is suspected that the number of recruits will only go up as time passes.

ENCLAVE SPECIAL FORCES: MILITARY STRENGTH 50: Highly trained operatives that are given advanced cybernetic implants and special training, the Enclave Special Forces are the best soldiers that the Enclave has to offer, and it is believed that they can go toe to toe with a Ranger.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Sorry about the long as Hell update time. I've royally been busy at school and work, not to mention I'm really starting to get into PC gaming, got around a dozen games already (give it time). Well, time to get a new arc going, with our good old friend the Shadow Broker, and papa Hawkins. Boy, Nora is gonna be pissed.


	71. Moving On

Chapter 71

Moving On

Author's Note: Well, not a whole lot to say here, let's just get going.

XXXXX

"Good God I had no idea I'd miss this ship so much," Roger sighed as he slumped down into a chair in the mess hall. "Heck, I'm even looking forward to Gardner's shitty ass cooking."

"Could you please stop that?" Sheryl said, sitting down next to him with Nora sitting down across from them.

"Stop what?" he asked, glancing at her.

"Could you just stop doing that swearing thing of yours? Please?"

"Oh right sorry," Roger said.

Sheryl sighed as she smiled slightly, untying the cloths wrapped around her face and letting it rest around her neck. "Thank you."

"So, looks like we've got a bit of time until we get back to anywhere," Nora said, propping her boots up on the table and reaching into her pocket for a cigarette and lighting it. "So where to next? Salarian territory?"

"The Captain didn't say a whole lot about it, but apparently we're getting back on track to Saren," Roger said. "About time too. We spent way too much time on Cor Mali."

"Oh...Keelah." The three of them glanced at the far side of the table to see Tali sitting there, her face planting onto the table. Garrus and Volker stood behind her, Garrus handing Volker a glass of water along with a pill that he dropped into it.

"This should help," Garrus said. "I have to say, I wasn't expecting her to get a tummy ache," he said, patting Tali on the back.

"Bosh'tet," Tali moaned, leaning up and taking the glass that Volker handed her, moving to gulp it down. As she did, she accidentally tilted it too far, water spilling out over the side and splashing down onto the table. "Oh Keelah," she groaned in frustration.

"You ok over there?" Sheryl asked.

"She's having a bit of trouble adjusting to life without her suit," Volker said as Garrus slid a straw into the drink.

"Thank you," Tali muttered, starting to suck the water out through the straw.

"What happened?" Roger asked. "Is she sick? I thought that wouldn't be a problem anymore."

"I tried to eat a steak yesterday," Tali groaned, putting down the glass. "Gardner was frying one for Garrus and it just smelled so good, so I had some. But...oh Keelah this is embarrassing. In the heat of the moment I forgot that I had spent my entire life eating nothing but paste. It turns out that my stomach isn't ready for more complex foods like meat. So it turns out I'm eating nothing but salad for the next few months, doctor's orders. Yay me," she said, continuing to sip the drink again. "And I've never drunk anything without a straw," she added. "I...oh Keelah what is that smell!?"

"That's gonna be awkward," Nora said, stubbing out her cigarette. "So Volker, I hope you aren't getting too fond of smoking because it looks like you won't be able to do it around Tali for awhile."

"This isn't what I'd thought it be," Tali said. "I mean, some of it is, but other parts are harder."

"You'll get used to them in time," Garrus said, patting her on the back. "Sorry about this, I was saving that steak for a special occasion, thought that you being able to take your suit off would qualify."

"It's ok," Tali said. "I should've known the transition wouldn't have been seamless. Chakwas is starting to write up some physical therapy for me to help me adjust. She says that it's going to take months, maybe even a year or two, until I can act normally without my suit. Like you."

"I'm sorry," Volker said.

"Don't be," Tali said. "If we had tried to adjust to living without our suits before we got this cure, it would've taken sixty years if we got the homeworld back, six-hundred years, if we hadn't. Compared to that, one year seems pretty trivial," she said, sucking on the straw again. Volker smiled.

As they talked, footsteps echoed from the hallway, and a few heads turned to see Jane walking towards them. "Captain," Roger said, "Getting some grub?"

"No actually. Norman I need to talk to you," she said, stopping in front of his seat. "This is a rather...personal matter. Maybe it would be for the best if we talked in private."

Nora froze slightly, looking up at Jane. "What about?" she asked hesitantly. Roger and Sheryl looked at Jane, both of them wondering the same thing. Had she found out?

"It's...it's about the next mission, regarding our target. The brass wants us to capture someone who was an accomplice to the Enclave," Jane replied.

Nora relaxed slightly into her chair. It hadn't been what she had thought. "Oh, well if that's all it is, go ahead."

"Norman, I think that you may want to be alone where you hear the news, this is...a very serious matter relating to you. It's very personal," Jane said.

"I can take it," Nora said.

Jane sighed. "Very well...the Coalition wants us to arrest your father."

The smile on Nora's face disappeared. "What?" she asked. "He...HE was helping the Enclave?" She stiffened in her chair. "What did he do?"

"He apparently was the one that was supplying the Enclave with the slaves that were purchased from the Batarians. He acted as a broker, paying for the slaves under the table before transporting them to the Enclave. He's set to attend the same party as the informant that we are being sent to track down. We're supposed to take him in."

Nora didn't say anything, merely looking at Jane. "I can understand if you would want to stay on the sidelines for this mission, and if you want to I can make the arrangements."

"What's the sentence going to be once they convict him?" Nora asked, no emotion in her voice.

"I imagine they'll go for life in prison," Jane said. "He's a fairly well known political figure. Executing him would kick up a backdraft, people would panic. Coalition citizens are scared right now with everything that is going on. Our conflict with the Enclave went public, they're still reeling from what the Geth did on Eden Prime, people are learning about the Exulans and how dozens of people died on the Moon. They're scared, and the last thing we need is the public execution of a man who is well known for trying to bolster the force of the Coalition in the galactic community, even if he was caught up in all of this. We just can't afford it right now."

"I...I see," Nora said, her hands tightening into fists. "Pardon me...I need to be alone right now."

Jane nodded. "If you don't think you can handle being on that mission, just tell me," she said as Nora got to her feet and walked away."

"Keelah," Tali said, watching her as she left. "Is he going to be all right?"

"If I were him I'd want to be there," Garrus said. "If my father did something like that, I'd want to be one of the ones that brought him in."

"I'm not sure I could," Tali said.

Jane looked rather tired as she looked at Garrus. "I could use you in the CIC right now. We're planning our strategy and I want you to be there." He nodded as Roger and Sheryl got to their feet.

"Pardon us," Sheryl said as she and Roger ran after Nora. They caught up with her quickly, just as she was walking down the hallway and opening the room to her quarters. "Norman!" she called out, Nora looking up as the two of them stopped in front of her.

"What?" she asked briskly.

"I...if you need someone to talk to about this, we're here for you," Sheryl said, Roger nodding.

Nora didn't say anything for a moment. "Just...please come in," she said walking into her quarters, Roger and Sheryl right behind her. "These walls are sound proof right?" she asked as the door closed behind her.

"Yeah, these quarters have thick walls," Roger said.

"Good...because I think I'm gonna need to shout soon," Nora said, sitting down on her bed as she looked up at the two of them. "You know...my dad is a real piece of work. Just when I think my opinion on him can't get any lower, he keeps coming up with new ways to make me ashamed that I'm related to that piece of shit."

"Do you want to sit this mission out?" Sheryl asked.

"Sit it out? No, I'm not upset because I don't want to see him, I've been looking forward to this son of a bitch getting bit in the ass by karma for a long time. I'm upset because they're letting that son of a bitch live. Why? Why after everything that he's done, he's going to be sent off to a cushy prison and eat three square meals a day every day until he has a heart attack and dies! After everything that he's done, THAT is his punishment?!"

"It's bad enough that we had to leave the majority of the Enclave in power, but now when our own citizens commit what is basically mass murder, we can't do a damn thing about it!?" Nora shouted.

"He'll still pay for his crimes Nora," Sheryl said. "He's a billionaire right? Everything that he has will be taken away from him. His company, his assets, he'll be no one. He won't be able to hurt anyone again."

"Oh sure, let him live comfortably for another fifty years before he dies in a soft warm bed," Nora growled. "He deserves to have his fucking skull beaten in!"

"Nora...I think you should stay behind for this mission," Roger said. "We need him alive, and if you go down there I wouldn't put it pass you to give our orders the finger and just kill him."

"What's that supposed to mean Roger?" Nora hissed.

"I'm saying that I don't think that you'll be able to control yourself."

"Oh, like you're the paragon of self restraint."

"You know, ever since you were honest with me in the cave I've been dancing around an issue I have with you," Roger growled. "You are completely FUCKED in the head! I haven't forgotten what you did to that man back on Cor Mali. A bullet to the crotch? It's sadistic and unreliable, you were just supposed to intimidate him to make his tongue slippery, but you charged in like a trigger happy maniac and blew his brains out!"

"Roger you're not helping!" Sheryl said.

"No, let him talk," Nora said, one of her hands tightening into fists, a purple aura around them. "I want to hear what pearls of wisdom he thinks he has for me."

"How about the fact that I checked and you can be legally defined as a psychopath?" Roger said. "Lack of empathy towards killing and torturing people when it was completely unnecessary definitely makes you qualify."

"Oh really? And how many people have you killed? How many Enclave soldiers did you kill?" Nora demanded.

"That's different!" Roger said. "There's a difference between fighting people that are capable of fighting back, and executing someone tied to a chair after you neutered him with a fucking heavy pistol! The Coalition is in a bad place right now, and we don't need it to get worse because you had one of your episodes!"

"Both of you shut up!" Sheryl shouted. "How is this making anything better!?" She pointed at Roger, "You're being about as sensitive and understanding as a rampaging Rhino," she pointed at Nora, "and you're not thinking straight right now and just looking for a fight!"

A heavy silence filled the room as Sheryl looked back and forth between Roger and Nora, as if waiting for them to challenge her. "I'm going on that mission," Nora said, a tone of finality in her voice. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't plan on killing him. If you want to stop me, or you don't believe me, shoot me."

"I don't want to shoot you!" Roger said in protest. "Nora...I'm scared of what you might do down there if you loose control. What you do to people that you think have it coming, it's messed up. We're soldiers, we have to kill, I get that, but there's a difference between killing because you have to, and torturing them to death because you get a kick out of it."

A small nagging bit of doubt flitted into the back of Nora's mind, but she pushed it away. "I'm sorry Roger," she said, her voice sincere. "But I need to do this. I wish I could explain it to you but...I just don't think I could live with myself if I didn't look him in the eye when I got the chance. I'm sorry." No one said anything else.

XXXXX

"I refuse to accept a single term if any Enclave or Geth warships are allowed anywhere near Rannoch!" Han'Gerrel said angrily. "A single coordinated attack on the homeworld while we're recolonizing it would whip us all out!" He and 'Rael were standing in a conference room on Cor Mali, along with Woods, Gallows, Moore, Marcus, Legion, and dozens of Enclave, Coalition and Quarian guards. Holographic projections of the other three Quarian Admirals were also present.

"Geth have hundreds of space stations orbiting Rannoch that are significant parts of our infrastructure," Legion said. "We will be willing to move them if it makes Creators more comfortable, but reestablishing the core components elsewhere will take significant time. Until then, they must be guarded."

"Just let you have warships orbiting Rannoch so you can bomb us with mass accelerator rounds whenever you feel like it?" 'Gerrel said angrily. "You expect us to accept that?"

"Gerrel enough accusations!" 'Koris said. "The Geth have made it very clear that they want peace with us. They helped rescue 'Rael and 'Raan, they dedicated their military forces to help us from a possible invasion. With the size of their military, they don't have any reason to fool us, if they wanted us dead they would've just attacked us."

"Creator 'Koris is correct," Legion said. "If Geth wished to eliminate all the Creators, we would required no more than six months to recover from the damage we would sustain, even if the worst possible projection occurred."

"Remind me how that's supposed to make me feel more comfortable about you hanging over our heads!"

Woods sighed slightly as she reached into her pocket and took out her case of cigars. "Want one?" she asked, offering the case to Moore.

"No thanks," she said, taking a sip of water from a bottle in her hand. "I'd rather not replace one bad habit with another." She glanced at Woods. "No offense."

"None taken," she said, lighting the cigar and sliding it between her lips, taking a deep drag before exhaling. "I kinda feel like we're only here as a formality. It's not like we have much say in what the Quarians, Geth or Coalition do."

"We still need to help the Coalition distribute the cure," Moore reminded. "We still have some sway as to what happens here. They have a point, we should think about setting up colonies outside of the system."

Woods paused. "You have a point there. I've had plans for that drawn up for awhile, Crawford did a lot of surveying of the surrounding systems, checking them for any Geth forces. There's more than a few garden worlds that are good for colonization. I should probably start organizing plans for colony ships there, maybe a government grant if you sign up for the mission along with your family."

"We have 4 billion people living on this planet," Moore said, "I imagine some of them would like a change of scenery. So I take it this means you're going to be cutting down on government regulations when it comes to space travel?"

"Certainly am," Woods said before stepping forward. "Just a moment. I think we should discuss where the border should be drawn between Enclave, Geth and Quarian territory."

"We have considered this. Geth do not require planets, barren moons and space stations will be enough for us," Legion said. We do have one star system that we wish to keep for ourself however, as well as outposts that we must maintain for mining, reconnaissance, communications, and recovering Geth programs that have had their platforms destroyed."

"I was hoping that we could set up colonies beyond the Veil," Woods said. "We have reports on several planets that would be ideal for Human colonies. Oxygen atmospheres, Levo-acid based life, stable temperatures. There are a few other planets we would also like to set up terraforming generators on."

"I think that we could make an arrangement," Rael said.

"So long as they limit their military forces on our side of the veil," 'Gerrel said gruffly.

"W-w-w-w-w-wait a minute," Gallows said, steeping forward. "If we're going to have colonies on the other side of the veil, they're g-g-g-g-g-going to need a dedicated defense force. If they're attacked, they won't be able to send an SOS to our side of the Veil for backup, a ship w-w-w-w-w-w-would have to travel to this side of the veil to report on an attack, and the time it would take for a ship to do that in addition to us mobilizing and sending ships out w-w-w-w-w-ould take too long."

"Admiral Gallows is right," Woods said. "I wouldn't feel comfortable with colonists living on the other side of the Veil with anything less than fifty ships protecting them at all time."

"Fifty ships!" 'Gerrel shouted. "Are you trying to expand or just establish a foothold for an invasion force!?"

"Saren is still out there, and he knows where Cor Mali is. I'm confident that he won't be able to take this planet with a hundred ships defending it and the construction on the Goliath almost complete. But I'm not going to leave my colonies defenseless," Woods said. "Fifty ships. No less."

"Completely out of the question," 'Gerrel said. "We can't have that many warships anywhere near Quarian territory. It would be too easy for you to launch an invasion on us, something that we can't stand to risk."

"Sadly 'Gerrel, it isn't up to us," 'Raan said. "We are going to be sending the terms to our agreement to the Conclave for them to vote on. We can only override it if all five of us vote against it." She looked at Legion. "What are the boarders that you have drafted?"

Legion walked into the middle of the meeting and activated an omni-tool, bringing up a map of the Perseus Veil and the surrounding space. "These are the systems currently housing Geth facilities," it said, highlighting Rannoch and hundreds of surrounding systems. "We will be willing to move the stations that we can, but we would like to assist the Creators in recolonizing Rannoch."

"Thank you very much, but we will not be needing your help," 'Gerrel said sternly.

"On the contrary, we could very much use the help of the Geth," 'Koris countered.

"I don't think I asked for your opinion," 'Gerrel growled.

"Letting the Geth roam free on the homeworld while we're there," 'Xen softly, shaking her head. "What have we come to?"

"Silence please," Marcus said gruffly. "Let Legion continue presenting its proposal."

"We have found several systems suitable for creator expansion when they are ready," it said, highlighting a handful of systems with a light purple tint and spreading out. "We have also found suitable areas for Enclave colonization," it continued, highlighting dozens of systems near the boarder with a dull green tint. It was noticeable that there was a large amount of space not colonized by any of the three factions that seemed to act as a divider between the Enclave and the Quarians and the Geth

"What would that space go to?" 'Rael asked, pointing at it.

"We have yet to reach consensus," Legion said. "However, the space that we have outlined should serve the needs of the Enclave, Creators, and Geth for decades. We also believe that it would be poorly conceived for the Enclave to have close boarders with the Geth and Creators after the conflict that we had, as well as all of us expanding to envelope all nearby space so quickly. Until we can better decide how to divide up this neutral space, we suggest that it be left uncolonized."

"Not exactly an massive galactic power," Woods said, looking at the green highlighted areas, "but that'll do nicely. More than enough planets and resources. We'll also be colonizing planets outside of the Veil too in case you want to set up borders there too."

"Quarian space is inside the Veil, we want to colonize there, not outside our territory," 'Raan said.

"Yes," 'Gerrel snarled. "In fact I'd prefer it if you just kept yourselves to solely right outside the Veil.

"I do believe that we should stop here," Marcus said. "Admirals, I suggest that you send these proposed borders to the Conclave so that they can vote on it. I doubt that we will get any further with negotiations today."

"Be sure to also mention my demands for fifty ships guarding this colonies," Woods said.

"I will be sure to convince as many Captains as I can to vote against this for just that reason," 'Gerrel growled.

"With that much space between out territories, I'd say we don't have any reason to worry 'Gerrel!" 'Koris shouted, exasperation in his voice. "Why are you making this more painful than it has to be?"

"Admirals," Marcus said wearily. "Please. We have had enough for today."

"Very well," 'Raan said. "Legion, if you could please send us the data that you have, we will transmit it to the Conclave." With that, the holograms of 'Koris, 'Raan and 'Xen disappeared.

"You agree with me on this don't you?" 'Gerrel said, looking at 'Rael, "the Enclave nearly killed you, do you really want them to have ships so close to us after they flat out attacked us?" 'Rael said nothing as he turned and walked away.

"Glad that's over," Woods said, herself walking out of the conference room along with Moore, Gallows and Marcus. As they stepped outside, they found Hannah and Harkness standing outside with a team of guards.

"Everything go all right Admiral?" Hannah asked.

"As well as things could be expected," he said wearily.

"You jumped out of a spaceship? In low orbit?" Harkness said, his hands to his COM unit. "I wish I had been there. But dear, don't you think that that was going a little too far? I mean I know that you have your biotics but even then-" he stopped as he saw Marcus approaching. "Cornelia honey I'm sorry I need to go. Bye." Harkness blushed slightly as he lowered his hand. "Sorry, I was just talking to my daughter."

"Understandable," Marcus said. "We were just finishing. We're turning in for the night."

"Ah, ok," Harkness said.

"I'll be back at our temporary HQ," Marcus said as he made his way out, all the Coalition guards following him.

"Well, no one died," Hannah said as she and Harkness began to follow, a good ways behind him.

"True, I mean-" Harkness was cut off as his omni-tool began to beep loudly. "What the heck?" he said, activating it. "A live transmission?" Pushing a button on his omni-tool, Harkness watched as a holographic screen appeared above it, displaying two figures. "Fawkes? Charon?"

"Guys!" Hannah said, sounding pleased. "Long time no see. How long has it been?"

"Awhile," Charon said, smiling slightly. "I hear you're a Rear-Admiral now. Congratulations. We were just checking in with Harkness, he's an old friend of ours."

"Well, I'll let you get to that," Hannah said, walking off.

"Damn," Harkness said. "I can barely remember the last time I saw you two. I think I was still chief of security in Rivet City."

"It has been a long time old friend," Fawkes said warmly.

"By the way, thanks for that plasma rifle," Charon said. "The kid loved the damn thing, and back then the damn Enclave were the only other ones that had them."

"Well, he put it to good use," Harkness said.

"Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you something," Charon said. "When did you get a daughter?"

"Oh...couple of decades ago," he said. "When you live as long as I do...you get lonely. So I adopted."

Charon smiled. "Never saw you as a Dad. But then again some of us need to have families. And I guess you can't have kids of your own unless the Commonwealth gave you working testicles." He laughed. "And I doubt they did."

"Wouldn't talk if I were you," Harkness said. Fawkes let out a roar of laughter.

"Friend, we should meet when this is over," Fawkes said.

"I'd like that," Harkness said. "Three old soldiers reminiscing about the not so good old days."

"Sounds good," Charon said.

XXXXX

"Captain," Miranda said, saluting Jane as she entered the CIC, Garrus right behind her. In addition to Miranda, Jacob, Kasumi and John were standing in the CIC around around a holographic projection of a rather sizable estate. "We were just about to start planning our assault."

"Very well," she said, she and Garrus stopping in front of the projection. "What do we have so far?"

"Ms. Goto here apparently infiltrated the estate Donavon Hock, the host of this party, some time ago and she claims to quite clearly remember the details of the security system," Miranda said.

"At the time I was there anyway," Kasumi said. "He kinda noticed that what I stole from him went missing and probably tripled the security. Still, odds are he built them off of what he already had, and even then it still shouldn't be too much of a problem. Heck, we managed to find a couple of blind spots that EDI should be able to create by overriding the local security with junk data," she said, pointing to several glowing green circles that surrounded the hologram of the estate.

"That is where we are going to be placing our backup teams," Miranda said. "If we are able to accomplish our objectives without starting a firefight, they will not be needed. However, a backup plan should always be in place, and with the positions that we have picked out for them, our teams will be able to assist the main force."

"Speaking of which, how are we going to get inside?" John said.

"It wasn't easy to arrange that," Miranda said. "Hock is a very powerful man that prefers the company of people that are just as powerful as he is," Miranda said. "His estate is on a private planet owned by him on the border of the Terminus Systems. It's heavily guarded by mercenaries, our latest reports pointing towards the mercenaries belonging to the Blood Pack."

"What did you do?" Jane asked.

"We were able to forge you a new identify," Miranda said, taking a spare omni-tool out of one of her pockets and handing it to Jane. "Alison Gunn. You command an upstart mercenary group that makes up for what they lack in numbers in skill and state of the art equipment. You have an impressive track record of jobs completed and funds obtained. All we need to do is have you learn the part."

"Speaking of which, this is from the Illusive Man," Jacob said, holding up a bundle of cloth wrapped in plastic. "Proper dress wear," he said, handing it to Jane.

Jane looked down at the clothes to realize that she was holding a tuxedo in her hands. "So, I take it I'm going in alone?" she asked. "And unarmed?"

"It is possible that you might be able to convince Hock to let you take a couple of your mercenaries in with you," Miranda said. "Things are becoming more and more violent in the Terminus Systems with the mercenary groups at war, Hock himself will have tighter security than usual, and I imagine there is a possibility that he may allow his guests to keep some of their guard for their own safety. Failing that I imagine you'll be able to slip a pistol in."

"We managed to secure three uniforms," Miranda said. "All of them Human. You will have to select who you want to go inside with you and who you want outside on standby," Miranda said.

"I'll work on that in a bit, what else is there?" she asked.

"There's the matter of arresting Hawkins without making a scene. Hock has a rather high opinion of the people on his guest list and I doubt that he will be very pleased when he sees that one of them is being arrested by the Coalition. It's been agreed that it would be for the best if we could avoid drawing unwanted attention. We are working on a plan to lure him into a secluded area, somewhere near the parking lot for the air cars, where we can subdue him and take him into custody, hopefully without anyone ever realizing that he left," Miranda said.

"That's proving to be rather tricky though," she continued, "and there's a possibility that we may have to come up with a plan on the fly. No matter how well you plan, sometimes there are simply variables that you can't account for and have to deal with in the heat of the moment. Fortunately we have the better part of two weeks to go over our plans and finalize them."

"I take it we're going straight from Cor Mali to this party?" John asked. "No detours?"

"Nothing but a short stop at a hub station to restock on fuel and supplies," Jane said. "We're on a tight schedule."

"She's right," Miranda said. "Hock throws these parties of his very sparingly, and when he does he plans them out months in advance. We have a rare opportunity here, and we may not get another one. Both Hawkins and the broker agent are hard to track down, we may never get a chance like this again."

"Speaking of which, exactly how are we supposed to nab Hawkins and talk to this agent at the same time?" Garrus asked. "It sounds like it's easier said than done."

"It is, that's why we're not going to make any moves towards Hawkins until we have secured the deal with the informant," Miranda said. "The agents of the Shadow Broker that are as high up as he is don't get there without learning how to keep their calm under fire. I doubt us ending up to making a mess would cause him to break his deal with us once it's been established."

"I'd rather avoid putting that to the test. I'd rather just get Hawkins quietly," Jane said.

"This is just messed up," John said. "This guy bought and sold thousands of people as slaves, and we can't even go in and take him into custody? We have to launch a stealth mission to take him in?"

"He's a very powerful person John," Jane said. "Him and Hock. If we put out an active warrant for his arrest, there would be a fight. There'll be less bloodshed this way."

"Agreed. You may want to take some time to think about the teams that you want to deploy as your backup and the team that you yourself will be taking into the party," Miranda said. "Our cruiser will stop at the hub station on the way there, but we will take a squad of men to act as one of the back up teams."

Jane nodded. "I'll have John head one and Garrus head another one of the teams. Also Kasumi, I want you joining me and the main force in infiltrating the party, your cloak will be useful."

"Hm, maybe I could get something nice this time," Kasumi said.

"I'll be up in my quarters while I think this out," Jane said. "Don't hesitate to contact me about anything."

"Very well Captain," Miranda said, she and Jacob saluting her as Jane walked out of the room, heading towards the elevator.

"Would you say that you were troubled by the events that you saw occur on Cor Mali?"

"Nah. Maybe a little tired but that's it. Stuff like that happened on Tuchanka all the time, I couldn't afford to get weepy every time I saw it." Jane turned as she saw EDI and Wrex standing near the entrance to the CIC, talking to each other.

"What are you two talking about?" she asked out of curiosity.

"Pretty much what she wants to," Wrex said. "She's just been hitting me with question after question."

"Please forgive me," EDI said. "I've been trying to inform myself on the opinions of the passengers on this ship."

"What opinions are you asking about?" Jane asked.

"It'd be easier to say which ones she aren't," Wrex grumbled. "She's asked me about everything from my father, to the Genophage, to the Coalition, to the Enclave, and to my opinion on killing people. It's getting kinda annoying," he said, looking at EDI.

"One last question. Do you believe that your people deserved to be inflicted with the Genophage? I mean no offense," she added quickly.

"I can kind of understand the reasoning behind it," Wrex said. "But then I remember that because of it, the population of my race is slowly going down, we've spread out across the galaxy fighting for credits, and the Council pretty much view us now as an infestation of feral Varren and suddenly I don't really care what their reasons were, especially when it may end up wiping my kind out. I'm not even sure we needed help with that, but they felt so obligated to do so." Wrex sighed bitterly.

"Thank you for your time Wrex, I found it to be very informative," EDI asked. Wrex simply nodded before turning and walking away.

"I don't think you should be talking about such a touchy subject with a Krogan Warlord like that," Jane said, looking at EDI.

"I am sorry Captain. I know that the Genophage is a matter of great controversy, but I wanted to have the opinion of a Krogan firsthand."

"Can I ask why?" Jane said.

"I...Legion suggested that I continue to ask questions in order to broaden my understanding of the world. Ever since we were assigned to deal with the Enclave, I have been asking the question, 'What do I think'? I have yet to come up with an answer, but Legion's advice may have led me to a possible solution. I have been moving through the Normandy asking for the crew's opinions on various subjects of importance and reviewing them. I am still theorizing what to do with the information when I am done, but at the moment I am going to analyze it and compare the opinions to the subjects that I respect the most, though it is possible that I will also compare and contrast them."

"I...EDI when did this happen?"

"I am not certain. I have felt conflicted and confused for nearly a month now," EDI said. "I have been trying to form my own opinions on matters, and while I have successfully formed a few, I still have trouble forming opinions on most issues." Jane's eyes widened in surprise as EDI looked at her. "Would you mind if I asked you for yours? I apologize in advance as they may be on matters that you are uncomfortable with."

"I...fine," Jane said, rubbing her eyes.

"How do you feel about the recent conflict with the Enclave? You seem to be rather troubled by what has happened," EDI said.

"I just...two hundred thousand people died down there. A lot of them were civilians," Jane said softly.

EDI nodded. "The death of civilians is considered a tragedy by all that I have asked. Not only are they unable to defend themselves in combat, they are not considered a practical target unless the goal is to destroy a faction's economy and possibly eliminant them completely. I understand the logic behind it, but after hearing everyone talking about it, I have begun to feel the same way." She paused for a second. "I...I felt the same way when I saw the massacre at the arena."

"Not just that. Thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of Enclave soldiers died too," Jane said. "I just can't stop thinking about them."

"I don't understand," EDI said. "They were the enemy, they sided with the man that ordered them to fire on civilians, an order that they obeyed. Why do you feel bad for them?"

"Because when I think about it, I think that there's a good chance a lot of them were like Volker," Jane said. "They didn't want to fire on those civilians, but they did because they were scared, they were caught up in the heat of the moment, and now who knows how many of them are dead," Jane explained, rubbing her forehead in a weary manner.

"So...you feel regret that you were forced to kill soldiers that didn't want to be fighting you?" EDI asked.

Jane nodded. "It's like what Volker said. A couple of people messing things up for everyone."

EDI nodded. "I see...I think I understand you...in fact I think I agree with you." A smile broke across her face. "I do...I agree with you, that's what I think." She looked at the Captain. "Thank you Captain. I am...I am sorry that I asked you about something so personal."

"That's ok EDI," Jane said, walking past her. "I...oh God I need some sleep."

"Captain?" EDI asked. Jane said nothing as she approached the elevator.

"Oh...did I miss the meeting?" Jane turned to look around and saw a woman in heavy power armor approaching her.

"Jessica?" she asked, "what are you doing here?"

"I...I couldn't stay on Cor Mali anymore," she said. "So...so I joined Cerberus."

XXXXX

Author's Note: One person last chapter complained that the majority of the Enclave leaders had been left in power, although he did remark that weirder things had happened in history and that Nazi leaders had been put back in power by the allies. To which I say, that was exactly what I had based that off of. Putting a leader with less than clean hands in power, not because they're an outstanding citizen, but because they're a good political influence.

Also something else that was pointed out was that the narrative was trying to paint Woods as sympathetic, but that would make it more likely that she would be punished for what she did (or something along those lines, I'm going by memory here) Here's the thing though. If you don't want to sympathize with Woods, then don't. If you don't want to like that the Enclave leaders are still in power, than don't. You see, I'm trying to go with more moral ambiguity in this story, not show anyone as perfectly good or evil. Form your own opinion on characters and events, it's not my place to tell you what to think.

Also as a personal note, the reader d-u...stop. Stop leaving review after review after review. I let a couple of your reviews through and you keep sending review after review at me, despite the fact that I let them through. I am getting tired of your name constantly popping up in my inbox with the same message. If I let this one through, you'll probably just leave another one, so please, just stop.

EDIT: One person asked where Jessica was this chapter, saying that he couldn't see her serving the Enclave. She is not serving the Enclave anymore. She will show up next chapter.

EDIT 2: Scratch that, I edited this chapter to put her in it. Reread the section with Jane, I think you'll be pleased.


	72. Party Time

Chapter 72

Party Time

Author's Note: Ok, let's get going.

XXXXX

Nora impatiently flipped her lighter around in her hand and catching it and lighting it as she sat on a rock, chewing on a cigarette as she did. "Would you stop doing that please?" Roger said, looking at her from where he was kneeling, assault rifle in hand. "It's annoying as Hell." Nora didn't say anything as she flipped the cap back onto her lighter.

She, Roger, and Sheryl were one of the backup teams for the mission to take Andrew Hawkins into custody and to establish contact with the Shadow Broker. The second team was of Garrus, Wrex and Liara, while the third team was of Jessica, Miranda and Jacob. All three teams had been prematurely deployed in order to avoid attracting attention when Jane and her guards arrived. The three of them were at the top of a hill overlooking Donovan Hock's estate, waiting for the signal that they were needed. Until then, they had orders to sit tight.

"You don't want to be up here do you?" Roger asked, looking at Nora.

"No, I don't," Nora growled, looking down at the estate. "Somewhere down there, my father is walking around there free. I want to be there when that changes, I want to be the one that takes away the freedom he's been abusing."

"What do you mean by that?" Roger asked. "Taking him into custody or killing him? Because if it's the second one, we're gonna have a problem. You heard the Captain, the Coalition is in a bad spot right now, we don't need the assassination of someone as well known as your father making headlines and-"

"I KNOW!" Nora shouted in rage, getting to her feet and punching a nearby tree, biotic energy glowing around her fist. A good chunk of the tree was ripped off by the force of the blow, splinters flying in various directions as the loosened piece of wood hit the ground. "It's the smart thing to do, but the smart thing to do is letting a murderer walk away with a slap on the wrist!"

"Look Nora, I know that you're upset," Roger said, "I get it, I'd be worried if you weren't, but you seriously need to calm down! As much as I hate to say it, the Captain probably put you up here AWAY from your father for a reason. You're unstable! There's a chance you might loose it and blow his brains out, and as much as he may deserve it, we can't afford that right now."

"I know that," Nora hissed, taking her cigarette out of her mouth and crushing it underfoot before taking out a new one and lighting it. "Doesn't mean that I have to like it."

Roger sighed as he sat down next to Sheryl, who was sitting under a tree with a wood carving in hand, gently slicing away at it. "You think that she'll be ok?" he asked. "It feels like she's about to explode."

"I don't know," Sheryl said. "I just hope that everything goes smoothly down there and we take him in without a fuss. After that we can throw him in the Normandy's brig and Nora can tell him exactly what she thinks of him. And her mother too, I hear that we're supposed to take her into custody to for being an accomplice."

"Good," Nora said from where she sat.

"Guess that's a bright side. Anyway what are you working on?"

"A Deathclaw for Jenkins," Sheryl said, biting her lip as she peeled away another slice of wood. "I just...I...damn it this looks awful," she said, grumbling as she threw the carving to the side.

"What's wrong with it?" Roger asked, picking up the wooden Deathclaw and looking at it. "This looks fine. Hell, this looks great."

"It's too rough around the edges, the legs are too thin, the head is too big, the claws are too long, it's a mess," Sheryl said, taking out a block of wood and starting to slice into it. "That's carving for you. You spend all that time taking it nice and slow and sometimes you just mess up and have to start all over again."

"Sounds like a pain in the ass," Roger said.

"It can be," she said. "But when you get it right it's all worth-ow!" Sheryl had accidentally pushed the knife too hard, causing the blade to nick her left pinkie finger. "Damn it!" she swore, dropping the blade and her block as she sucked on her finger. "Got any medi-gel?" she asked, glancing at Roger, taking her finger out of her mouth.

"Yup," he said, taking out a tube of the medical substance and gently applying it to her finger. "You know you'd think someone who's been doing this as long as you had would would be able to do it without cutting yourself by acci..." Roger trailed off as he applied the medi-gel. A series of small white scars dotter Sheryl's hands, mostly on her fingers but there were a couple on her palm too. "The heck happened to your hand?"

"I...cut it...a lot," Sheryl said.

"I...Jesus, how many times?

She shrugged. "I don't know," she said bitterly. "I lost track."

"Isn't there some kind of proper method to handling it that stops things like this from happening?" Roger said. "Didn't anyone ever teach you that when you were first learning to do this."

"No...they didn't," Sheryl said.

"Oh...oh right," Roger said. "I'm...I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Sheryl said, picking up the wood and her knife again. "That part of my life is behind me, and to be perfectly honest I'd like to keep it that way."

Roger paused for a minute before answering. "Is that why you left Alaska? Joined the Coalition? You hated life there that much?"

"Yeah...I did." Sheryl sighed as she put down her knife and block again, pulling the bandages around her face down right after. "What would you say about my skin?"

"That it makes you look pretty damn weird, but not much else," Roger said.

"Well, that's pretty damn tame treatment compared to what everyone else in my village said," she said bitterly. "They thought that I was some kind of freak of nature. All of them hated me, didn't want anything to do with me if they could, and if they didn't need every last man I probably would've been left for the wolves while I was still a baby."

"Who were your parents?" Roger asked.

"Don't know, they abandoned me when I was born, maybe it's because they didn't want can't responsibility for fucking each other even though they were brother and sister," she said bitterly. "I just turned up in a basket full of blankets outside the village elder's hut. Probably from another nearby village. They gave me the bare minimal treatment. Enough food so that I wouldn't starve, enough water so that I wasn't thirsty, and enough blankets so that I wouldn't freeze. I had to sleep in the corner of other villager's huts, they actually had a lottery and the loser had the dishonor of having the freak of nature sleeping at their house. Then when I was old enough, they threw a crossbow in my hands, sent me out to hunt and then I was practically on my own for food, water and shelter."

"Where did you go after that?" Roger asked.

"Managed to build my own little hut. Pretty damn pathetic thing, but it kept me warm enough to survive," Sheryl replied. "A couple of the younger kids in the village didn't mind my skin so much and gave me a hand. They had to do it when their parents weren't watching otherwise...well, I think it's obvious that the people in that village weren't the best parents. So yeah, when the Coalition came in and started offering spots in the military as scouts and snipers for us I couldn't get out of there fast enough."

"You kept the crossbow though," Roger said, gesturing to the weapon slung over her back.

"It's a damn useful little thing, slides right through kinetic barriers once you adjust it properly," Sheryl said. "Not so good against armor though. Also has that limited ammo that became a non issue with a lot of modern guns.

"So, would you say that life is better out here?" Roger asked.

"For the most part...there are still people who treat me like a freak though. Some people think that because I'm from Alaska I'm a barbaric cannibal. When I fought during the Blitz, I saved a woman from the slavers. I had to kill four of them by myself, one of them with my knife, and when I tried to help her she ran of screaming like I was going to tear her throat out."

"Oh you think that's bad, try being a Moriean shock troop," Roger said. "Everywhere you go people ask if you've cut anyone's fingers off lately, or pulled any teeth out with rusty pliers, or smashed someones kneecaps with a sledge hammer. No matter where you look there are gonna be a couple of assholes out there. You can't let them get to you. I mean for awhile I let them get to me and look what that did to me."

Sheryl smiled. "You have a point there."

"And...if it means anything to you, I'm really glad you decided to leave Alaska," Roger said.

"So am I," Sheryl said.

"All teams, we are making our decent now," Jane's voice said over the COM lines. No sooner had she done so than a shuttle appeared in the sky, making it's way to a landing pad just in front of the estate. "You are to maintain a safe distance until ordered otherwise. Do not fire until fired upon or until you are given an order. Direct confrontation is to be avoided if possible. All snipers, I want you scopping out the estate and giving me any information that you can. Security, layout, Hawkins location, anything. Shepard out."

"Well, that's my cue," Sheryl said, bending down into a prone position and taking her sniper rifle off of her back, setting it up in front of herself and looking down the scope.

"So, we're just going to be playing the waiting game a little while longer?" Nora said in frustration as she took a drag on her cigarette before taking it out of her mouth and then exhaling it. "God damn it."

"Just take it easy Nora," Roger said. "This will all be over before too long. Your parents will get what's coming to them."

"No...no they'll get a fraction of what's coming to them, barely even that," she growled. "But I don't have a say in the matter, do I?" She sighed as she took another drag on her cigarette. "Let's just get this over with," she said, taking her heavy rifle off of her back and crouching down in a prone position next to Sheryl, aiming the weapon at the estate. "Might as well be ready just in case things head south."

"Remember, we're not supposed to fire until she tells us to," Roger said, taking his own rifle and assuming the same position as the two women.

"I'm not stupid Roger, I heard her," Nora said sternly.

"Just making sure," Roger said. "Sheryl, you see anything?"

"Looks like the shuttle has just landed," she said, adjusting the position on her rifle slightly. "The Captain and her team are getting off and heading for the main entrance to the estate. The entire team minus the Captain all have their weapons out in the open." She stopped for a second as she watched the events play out through the scope on her rifle. "Some of the guards at the front entrance stopped her, it looks like they're getting into a bit of an argument about letting the rest of the team in."

"Damn it, this early on and we've already hit a snag?" Roger asked.

"Just stay calm," Sheryl said, her finger tightening around the trigger to her rifle. "But be ready to open fire.

XXXXX

Saren paced angrily back and forth across the control room in the base that he had captured in the center of the galactic core, having taken to calling the creatures that he had found in it Collectors, Rana typing nervously into a terminal not that far away from him. "Haven't you found anything yet?" he growled, looking at her.

"I-I'm trying she said nervously, "but the Shadow Broker is very good at covering his tracks."

"WE HAVE THE MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY IN THE GALAXY RIGHT HERE!" Saren roared, causing Rana to flinch. "And you're telling me that doing something as simple as tracing a transmission is beyond you? It's been three weeks! THREE WEEKS! And you still haven't found anything yet!?"

"I...it's more complicated than that Saren," Rana said weakly. "We managed to track the transmission that the infiltrator sent out within two days, but by then the agent had disappeared. All of his records had been destroyed, and it's just as possible he could've taken the data and just dropped it off for someone else to pick up. We've been doing everything that we can to trace it but-" Rana was cut off as Saren's hand shot forward, closing around her throat.

"I'm hearing excuses, not results," he growled, lifting her off of her feet and into the air where she writhed, her hands pulling futilely at Saren's cybernetic hand, gasping for breath. "I give you a job, such a simple, simple job, and you can't even do that? Remind me why I keep you around here?"

"Saren...please," Rana gasped.

"You've just been such a disappointment," Saren said. Before he could say anything else, his omni-tool beeped. Throwing Rana dismissively to the side, he activated his omni-tool. "What is it?"

"It's Wreav," a gruff voice said, sounding annoyed. "Urdnot Wreav, the Krogan Chief that you made an agreement with and then didn't contact for a couple of months?"

"What do you think that you're doing!?" Saren shouted. "Contacting me like this? Are you out of your mind!? The Coalition could trace this."

"Your damn robots spent the few weeks putting together some damn machine that they said would be able to sent out a secure transmission," Wreav said, sounding frustrated. "Now then, I think that we had a deal, but you haven't exactly been holding up your end of the bargain! I've been making promises to the other clan leaders, winning the hands of the ones that I could and beating the others into submission, but if you don't give me what I need, they're going to think I lied to them and attack Urdnot!"

"Do you really think I care?!" Saren snapped. "Tell them to be patient! It isn't ready yet!"

"You'd better make it ready fast," Wreav said angrily, "because word's getting around. Apparently the Coalition used their FEV to cure the Quarian's immune systems. It's only a matter of time before some of the clans try and fight for the Coalition instead of you."

"NO!" Saren roared. "I don't care if you have to march into their camps and massacre every last man woman and child, you do NOT allow any Krogan tribes to side with the Coalition!"

"I have to say, the concept seems a little appealing to me too," Wreav said. "They are damn stubborn about not giving up that FEV of theirs, but if they give it to the Quarians, there's always a chance for us. Especially considering that you don't seem to be upholding your end of the bargain. I bring the tribes of Tuchanka under one banner, I even get the support of the Blood Pack, and what do I have to show for it?"

"Tell them to be patient! I'm working as fast as I can on the cure, but something this advanced can't be done overnight! There's a reason it hasn't been done in the hundreds of years since the Krogan Rebellions, but I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't understand that."

"The way I see it, you need me, not the other way around," Wreav said. "You wouldn't be so willing to give the Krogan people this cure otherwise."

Rana slowly got to her feet, massaging her throat as she gingerly sat down in her chair. Slowly, she began to type into her terminal. As she did, her eyes widened. "Saren!"

"WHAT!?" he snapped, looking at her.

"I...I found a security system on an isolated Salarian colony. There's a recording of the contact the infiltrator sent the data to. He's meeting with a Human and giving him a copy of the data."

"What? Who are they?" Saren demanded.

"The contact is a Turian, he doesn't have any name on record, it seems like he changes it every year. The Human looks like he goes by the name Fist though," Rana said, continuing to type. "He...he appears to be attending a party hosted by Donavan Hock today though. He could be look for potential buyers."

"Hock? My contacts in the Blood Pack tell me that they were hired to guard that party of his," Wreav said. "They say he pays good money."

"Wreav, get in touch with every last person you know in the Blood Pack!" Saren said. "Tell them I want Fist! Alive if you can get him, but I'll settle for him dead and his omni-tool."

"Not sure that they'll do that. Like I said, we haven't been getting any results from you," Wreav said. "Now then, if you could show me where you develop this cure of yours, I could see that you're telling the truth and give them some motivation," Wreav said.

"Don't play games with me Krogan!" Saren shouted.

"Well then, I guess you don't want Fist that badly."

"I...GAH!" Saren shouted in anger. "Virmire! We're developing it on Virmire! I'll show it to you myself, but get Fist! Everything will be for nothing if you don't get Fist! Take him in! We need the information that he has, we need to find the Shadow Broker."

"I'll see what I can do," Wreav said as the line was disconnected.

"You found that?" he asked, looking at Rana. She nodded weakly as she got to her feet. Saren took a step forward, reaching out towards her. Rana recoiled, but as she did, Saren pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry," he whispered. I'm under a lot of stress right now. With the Shadow Broker onto us and our plan to acquire the Geth failed...you understand right?"

Rana nodded weakly. Saren smiled as best he could with the reconstructions his face had received. "You are brilliant," he said.

"I...thank you," she said weakly.

"Come with me," he said, walking outside of the control room of the base. In the massive open room in front of them, Collectors were flying through, carrying pieces of equipment, Geth walking on the ground below them, many of them having replaced their regular weapons with Collector particle beams.

"This is what we have spent so long creating," Saren said, gesturing to the countless forces before them. "This is an army. When I first found Sovereign, I had nothing. I was own my own with nothing but the ship, my gun, and the armor that I had on. Over the years though, I built my way up, I recruited people like you, people I knew that I could trust, and after all these years, we're so close."

He lowered his head. "But recently, we've been encountering obstacle after obstacle. I almost had the Rachni under my control before the Coalition turned them loose, I would've had twenty times as many Geth as I have right now if that damn Human hadn't discovered my plan and sabotaged it, and now the Coalition and the Enclave are at peace, and the Quarians and the Geth are making amends too."

He sighed. "We're in a dangerous position now Rana," Saren said. "We have so much, but I wanted to have so much more. The Coalition is dangerous, they unleashed the Rachni onto the galaxy without anyway to control them, and now they're making friends with the Geth. I wanted every last asset I could get to deal with them, and now I only have half of what I thought I would. I'm under a lot of stress, you understand why I act the way I do."

"I...yes," Rana said weakly, looking around. "Do...do you think that we can actually do this? That we can beat the Coalition?"

"I've been checking up regularly on the repairs to the Reapers. We're making good progress. All of them should be fully functional before too long. But there's something that I need you to do in order to make sure that we can keep up with the Coalition."

"What?"

Saren looked at her. "The spikes that create Husks, the Dragon's Teeth...I need you to gather as many as you can, see if there are ways to make more. We're going to need them on the Reapers when we deploy."

"Saren...are you saying that you're going to be using Husks to fight the Coalition?" Rana asked, her eyes widening.

"With the holes in my ranks that the Rachni and Geth were supposed to fill, we need another supply of foot soldiers," Saren said. "Husks are a good source. They're obedient, effective, and easy to create. I just need bodies. When we launch our attacks, we'll secure the area and then send out Geth with the Teeth to make more Husks and then use them on the front lines in our next assault. Use them as canon fodder for the forces that I can't replace."

"But...but Saren you saw those things on the Reaper orbiting the Brown Dwarf, you saw what happened to our men," Rana said. "You were terrified of them, they nearly killed you. Why would you use those things?"

"Because I don't have a choice!" Saren snapped, glaring at Rana. "Don't you get that!? We don't have a choice with any of these things! Do you think I would be using these if I could help it? Do you think I would be using the Husks if I still had the Geth? If I had the Rachni? Do you even think think that I would be using the Reapers if there was an alternative? You and I both know what was done to made them, do you want me to just throw them away and let the Coalition do whatever we please?"

"No, I just mean that-" Rana said timidly, but Saren interrupted her before she could get any further.

"And what about the Collectors!?" he demanded, gesturing at a nearby one that was flying by. "They're Prothean husks! Do you not want me to use them because they make you feel uncomfortable?! Is that it?!" Drawing his assault rifle off of his back, he aimed at the nearby Collector, pulling the trigger. The Collector had not had his barriers active in the safety of its base, and the bullets tore through it, causing it to crumple to the ground, dead.

"Is this what you want!?" Saren demanded, grabbing Rana by the arm and pulling her forcefully over to the dead Collector, throwing her on the ground next to it. "Do you feel better now? I'm not going to use this one!"

"I...no Saren I didn't-" Rana said pathetically.

"What!?" he roared. "Not convinced that it's dead!? Fine!" Aiming his rifle at the head of the corpse, he pulled the trigger and fired a fully automatic blast into the Collector's face. The bullets tore away at its face, splattering the ground with a sickly yellow fluid and small pieces of organs, the upper half of the Collector's head completely obliterated."

"There, now everything is better," Saren hissed, glaring at Rana. "Should I do that to every other Collector that I have? Maybe I should kill all of the Geth too."

"Saren, I didn't say that," Rana said. "I just...I thought that you were horrified by-"

"This isn't about me, this is bigger than me! This is about the good of the galaxy!" Saren shouted. "Is that really so complicated that you can't understand it!?" Pulling his hand back, he slapped her across the face, causing her to fall to the ground. "Come find me when you're ready to do what you promised you would," he hissed, storming away. Rana slowly got to her feet, tears pouring down her face.

XXXXX

Jane felt reassuringly for the plasma pistol that she had concealed in the side of her dress suit as the shuttle that she was in gentle touched down. John, Ashley and Cornelia were all sitting behind her, wearing the black armor that Miranda had provided for them. Kasumi was also sitting their, her tactical cloak active, as was Jessica, who had been ordered to accompany Jane and keep her safe.

"Remember, we want to get out of here without firing a shot if we can," Jane whispered to the others as the door to the shuttle slid open. "Let's just focus on finding the informant and making a deal with him, we'll worry about arrest Hawkins when that's done."

Getting to her feet, Jane stepped out of the shuttle, the others following behind her with Kasumi and Jessica keeping a safe distance. They approached the front of the estate, where half a dozen Blood Back mercenaries were standing, more than a few Varren snarling at their heels. "Name," one of the front mercs, a Krogan in bulky red armor, grunted.

"Alison Gunn," Jane said formally. "These are my personal bodyguard. I hope you don't mind me bringing them in, but I just wouldn't feel safe without them."

"No," the Krogan growled. "Leave them out here, or leave."

"I have to say I don't know what the harm is," Jane said, her eyes narrowing. "I mean, there are only six of you out here. Enough to deal with a couple of trouble makers, but nowhere near enough to do any good if we're attacked. The galaxy is a dangerous place nowadays, I can't be too careful."

"There are six of us at this entrance," the Krogan retorted. "We've got six more at all the other entrances and men inside too, patrolling. Hock has a few personal bodyguards inside too. So quit wasting my time and tell your men to get lost," he hissed, his hand reaching for the handle of his shotgun.

"What seems to be the problem here?" Heads turned to see a man in a white business suit walking out of the entrance to the estate, a cocktail in one hand and a giggling Asari in a skimpy dress in the other.

"Mr. Hock, we were just telling this woman that her men need to stay outside," the Krogan said, sounding polite but as if it was taking him a great effort.

"Well Ms..." Hock said.

"Gunn. Alison Gunn," Jane said. "It's just that with all of the attacks on Coalition space in the past few years, especially with the recent attack made by the Geth, I'd just feel more comfortable with some of my most trusted men right behind me."

Hock chuckled. "You're overreacting Garm," he said, looking at the Krogan. "The lady just needs a couple guards, you can understand that can't you?"

"My men have things under control, she doesn't need them," Garm growled.

"Well then, consider it a gesture of friendship," Hock said, motioning for Jane to come inside. "Come along Ms. Gunn, you and your men too. The party is already in full swing."

"Thank you Mr. Hock, I knew that you would understand," Jane said as she made her way up the stairs, the others following her.

"Try anything, and we will kill you," Garm growled as she passed. Jane ignored him as they entered the main foyer of the estate, two massive banquette tables ladled with food placed in the middle while countless people crowed around them, talking amongst themselves.

"All right, the informant's name is Fist," Jane said. "Muscular, brown hair, square jaw, he's pretty damn hard to miss," she said. "Spread out in look for him, get in touch with me before you try to make contact with him."

"Got it," John said as he, Ashley, Jane and Cornelia split up, heading in different directions. Jessica and Kasumi seemed to have disappeared into the crowd, no doubt waiting in a position where they could act if needed.

Cornelia slowly walked forward, stopping in front of one of the banquette tables. "Holy crap," she whispered, her eyes widening as she saw the collection of food. "I don't even know what half of this stuff is but...damn it looks good." She looked up and down the stable, smacking her lips slightly and wondering if taking her helmet off to have a bite would be a good idea. 'I mean, it's not like the crew of the Normandy are famous or anything,' she thought. 'People don't know my face...aw the Hell with it.'

Reaching up she grabbed her helmet, but a noise caught her attention before she could pull it all the way off. "Can't you keep the damn thing under control?" Glancing to her side, she saw two Krogan, one of whom was holding a chain that was attached to the collar of a Varren who was violently tugging on the chain.

"I'm trying!" the Krogan holding the chain said, giving it a vicious tug, pulling the Varren back.

"This is pathetic, do you have any idea how many credits I gave you so that you could buy that damn thing, and you can't even control it?" one of the Krogan hissed.

"It's not my fault if the animal doesn't want to do what it's told," the other Krogan replied, pulling on the chain again. "We can train him to do what he's told. It'll just take time."

"Well, that's time that we really don't have right now," the first Krogan said. "Chain the damn thing up, we have a job to do and it's paying good money, we don't need you screwing it up because you couldn't control your pet."

The second Krogan grumbled as he spotted a rather heavy metal crate with the Blood Back symbol on it and tied the chain that he was holding around it. "I pay money for a champion pit fighter and this is what I get?" he asked, staring at the Varren. It growled as it glared at him, teeth bared. "Shut up," he said, smacking the Varren with the back of his hand. "You're a pain in my ass Urz," he growled, walking away.

Cornelia frowned as she slowly sidestepped down the edge of the table, keeping her eyes locked on the table in front of her before stopping at the edge of the table. Urz growled at her as she neared him, his back hunching as it he was about to pounce. "Damn, this looks good," she said, looking at one of several steaming steaks that were laid out in front of her. Picking up a plate, she slapped the steak onto it and grabbed a knife and a fork, cutting it in half.

""Mmmmmmm," she said, lifting her helmet off and smelling the steak, picking up the plate and beginning to walk in Urz's general direction. "Whoops," she said, her hand brushing one of the halves off where it splatted on the ground in front of the Varren. "Darn, it's all dirty now. Well, you might as well eat it." Urz looked down at the steak and then up at Cornelia, as if he didn't believe what has happening. Cornelia's eyes darted back and forth to see if any of the Blood Pack mercenaries were looking at her. "Hurry!" she whispered.

Not needing any further prompting, Urz grabbed the steak between his teeth and tore it to shreds, swallowing all of it in a matter of seconds. "You seem like a good boy," Cornelia said, gently patting the Varren's head. "Sorry that your master is a jerk." She smiled as she leaned forward. "Hey, I'll do you a favor. I'll kick his ass for you...not right now, but I'll do it if I get the chance. Ok buddy?"

The Varren nudged forward. "What is it?" she asked, looking down at Urz. As she did, she noticed that he was looking directly at the other half of the steak on her plate. "Seriously? Oh come on you just ate! You don't need more." Urz continued to look at the steak, letting out a low noise that sounded a lot like a whine. "Your really greedy you know that?" she said, taking the rest of the steak and tossing it at Urz, who caught it with his teeth and began to tear it apart again. "Stay safe," she said, putting the plate down on the table and patting the Varren before walking off.

She yawned as she stretched her arms before grabbing her helmet and sliding it back over her head. As she walked, she spotted Jane talking with someone in what appeared to be a suit that looked a little rugged and torn, an Asari on each arm. He let out a laugh. "Look babe I'm a little busy at the moment, but give me your name and I'll get in contact with you again."

"Would your name happen to be Fist?" Jane asked sternly.

"Damn, looks like all the ladies know who I am," Fist said.

"I'm not here for pleasure, I'm here for business," Jane said. "I hear that you may be in possession of something that I want. I have the money right now and I'm willing to make the exchange whenever it's convenient for you."

"Whoa whoa babe," Fist said. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm here to relax, not sell anything. Quit wasting my time."

"Uh...what's going on here?" Cornelia asked, stopping next to Jane.

"Little stubbornness, that's all," Jane said. "Perhaps it would be for the best if I showed you what I'm prepared to offer for-"

"Look, babe, you're getting on my nerves, get lost," Fist said. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I think you do," Jane said, her eyes narrowing.

"No I don't, now do me a favor and-"

"Fist right?" Cornelia said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Look, my boss here is trying to be very nice to you. Personally I think that she's wasting her time on you and that you need a good kick in the ass. But hey, we're at a party right now and I don't want to make a scene, you can tell your boss that a nice lady came up to you and offered you a few billion credits for what he's selling but your head was too far up your ass to take it." She gave him two good slaps on the back. "Happy trails!" she said cheerfully, "come on boss, we've got other work to do."

"Wait, what!?" Fist said. "Did...did you just said a couple-"

"I did," Cornelia said, turning on the spot and smiling widely. "So, do we have your attention now?"

"I...get out of here," he said, pushing the women on his arms off. They glared at him before angrily storming off.

"Done playing ignorant?" Jane asked, folding her arms. "I doubt the Shadow Broker would be happy if you let a deal like this pass up."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Fist said. "You have the money?" His words came out quickly and his eyes were wide as he stared at the two of them.

"We have it," Jane said, activating her omni-tool and typing into it. "I'm sending you the information on my bank account now."

Fist activated his own omni-tool and read it. "Oh...god," he said as he saw the amount of money that he was being offered. "You...you want the information on Saren?"

"We do," Jane said, "and I'd prefer it if we could get things done as soon as possible."

"All right all right," Fist said hastily. "Just...just give me the time to make some arrangements. Wait until after the party...meet me at the landing pad in an hour and we'll see how we're going to do this then. He really doesn't want this going wrong, so it'll take awhile."

"Good...by the way you may want to keep your head down," Jane said. "We're here to make an arrest too."

"I...you're taking me in?" Fist asked, panicking.

"No, someone else," Jane said. As she did, she pointed to Hock, who was standing with a man in a business suit, the two of them holding drinks and laughing as a woman in a dress held onto the second man's arm. Several armed bodyguards seemed to be right behind the two of them. "We've here to take him in."

"Andrew Hawkins?," Fist said. "Why do you want too...never mind I don't want to know."

"Good decision," Jane said. As she spoke, she spotted several Blood Pack mercenaries walking inside, talking to a few of their comrades that were already inside. "All we just need to do is-GET DOWN!" The Blood Pack mercenaries had drawn their weapons and aimmed them at them. Cornelia extended her hands as a biotic barrier appeared in front of them, absorbing the oncoming hail of bullets as Jane grabbed Fist and pulled him behind a table, overturning it to act as cover.

"All Normandy forces! We're being fired upon, move in now!" she shouted, looking over the table to see Hock running, Hawkins not far behind him. "We have Fist but not Hawkins! Take him alive!"

XXXXX

Author's Note: Sorry about the long update time and the short length but it's the last few weeks of my Freshman year at college and I've been really busy, not to mention that I just haven't been able to focus, and I apologize for that. Not to mention I've been trying to revise this story, so I've really got my plate full. Sorry about that and I hope that you enjoy.


	73. Tears of Rage

Chapter 73

Tears of Rage

Author's Note: I have to say, this is one of those "I've been working towards this for a LONG time moments." Hope I can pull it off. Enjoy.

XXXXX

"He's making a run for it!" Cornelia shouted, ducking behind the same table as Jane with Fist, raising her SMG and gunning down a nearby Vorcha as she did.

"I see him!" Jane said, drawing her plasma pistol and firing off a handful of shots at a Krogan who had been leveling his shotgun at her, managing to kill him. "Kasumi, Jessica, I need you to go after Hawkins and his wife now!"

"I don't think we can!" Kasumi said over the COM lines. "Jessica got hit by a stray bullet and it made her cloak drop! We're pinned down in the far corner of the mansion. We'll be fine but we're gonna be stuck here for awhile!"

"Understood. I want you to let Jessica do the heavy lifting, her armor and shields are both stronger than yours," Jane said.

"Understood," Kasumi said. "Also Captain do me a favor." Her voice grew darker. "If you see Hock, smash his face in."

"Kasumi?" Jane said as the line disconnected. "What was that...later," she muttered. "John, Ashley, can you see Hawkins?"

"We're right on his ass!" Ashley said over the COM lines, "but we're meeting a lot of resistance from Blood Pack mercs and men in suits. Looks like Hock let Hawkins take his own bodyguards into the party as well. We could use some back up!"

"Back up teams are on the way, but it'll take a little bit of time for them to get here," Jane said.

"I can keep Fist safe," Cornelia said, looking at Jane. "You go after Hawkins, it sounds like they need all the help they can get." She smiled widely. "If anyone comes near him, I'll kick their ass."

Jane nodded. "That may be for the best. Stay safe."

"You don't need to tell me Ma'am, I like living," Cornelia said. "It's a drug and I'm addicted."

Jane chuckled grimly. "Your timing is really lousy," she said as she got up and ran across the room, firing off a few more shots at a nearby Vorcha as she did. Continuing to run, she headed down a hallway until she ran into Ashley and John, both of whom were taking cover behind a statue, trading fire with some Blood Pack mercenaries.

"Oh God don't let them kill me!" Fist screamed as Cornelia spun and fired her SMG at three approaching Vorcha.

"Stay down!" she said as she managed to gun down two of them before her gun overheated. Gritting her teeth, she swung her sword arm and sent a ball of biotic energy flying at the last Vorcha, blowing a hole in his torso.

"Cornelia, do you have Fist?" Kasumi's voice said over the COM line.

"He's here!" Cornelia said, ducking behind cover with Fist as a stream of bullets flew overhead, leaning up over the table and firing her SMG at two approaching Krogan. "We're getting swarmed with Blood Pack mercs though!"

"Jessica and I are heading towards your location, but there'e a couple dozen of them between us and you. Looks like they were heading in your direction, so it looks like most of their force won't be getting to you."

"Awesome!" Cornelia shouted. "You're the best Kasumi!" As she spoke, she jumped up from behind cover, her sword arm coated in biotic energy. The Krogan had been slowly advancing on her position and only a few feet away. Charging forward, Cornelia jammed her finger down on the trigger to her SMG and blasted one of the Krogan in the face. Bullets tore through his shields and into his skull as Cornelia swung at the other Krogan with her sword, the blade tearing through his throat.

Cornelia allowed herself a slight smile as the two Krogan fell to the ground, but no sooner had she done so than a loud bang filled the room. She felt her right arm jerk wildly as pellets impacted on her shields, even the highly advanced model barely holding up under the strain. She saw the pellets rip through her SMG and dropped it to the ground, spinning around to face her attacker.

A massive Krogan in bulky blood red armor was approaching her, shotgun in hand. Panicking, she gathered biotic energy around her sword and swung it with both hands, aiming it at the shotgun. She felt a brief sense of relief as the blade tore through the weapon, ripping it in half. Her relief did not last long, the Krogan roared in anger and slammed into her. Stars popped in front of Cornelia's eyes as she was sent flying back, pain tearing through her chest.

"I didn't want to let you in, but Hock made me," Garm growled as Cornelia scrambled to her feet, holding her sword out in front of her. "Wish I'd gotten the call that I wasn't working for him anymore sooner. Wreav's timing couldn't be worse." Growling, Garm reached down to his back and pulled out a massive, ancient looking two handed sword. "Krogan Rebellion," he said, "belonged to some fancy war lord. Been waiting for a chance to try it out."

Cornelia's eyes darted up and down the room, looking for a gun lying near one of the dead mercenaries. Before she could spot one, Garm had let out a roar and charged at her. Hastily, she took her sword in both hands and swung it up to intercept his. Her arms felt jarred as the blades met, barely managing to hold her ground.

"WHOA!" she shouted as Garm pulled back his blade and swung horizontally, aiming to behead her. She ducked down, the blade barely passing over her head before charging forward, thrusting her sword forward. She smiled slightly as she felt her sword pierce the Krogan's armor with the aid of her biotics. Garm, however, barely reacted, and raised his sword again to swing at her.

Eyes widening, Cornelia jumped back as Garm swung, pulling her sword out as she did. She raised her sword to block, the sheer power of the blow actually forcing her back a few steps. Garm smiled evilly as he pulled his sword back and swung over and over again, Cornelia doing everything that she could to block the barrage of attacks that he was throwing at her, barely keeping up.

"Not bad," Garm said, raising his sword over his head and swinging down, Cornelia barely blocking it in time. "I'm surprised that you're managing to keep up." Swinging his sword diagonally, Cornelia blocked it, the force of the blow forcing her back against a wall. "But I'm on a schedule," Garm said, and with that he let out a roar and charged forward, intending to slam into Cornelia with the full weight of her body. Realizing what he was doing, Cornelia threw herself to the side in an attempt to avoid the charging Krogan. She wasn't fast enough.

A blinding pain tore through Cornelia as a loud crunch filled her ears Garm had slammed into the wall, hitting Cornelia's right arm with the full weight of his body. Cornelia managed to pull her arm out from between Garm and the wall, staggering to the side. She held up her sword limply in her broken arm, wincing as she stepped in between Garm and Fist before dropping the blade.

"Half of the bones in your arm are probably broken right now," Garm said, "some of them might even be powder. I don't really know how you expect to keep fighting after this. Just let me kill this little shit so that we can move on with our lives."

"Oh God please no," Fist pleaded. "Please, please I don't want to die."

"Hate to break it to you pal," Cornelia said, reaching down with her good arm and picking up her sword, "but I don't need both hands to kick your ass." She brandished the sword in front of her, a smile on her face.

"Have it your way," Garm said, charging forward and swinging his sword at Cornelia. She managed to nimbly sidestep it. As she did, she saw that the wound that she had made in his chest was already slowly starting to close, even faster than regular Krogan did.

'What is with this guy?' Cornelia wondered as Garm swung at her again. She nimbly jumped back, the sword slamming into the ground. 'Well, I won't be able to whittle him down like this, I'll have to kill him in a few good shots.' Raising her sword in her remaining good arm, she blocked an overhead blow from Garm, staggering back. 'I need to end this now.'

Gritting her teeth in pain, she swung her broken arm, sending an orb of biotic energy flying at Garm. The Krogan cried out in pain as it slammed into his chest, staggering back in pain. Charging forward, Cornelia thrust her sword forward, aiming directly at Garm's face. However, with Garm still staggering back, she ended up hitting slightly higher, her blade sliding under Garm's crest. "The Hell!?" she said. Instinctively, she pulled back viciously on her sword, trying to pull it out even as Garm continued to writhe. There was a loud popping noise, and Garm's crest was sent flying.

Roaring in anger, Garm violently thrusted forward with his sword and charged. Cornelia had lost her balance when she had pulled her sword out and was unable to dodge in time. She felt an intolerable pain tear through her as the sword pierced her stomach, exiting out the other end as she and Garm slammed into the wall. The sword buried itself in the wall and pinned Cornelia to it. Grimacing in pain, Cornelia raised her sword over her head and stabbed down aiming where Garm's crest used to be.

There was a loud squelching noise as Cornelia's short sword was buried in the soft flesh that had been covered by Garm's crest. The Krogan made a sickening gurgling noise before taking a step back and then collapsing to the ground in a heap. "Told you I'd kick your ass," Cornelia said, wincing as she looked down at the sword.

"Cornelia!" Cornelia looked up to see Kasumi running towards her, Jessica right behind her. "Oh son of a bitch," Kasumi swore, seeing the sword buried in her stomach. "Jessica, I need you to get that thing out of her so that I can get some medi-gel on the wound." The armored women nodded as she approached Cornelia, yanking the sword out with one fluid motion. Cornelia let out a small yelp of pain before Kasumi hastily produced a tube of medi-gel and began to liberally apply it to the wound. Before too long, the bleeding hat stopped.

"Whoo...thanks," Cornelia said, pulling her sword out of Garm and getting to her feet.

"It's a miracle that you're still alive," Kasumi said. "We should probably get you out of here. You out of here, you're in no shape to keep fighting."

"Yeah, I suppose you have a point there," Cornelia said, looking down at her right arm. "Bastard broke my arm, and I don't need this wound to open again."

"Is he the Shadow Broker's agent?" Jessica said, looking at Fist.

"Yes! Yes I am!" Fist said. "You want something from the Broker? Keep me alive and I'll take you to him personally."

"The Broker meeting someone in person?" Kasumi said skeptically. "Somehow I don't believe you, but we're supposed to take you in anyway. So just be quiet and don't try and lie to a thief."

"But I-" Fist began.

"Come on pal," Cornelia said, sheathing her sword and grabbing Fist with her good hand. "You owe us big time."

"You and Jessica get him outside, I'll radio in for an extraction," Kasumi said. "I gotta stick around and help run interference. Jessica, keep these two safe."

"Understood," Jessica said, nodding.

"Hey Kasumi, can you do me a favor?" Cornelia ask. "I feel really shitty, so could you grab me a pick me up if you're staying? Hock has got to have some really good booze lying around here."

"...Are you serious?" Jessica said, staring in disbelief at Cornelia.

Kasumi let out a laugh. "I'll see if I can grab anything," she said, cloaking as she ran deeper into the estate.

"I...how can you be thinking about...never mind, let's go," Jessica said as she and Cornelia began to run, Fist right behind them. As they moved, Cornelia paused. The same Varren that she had fed before was stilled chained up, whining loudly as he pulled at his bonds. "Cornelia, what are you-" Jessica began, but before she could finish, Cornelia had approached the Varren and drawn her sword. With one fell swoop, she swung the blade coated in biotic energy down, shattering the chain.

The Varren looked up at her in confusion. "Come on boy!" Cornelia said, "we're getting out of here." The Varren didn't need to be told twice, taking off with Cornelia as she fell back into step with Jessica.

XXXXX

"What the Hell is going on!?" Andrew Hawkins said angrily as his bodyguards pushed both him and his wife down the hallway of the Hock estate, Hock himself not far behind him. "Hock!"

"I don't know," Hock said, looking back nervously over his shoulder as gunshots sounded in the distance. "All the mercenaries that I hired just started shooting at us. Damn it, this is what I get for hiring Blood Pack mercenaries."

"Why didn't you hire Blue Suns?" Andrew angrily demanded, "they're more reliable than those savages back there."

"They've been a mess ever since Vido died," Hock said sharply. "Eclipse isn't much better off. The Blood Pack and Army are making their ways to power in the Terminus, they're the only ones that were available." As he spoke, a bolt of plasma flew through the air and slammed into the back of one of Hawkins' bodyguards. "Shit!" he swore, turning around to see three figures rapidly closing on him, Alison Gunn and two of her soldiers.

"That damn bitch! Is she with the Blood Pack?!" Hock said.

"Who cares!?" Andrew's wife demanded. "Men, you were hired to protect us weren't you? Hold them here!"

"Understood Ms. Hawkins," the head bodyguard said. The majority of the bodyguards split off from the group, taking cover behind statues in the hallway as they drew their weapons and began to exchange fire with their perusers.

"Abigail, those were my best men!" Andrew said to his wife, looking angry as the three remaining bodyguards continued to head down the hallway with the three of them.

"If they're as good as you say, then they'll be fine," Abigail said angrily. "But we can't afford to stick around without any shielding, one shot could kill us."

"Listen to your wife!" Hock said as they managed to make their way out to the helipad, where dozens of shuttles were parked. "Look, we're home free. We just need to grab one and get out of here and-" before Hock should finish, there was a slight whistle in the air, followed by a sickening wet squelching noise. One of the bodyguards dropped his gun as he began to claw at his throat, what appeared to be a small arrow sticking out of it, before falling to the ground.

"What the-" Andrew began, but before he could finish, a series of shots rang out and the shields of one of his other bodyguards collapsed before his chest was riddled with holes. Reeling around, he saw that three figures had jumped over the gate that separated the helipad from the lawn. The last bodyguard desperately raised his gun, but he was only able to get a few shots off before one of the figures, a soldier wearing a dust coat, slammed into him.

The bodyguard stumbled back and the soldier grabbed him by his collar. Letting out a roar, the soldier grabbed the bodyguard by his hair with his free hand and slammed his head as hard as he could against the wall. The bodyguard cried out in pain as the soldier pulled back and slammed his head against the wall over and over again. A loud crack emanated from the bodyguard's head, prompting the soldier to pull him back and throw him to the ground with a loud thud.

The bodyguard moaned weakly, clutching his now bleeding head. Before he could do anything else, the soldier raised his booted foot and brought it slamming down onto the head of the bodyguard. The bodyguard cried out in pain again, but it was noticeably weaker than before as the soldier curb stomped him again before straddling him. Raising his fist, the soldier punched the bodyguard as hard as he could in the face before doing the same with the other fist.

Andrew, Abigail and Hock turned to run, but as they did they found the other two soldiers pointing guns at them. One was wearing pitch black armor with glowing red eyes and a skull face that was holding an assault rifle, while the other was wearing winter combat gear and aiming a pistol, a crossbow at her side in the other hand.

"The Hell is this?" Andrew said.

"Andrew Hawkins, I'm Sergeant Roger Andrews of the Coalition," Roger said. "You are under arrest for treason and partaking in slavery. Get down on your knees and put your hands behind your head. You too," he said, pointing his gun at Abigail, "you're under arrest for being his accomplice."

"What is the meaning of this!?" Hock demanded.

"This doesn't have anything to do with you," Roger said. "Sheryl, keep an eye on him. The Coalition doesn't want anything to do with you Hock, but don't interfere."

"Slavery!? Treason!?" Andrew shouted. "This is absurd!"

"I agree. You should be charged with murder." Andrew turned around to see the other soldier standing up, panting slightly. Blood was dripping from his knuckles and the bodyguard was lying very still at his feet.

"I've had enough of these absurd accusations thrown at me!" Andrew said angrily. "I want a lawyer!"

"You know as well as I do that they're true," the soldier said, starting to walk forward. "Isn't that right Daddy?"

"I...what?" Andrew said. "I...oh God." His eyes widened with fear. "Nora."

"Oh, you remember me," Nora said bitterly, pulling her goggles and bandana off, uncovering her face. "You know you really astound me. I honestly thought that you couldn't be anymore of a horrible, pathetic excuse for a Human Being but somehow you managed to pull it off. Selling slaves to the Enclave by the thousands?" She snarled. "You disgust me."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Andrew said desperately. "What does the Enclave have to do with any of this? They were destroyed over-,"

"Oh spare me the bullshit," Nora said. "We found them, beat them. President Woods threw you to the wolves to save her own skin. Can't really say I blame her though, I would've done the same thing if I were her. Looks like you weren't just content with ruining my life were you?"

"Nora baby please listen to me," Andrew said, starting to shake where he stood. "I never met to kill Jr., it was an accident. I know that you never liked the way I treated you, but it was for your own good. Please, I just wanted what was best for you."

"You just wanted what was best for me?" Nora said, her voice icily cold. "You hire thugs to kidnap me, beat me within an inch of my life and nearly kill me, because you wanted what was best for me?"

"All this time and you're nothing more than a spoiled brat," Abigail said coldly. "You never appreciated anything that we-" in a flash, Nora spun on the spot, biotic energy gathering around her, and slammed her fist into her mother's stomach. Abigail's mouth opened wide as the air was forced out of her lungs, falling to the ground in pain.

"I wasn't FUCKING TALKING TO YOU!" Nora screeched.

"Nora, calm down," Roger said, stepping forward and pulling his helmet off, a concerned look on his face. "We need both of them alive, you know that."

"Why?" she asked, glaring at Roger. "Why after everything that he's done, does he of all people get to live!?" She pointed at the dead bodyguard on the floor. "I just smashed his fucking skull in, but no one cares! The media won't give a damn, you don't give a damn, I don't give a damn. But did he do anything to deserve it? I don't know! I don't even know what his name is! So how come it's ok for someone just doing his job to die, but this asshole who gave thousands of people to Goeth to torture and mutilate gets to live!?"

She stared directly into Roger's eyes. "Every single soldier that the three of us killed on Cor Mali probably deserved mercy a lot more than this son of a bitch did, but no one gave it to them! How does that make sense in any way Roger? How is that fair? HOW!?"

Roger bit his lip. "There's no way around it. It isn't fair, it really isn't. He deserves to die more than most no matter how you slice it. But people are terrified right now. If someone as well known as him gets killed by the people who are supposed to protect Coalition civilians, it'll cause a panic."

"Oh, well that makes it all better then!" Nora said, her voice livid. "Hear that daddy?" She looked at her father. "You're going to get away with some of the most horrible things people can do with a slap on the wrist because you're rich and famous, just like you ALWAYS FUCKING DO!"

"Nora, listen to me-" Roger said.

"Fuck you Andrews!" Nora shouted. Without any warning, Nora grabbed Andrew by the throat and slammed him against a wall. "This bastard ruined my entire life, and you want me to just let him walk away to spend the rest of his life staying in a luxury cell!?" With her free hand she reached down and drew one of her pistols, pressing it against her father's head.

"Nora don't!" Roger said, sounding panicked as he took a step forward.

"Back off Andrews," Nora said, her voice a hiss.

"Nora please don't do this!" Andrew begged, sounding as if he was on the verge of tears. "I'll do anything, anything you want just name it."

"Anything I want?" Nora asked. "I want my fucking brother back!" she shrieked, her voice starting to tear. "So go ahead, snap your fingers and make everything better! Bring him back to life!"

"I...I can't. Nora please, don't!" Andrew begged.

"Big fucking shock," Nora said.

"Nora stop this," Sheryl said, stepping forward.

"Sheryl, you and Roger both just get-" Nora was cut off as she felt something shoved into her neck. Looking to her side, she saw that Sheryl had her crossbow pressed against her. For a moment, neither of them said anything. "The fuck do you think that you're doing?"

"Nora, put your gun down and drop him," Sheryl said, "we need him alive."

"A good man is dead because of him Sheryl!" Nora shouted, her voice starting to crack. "He's been walking free for years with blood on his hands! And now it turns out he's being selling people like cattle to a megalomaniac who chopped bits of their bodies off mutated them into monsters for fun! Everything he's ever done to me, it's just the tip of the fucking iceberg with him! He deserves to fucking die!"

"Nora please stop," Sheryl said, her hands shaking slightly. "I don't want to do this. My crossbow is designed so that the bolts are slow enough to bypass barriers. I don't want to do this to you, but I don't know what else to do."

"Oh Christ," Roger whispered, looking back and forth between the two women, a terrified expression on her face.

"God damn it Sheryl I need this!" Nora said, her eyes starting to shimmer. "All these years I've been feeling hollow inside because of what he's taken away from me. Because I knew all the horrible things that he had done and I couldn't do a thing about it. I'll never be all right until I kill this son of a bitch!"

"Nora please, do you think that this is normal?" Sheryl asked. "Look at that man that you killed," she said, gesturing to the dead bodyguard. "The way that you killed him, you enjoyed it didn't you?"

"So what if I did!?" Nora asked. "He may not be as bad as this prick, but he still probably knew what he was doing! Probably even helped him out at one-"

"Nora please, listen to me," Sheryl said. "Do you honestly think that this will make everything better for you? This won't bring your brother back."

"I know!" Nora shouted, "but-"

"And do you think that this is what he would want?" Sheryl asked. "You brutally killing and torturing people while enjoying every last second of it? All because you think they deserve it?"

"I...I...I...GRAAAAAAAAH!" There was a loud bang as Nora pulled on the trigger to her pistol. Andrew took a deep breath as his eyes slowly swiveled to the side. There was a small indent in the wall right next to him where the bullet had hit. "FUCK!" Nora roared, tears pouring down her face as she fired her gun over and over again into the wall, Andrew too terrified to budge an inch less a bullet hit him.

Eventually the gun overheated and Nora tossed it and her father to the side, Andrew hastily scrambling away. Nora pulled her hand back and punched the wall, leaving a dent in it. "DAMN IT!" she roared, tears streaming down her face as she continued to punch the dent, a slight cracking noise filling the air as she hit it. "Damn it...damn it," she said weakly, her punches growing weaker and weaker as she silently sobbed. "God damn it."

Sheryl tossed her crossbow to the side as she instantly stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Nora, the taller woman instantly returning the favor as she continued to cry. Roger let out a slight sigh of relief as he saw the crossbow slide away before looking at Sheryl and Roger. "Nora," he whispered. "I'm sorry it had to be like this. I'm sorry I couldn't do more."

"Oh look at this," Abigail said bitterly, starting to push herself to her feet. "She comes in guns blazing but doesn't even have the balls to-" she let out a cry of pain as Roger's metal leg rose up and slammed into her stomach.

"Hey cunt, do us both a favor and keep your fucking mouth shut," he hissed. "Got it?"

Roger looked up just in time to see Jane, Ashley and John emerging from inside the estate. "Roger, do you have Hawkins in custo-" Jane began, but trailed off as she saw the scene in front of her.

"Please!" Andrew said, practically throwing himself at Jane's feet. "Do whatever you want with me! Just please don't let Nora anywhere near me!"

"Nora!?" Jane said, looking at the still sobbing Nora with shock etched into her face. "Roger, what's going on here?" Roger took one more glance at Nora, an exhausted expression on his face before he began to explain.

XXXXX

Wrex grunted as he blasted a Blood Pack mercenary at point blank range with his shotgun, the sheer force of it blowing away half of his torso before it feel to the ground. He, Garrus and Liara were making their way towards the estate, but their progress was being impeded by the Blood Pack mercenaries, to the point where they were sure that they had stumbled onto the thickest concentration of him. They were heavily entrenched in front of one of the entrances to the estate, firing at the three of them with everything they had.

"Liara, aim for the heads!" Garrus said, taking cover behind a gate before leaning out of cover long enough to fire a single shot that tore through the head of a Blood Pack mercenaries. "Body shots will kill them but they'll take too long!"

"Understood!" Liara said. She gathered biotic energy around one hand and tossed it at the fortified mercenaries. It exploded in the middle of the air and formed a large purple orb that sucked up three nearby Krogan, leaving them floating helplessly in the air.

"Ha! Nice singularity!" Wrex said, raising his shotgun and blasting another nearby Krogan as Liara carefully aimed her pistol, picking off the floating Krogan with headshots.

"That's how you do it!" Garrus said, firing another shot and this time killing a Vorcha. The few remaining mercenaries, seeing that the battle was going badly, abandoned their positions and ran inside the estate, shots streaming past their heads as they fled.

"They're on the run," Wrex said, moving forward. "Let's get in there before they find a nice comfy position to shot us from. Garrus and Liara nodded as they made their way forward, but before they could reach the entrance, the unmistakeable roar of gunfire filled the air.

As they moved in, they saw men in pure white armor, aiming their weapons at a group of dead Blood Pack mercenaries. "You with Shepard's crew?" Miranda asked, stepping out from the center of the throng. The three of them nodded. "Good. We've got things under control here. The Blood Pack is starting to thin out, there aren't that many of them left."

As she spoke, her COM unit beeped. "Lawson," she said, putting her finger to her ear. "Captain, what is it...we have both of them? Good, I'm glad that things went as smoothly as they did. I'm going to take my men and run a clean up operation to make sure that we don't get ambushed by stragglers. I suggest that you hold your current position until we're done." Miranda lowered her hand. "We have Fist and Hawkins. We're going to clear out the rest of the Blood Pack mercenaries. I need the three of you to hold this position to make sure that we don't get flanked. Can you do that?"

"No problem," Garrus said.

"Thank you," Miranda said, smiling slightly as she gestured to the Cerberus operatives and led them deeper into the estate.

Liara let out a sigh as she sat down on a nearby crate. "It seems no matter how hard we try, we always end up having people shooting at us."

"Comes with the trade," Garrus said, checking his sniper rifle. "You handled yourself pretty well out there. Especially for someone with no military experience."

Liara blushed slightly. "My mother insisted that Shiala teach me how to use a gun and my biotics if I was going to be working in the Terminus Systems. Saved my life more times than I can count."

"Guh...damn it," a weak voice said. Garrus, Liara and Wrex all pointed their weapons at the origin of the noise, a Krogan that was lying on the ground with dozens of bullets holes in his chest, too many for even his redundant organ systems to take. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"Well, things usually don't turn out the way they're supposed to," Wrex said, approaching the wounded Krogan. "Reality's a pain in the ass like that."

"You're gonna pay for this," the Krogan hissed, pausing for a second as he descended into a coughing fit, hacking up blood as he did. "Do you have any idea who my boss is? We got offered a lot of money for this job, and he's gonna be pissed when he learns that you messed it up for him."

"I'm terrified," Wrex said dryly, a smirk spreading across his face. "I mean, it's not like Blood Pack mercs are known for being nice and stupid or anything."

"Laugh it up while you can," the Krogan hissed. "I take my orders from Urdnot Wreav."

The smirk slid off of Wrex's face. "What did you say?"

"Oh, you know that name don't you?" the Krogan said, smiling widely. "The Blood Pack's made an alliance with Clan Urdnot. He's on the move, he's starting to take over Tuchanka. He's crushing every clan that gets in his way. Before too long no one is going to have the guts or the firepower to stand up to him."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Wrex growled. "Wreav? Taking over all of Tuchanka? Even with he Blood Pack Urdnot is nowhere near strong enough to do anything like that." He leveled his shotgun at the Krogan's face.

"Oh, he's been getting help," the Krogan said. "He's been getting a lot of supplies and high tech equipment. That was the deal, he'd give Wreav what he asked for, and Wreav would get all of the clans under one banner to fight for Saren."

"What?" Wrex said, his voice dangerously low. "Wreav is gathering the clans to fight for Saren? Why? What is he promising them? Weapons? Revenge?"

The Krogan chuckled, choking slightly. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Wrex was about to speak, when the Krogan in front of him began to cough violently, spewing blood everywhere. Before too long, he went limp. "Damn it," Garrus swore. "How many allies does Saren have? First the Geth, then Asari commandos, and now Krogan? What is he planning to do?"

"I don't know, but we need to let the Captain know about this," Liara said. "We need to let the Council know about this. The Krogan DMZ is right in the heart of Council territory, who knows what kind of damage they could do if Saren could give millions of loyal Krogan weapons and ships to transport them."

"Damn it Wreav," Wrex swore, "what are you trying to accomplish here? Are you trying to kill what's left of our race? Go out in a blast of glory? You're a damn idiot, always have been, always will."

"Do you know Wreav?" Garrus asked.

"He's my blood brother, we both had the same mother," Wrex answered. "It's more common than you'd think it'd be with Krogan, only so many fertile females and just about every last male taking their chances with them. He never liked the way I tried to run things, always yammering on about how we needed to follow tradition, and how me trying to get people to stop fighting so that we could focus on getting our numbers back up wasn't Krogan." Wrex snarled. "It's always funny how people only follow tradition when it's convenient for them. My father hated me for breaking tradition, but that still didn't stop him from trying to kill me on neutral ground. Wreav isn't that different."

"Why would he fight for Saren?" Liara asked. "Did he have a grudge against the Coalition?"

"No, I had no idea what he was that stupid that he'd try and pick a fight with them," Wrex said. "After all, what else would he be doing with Saren. Damn idiot. If he gets the Coalition to attack Tuchanka, and if the Council think that another Krogan Rebellion is happening, he just might end up getting our entire race wiped out."

"The entire Krogan population isn't on Tuchanka is it?" Liara asked.

"No, but it's pretty much the only place in the galaxy where Krogan even bother trying to reproduce," Wrex said. "You won't find camps of fertile females anywhere else. If a Krogan leaves Tuchanka, it's more likely than not to fight for credits as a merc. You get a few odd balls that want to do things like pick a flower on ever Asari colony, but they're the exception. If Wreav helps Saren like this, odds are there will be an invasion of Tuchanka. The Coalition will invade and I can see the Council helping them."

He ground his teeth in rage. "With the genophage we won't be able to survive the population drop. Is Wreav so stupid that he doesn't even realize that or does he just not care?" He let out a sigh, sounding slightly defeated. "Then again it's not just him. It's the entire Krogan race really. It's in our blood, in our culture. Fighting's become second nature to us because we don't know anything else." He looked at his shotgun. "Look at me. I've spent the last five minutes bitching about how my people's blood lust is going to get us all killed, but what have I been doing for the past few months of my life? Killing people."

"If it makes any difference," Garrus said, taking a step forward, "you're nothing like any Krogan I've ever met.

Wrex gave a small smirk. "Thanks Garrus, that means so much coming from you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Garrus asked, sounding indignant.

Liara chuckled slightly. "Come on you two, cut it out. We have to tell the Captain about this remember?"

"Yeah," Wrex said softly, the smile sliding off of his face as he looked down at the dead Krogan. "Even if Wreav was able to get all of the clans together and launch a surprise attack in whatever Saren is planning, people would catch on and launch an invasion sooner or later. This way we might be able to stop things earlier and minimize how many Krogan die."

"You ok?" Garrus asked, looking at Wrex with concerned.

Wrex sighed. "Is this the fate of the Krogan people? Clinging stubbornly to tradition and fighting everyone in our path? Making enemies of the entire galaxy until we're finally snuffed out? I tried to pull them away from that path, I did everything I could, poured my entire life into trying to save the Krogan race. But just when I thought I was getting through to them they just refused to listen to reason. Is there any future for us?"

"I don't see why there can't be," Liara said. "The Coalition nuked themselves to near extinction because they drained their planet of nearly all natural resources. They were reduced to savagery, killing each other over bottles of water and bits of food. But despite all that, they were able to rebuild, they were able to surpass the challenges that had been thrown at them, and now they're one of the strongest powers in the galaxy. Krogan are far tougher and more resilient than Humans ever were, so if they can do it, so can you."

"Maybe," Wrex said, looking down at the bodies of Krogan that little the floor. "Maybe." A moment of silence passed. "Well, we better tell Shepard what we heard. Maybe check their omni-tools for any info. I get the feeling that after we make our little arrangement with the Shadow Broker, I'm gonna be seeing home for the first time in awhile."

XXXXX

Author's Note: Sorry about the long as Hell update time. I had finals to study for, not to mention I've been sick as a dog lately, I've been coughing up phlegm for the past few days. I hope that the wait was worth it.

Also, I just want to make a side note. In the past, I've done a lot of ranting against various people. I had serious anger issues in the past and I wasn't very good at controlling it, but that's no excuse. I was immature, reckless, and self centered. I apologize for all of the angry, hate filled crap that I have posted over the years in my author's notes. I apologize to anyone who was offended by them. I apologize.

I hope that you enjoy the story, and thank you for sticking with me for so long.


	74. Cold Comfort

Chapter 74

Cold Comfort

Author's Note: Sorry about the long update time. Things happen.

XXXXX

"Just a little longer Tali," Chakwas said, looking up from her datapad. "Thirty more seconds."

"Keelah!" the Quarian shouted in frustration. She was sitting in the Normandy's infirmary, her bare right arm submersed in a tank filled with icy water up to the shoulder. Volker was sitting right next to her, a concerned look on his face.

"Remind me how this is supposed to help her again?" he asked. "I'm not a doctor, but how is her freezing like this going to make things better for her?"

"Volker, Tali isn't like you or me. Our entire lives our skin has been protecting us from the world around us, being exposed to heat, cold and in general toughening up from every time we come into contact with a rough outer stimuli," Chakwas explained. "Tali on the other hand has spent her entire life living in the safety of her suit or a bubble. Her skin is sensitive because it was never exposed to the outside world and it doesn't have any resilience towards it. What I'm trying to do here is build up her resilience in a stable and controlled environment."

"Well, if that's the case why just her hand?" Volker asked.

"To be honest, having her soak in a tub would be a more effective method," Chakwas said, "but the Normandy isn't equipped for something like that. It would take up a lot of space and resources that we wouldn't have to spare. I'm doing what I can with what I have, but even after I'm done with Tali here odds are she'll have to go through further therapy in a more suitable environment. By the way Tali that's enough."

"Thank goodness," Tali said, pulling her arm out of the water and wrapping it in a hot towel that had been placed right next to it. "Is that everything for today?"

"Yes, you're fine, just make sure that you show up tomorrow an hour earlier than usual, I have something that I think might speed things up a little and I want to give it a shot," Chakwas said.

"I'm ok with that," Tali said, sounding half excited, half nervous.

"All right then, Volker," Chakwas said, turning to face the German. "How's your arm feeling? I know it should be feeling better by know, but I want to check."

"It feels great," Volker said, smiling as he flexed his right arm. "Being able to move it again after all the time it was broken, I can't even describe how good it feels."

"What about your eye? Is if giving you any troubles?" Chakwas asked.

"It itches a little bit," Volker said, gently tracing his glowing green eye with his fingers, "but I'm not having any major problems seeing so far. Well, except for yesterday. I could see fine with my good eye closed but not with it open for some reason. Tali fixed it though."

"The lens weren't lining up properly," Tali explained. "Easy fix."

"Ow. Ow, ow ow ow." The three of them looked up to see Fawkes walking into the med bay, Charon right behind him. He was gently holding Cornelia in his arms. "Freaking hurts," she said.

"Yeah well, being stabbed through the chest with a two handed Krogan sword will do that to you," Charon said as Fawkes lay Cornelia down on an empty bed.

"Hurts so much," she said.

"Oh stop whining," Charon said. "I got impaled on a radscorprion tail once. Go three days with their venom running through your veins and then get back to me."

"I thought that you got evacuated from the field," Chakwas said, approaching Cornelia. "Everyone just got back. How come you didn't come up here until now?"

"She wanted to stay in the hanger until everyone else came back," Fawkes said, sounding slightly amused.

"Ms. Lepidus, are you tired of living?" Chakwas said, sounding annoyed.

"Hey, I was checking my vitals and wounds every minute," Cornelia said. "Checking my omni-tool. I was never in any danger. Oh, speaking of which-" she reached for a leather bag that was slung over her shoulder, pulling out two glass bottles. "I come bearing gifts."

"Kasumi brought back a whole crate of the stuff," Charon said, a grin on his face. "Stole it from Hock's kitchen. Cornelia made sure that a bottle got handed out to them."

"There's enough for everyone!" she proclaimed happily. "One for you Dr., one for you Volker," she said, putting two bottles on the table. "And for you Tali, a special dextro brew," she added a third bottle to the mix.

"You are something else," Tali said, looking at the bottles.

"Oh by the way, I hate to kill the good mood but..." Charon said, bitting his lip. "I was in the hanger when the others came up. Norman looked like he was dead on his feet. I overheard Jane talking to him, saying that he wasn't going to be on any combat missions anymore and that she wanted to have a word with him in private."

"Oh, really?" Chakwas said, looking worried. "His dad was down there and he had just learned everything that he had done. Did you think that could be what happened?"

"There's more to it than that," Charon said. "The Captain didn't call Norman Norman. He called him Nora."

"Nora?" Volker said. "But that's a woman's name isn't it? Why would the Captain-" Volker trailed off as his eyes widened in realization, as did the eyes of everyone else. "Norman is a woman?" he asked in disbelief.

"You're sure about this?" Tali asked. "You're not just going off of a wild hunch?"

"I thought the same thing, but then Andrew Hawkins got pulled through on the way to the brig and he kept screaming, begging us not to let her anywhere near him," Charon said. "He called Norman Nora too, I'm pretty sure that everyone in the hanger heard it."

"I did," Cornelia said sadly. "The more I think about it the more it makes sense. With everyone that was down there, I think the whole ship will know come tomorrow."

"But, why did she hide it from us?" Volker said. "Did she think it was too weird or something? If that's it, just look at me, I was born nearly a thousand years ago. What? Is she ashamed or something?"

"I don't know," Charon said. "But she must've been hiding it for a reason. She looked miserable, maybe it's because of what happened with her Dad but a lot of it is probably that the beans got spilt. If it was this big of a deal that she kept it from us for this long then it must be a really personal issue for her. Everyone knowing is going to be hard on her."

"Yeah," Cornelia said sadly. As she did, something clicked inside her head. "Wait a minute!" she shouted out. "Do you think someone else throwing their own secret out for everyone to see would make her feel better about this?"

"It is a possibility," Fawkes said. "But Nora's true gender is a rather serious matter. What could match it?"

"Oh, I got just the thing," Cornelia said, a massive smile spreading across her face. "Ok, I want you guys to tell everyone on the ship this, especially Nora, ok? My Dad told me to only tell this to people I was sure I can trust, and now that I've had time to think about it, everyone on this ship qualifies."

"Well what is it?" Chakwas asked.

Cornelia smiled brightly. "I'm an android."

"I-WHAT!?" Tali shouted. "I-you're a synthetic? How is that even possible?! I've seen you hurt, you bleed Human blood, you're armor is covered in it right now!"

"Wait, what's an android?" Volker asked, looking confused.

"It's a synthetic, kind of like the Geth, only designed to look like a Human," Cornelia explained. "We're built in the Commonwealth, what's less of Massachusetts back on Earth. Even back during Pre-Coalition days the technology used to make us is start of the art by modern standards, and it's only gotten better. We digest food, we have circulatory systems, we have lungs, we even have kidneys."

"But you're a biotic! How does that work?" Tali asked.

"Well, that's a bit more complicated, how it works even goes in my head a little bit. From what my dad told me though, biotics operate on the basic principles of Mass Effect technology, in other words increasing and decreasing mass, biotics are just organics with the abilities to manipulate it. He was able to install a way for me to mimic it."

"This is unbelievable," Tali said, getting to her feet and rubbing her forehead. "I didn't even know that the Coalition had technology this advanced. I knew that you were always pro-synthetic, but this is a whole new level."

"We're not perfect when it comes to synthetics," Cornelia said. "There's still a lot of debate on where exactly they belong in society, that happens when the way one acts heavily depends on the way that they're programed. Practically all self aware synthetics are designed to fight in the army because they need the flexibility. A lot of them are ok with this, but there are more than a few who don't like this."

"Outside of the First Contact War, the Blitz, our counter-attack on the Batarians and Eden Prime, the Coalition hasn't been in any major conflicts since it's founding. So the weren't synthetics dying in droves and they were treated all right for the most part, so they hadn't turned to open rebellion. It helps that there were plenty of organics who sided with them as of recent and more than a few politicians."

"What happened?" Volker asked.

"There was a lot of opposition, but the synthetics scored a major victory. They were required to serve the term that they were built for, two years, but after that they were free to do as they pleased." Cornelia smiled. "They were required to be payed too, just like other soldiers."

"So, synthetics are on par with organics in the Coalition?" Volker asked.

"Eh, not exactly," Cornelia said. "There's still a lot of controversy around the whole thing. Those laws have constantly come under attack by people who don't think that synthetics deserve that pay. They haven't been successful, but there have been a couple of close calls. Not to mention some people really don't like synthetics. People still have to pay them the same wages as organics to work, but they tend to get hired over organics because, you know, they don't get tired."

"Then there's the fact that some synthetics still think think that they don't have enough rights, while others say that they have more than enough and need to do their part, some organics argue that we shouldn't even be talking about this and...ugh. It's a mess to be honest," Cornelia said, rubbing her eyes. "Still, I've seen a lot of synthetics that have found their place. Like Rig, that Mr. Gutsy that was with that nomad. We're struggling but...I think we're on the right path." She smiled as she looked at Tali. "To be honest I think you're people are the same way."

"Oh. Thank you," Tali said.

"So can you do me a favor and spread the word?" Cornelia asked. "If it makes Nora more comfortable I'm ok with everyone knowing."

"Right, we'll get on that," Tali said. "I'm going to need some time to take all of this in though. And some time to get the feeling back in my hands. I'm going to get some sleep." She got to her feet, heading towards the door.

"Hey Tali, you don't hate me do you?" Cornelia asked.

"What!?" the Quarian asked, turning around to face her. "Oh no! Keelah no! I can't even hate the Geth anymore, I couldn't bring myself to hate you."

Cornelia smiled. "Thank you," she said as Tali returned the smile, walking out of the medical bay.

"Well, I'm going to turn in too," Volker said. Standing up, she picked up the two bottles meant for him and Tali and headed out the door too.

"Son of a bitch," Charon said, sitting down in a chair. "When I heard that Harkness was your dad I thought that you might be an android, but when he and you both said that you were adopted I thought that maybe he just got lonely after all the centuries and decided to raise a Human kid."

"Well, he did tell me that he did get lonely and wanted to be a dad," Cornelia said. "He made me himself."

"Gives a whole new definition to the term single father," Charon said. "So tell me, how old are you really?"

"I'll be 87 in a few months," she said. "I'm pretty old."

"87? Old?" Charon said, snorting slightly.

"We have lived for hundreds of years," Fawkes said, the slightest bit of amusement in his voice. "You are still a child compared to us."

"I guess," she said. "So, you guys met my Dad when he worked as chief of security for Rivet City right?"

"Yeah we did," Charon said. "Also I forget to tell him when we last talked, tell him thanks for the plasma rifle. Damn thing was even stronger than what the Enclave was fielding at the time."

"He was a good person back then right?" Cornelia asked.

"Well, he was a pretty lousy doorman, but he did pretty good by the people he was supposed to be protecting," Charon said. "He was a good guy overall. And from what I've seen of him recently he's gotten even better. That happens sometimes, people get better as time goes by."

"You would know better than most friend," Fawkes said, putting his hand on Charon's shoulder.

Charon smiled. "Guess I would."

"Hey, you know one benefit about being an android?" Cornelia said, picking up a bottle of whisky and popping the cork off. "Hyper advanced metabolism." With that, she lifted the bottle to her lips and completely turned it upside down as she began to drank it.

"Wow," Charon said simply, watching as Cornelia chugged the whisky. "I thought she was crazy when she brought a Varren on board." He looked at Fawkes. "You think it's ok in her quarters?"

"We gave it food and water, it'll be fine," Fawkes said. "Though it might tear up her bed." Charon laughed.

XXXXX

"Are you certain that this information in accurate?" Jane nodded her head grimly. She was standing in front of holograms of the three Councilors and Admiral Anderson in the CIC of the Normandy, John, Ashley, Liara, Garrus and Wrex with her. "Agent Vakarian, can you confirm this?" Tevos asked.

"I can Ma'am," Garrus said. "I was there when the Blood Pack mercenary told us so. Saren has the support of the clans of Tuchanka and the Blood Pack."

"Are we certain that we can trust a lone mercenary?" Sparatus asked. "For all we know he could've simply been trying to get the better of you, making it look like he had more assets than he really did."

"It makes sense when you think about it," Jane said. "The Blood Pack mercs tried to kill Fist even though they were supposed to be guards for Hock. It sounds pretty obvious to me that Saren managed to find a way to get in contact with them and hire them to kill him."

"Then perhaps he does have control of the Blood Pack, fair enough," Sparatus said. "They are mercenaries, and with all the advanced technology he has been coming into I imagine Saren would come up with a way to compromise him. The tribes of Tuchanka on the other hand are a very different matter. They are a deeply divided people, even after centuries with the very survival of their species hanging in the balance they have never united under one banner. What could Sarren provide in order to do that?"

"I don't know," Jane admitted.

"The merc said that Wreav was uniting more than a few of them by force," Wrex said, "but he'd need support from more than a few of the other heavy hitter clans in order to pull that off, even if Saren was suppling him and the Blood Pack was backing him up."

"It's possible that Saren has been promising the tribes access to Geth technology in exchange for their support," Anderson said.

"Not the most unreasonable of suggestions," Tevos said. "The Geth have no doubt made countless technological advances in the past three centuries. It would be a very alluring prize."

"Still, we can't simply launch an invasion of Tuchanka," Sparatus said. "There are more than a few political activists who have constantly been campaigning against the Council for our treatment of the Krogan. If we turn out to be misinformed, the political backlash will be massive, and I have little doubt that we'll be forced to remove Commander Shepard's Spectre status. That would prove to be most inconvenient for both of us."

"Loosing our ability to look for Saren in your territory?" John said. "Yeah that would be a problem."

"The Normandy could scout out the system," Jane offered. "See if we can find anything."

"Hm, that would be the safest course of action," Valern said. "If this proves to be true, you could rely information back to friendly forces and help them coordinate an invasion. If it proves to be faulty information, we could always just pull the Normandy out of the system and pretend that it never happened. Though if we were to launch an attack even after it has been proven justified, we would need a sizable ground force."

"The Krogan DMZ isn't that far from Coalition territory," Anderson said. "I'd be able to get around fifty ships to spare for an invasion. Maybe a few more considering some of our ships are coming back from Enclave space in a week."

"General Victus' fleet returned to habited space around the same time as the Normandy and is currently heading back to Turian space," Sparatus said. "I'm more than certain he would be willing to volunteer his forces for this considering how eager he was to fight the Enclave, especially considering that he never got the chance to."

"Should we set a course for Tuchanka now?" Jane asked.

"No, for now I want you to chart a course for the Coalition colony of Remus," Anderson said. "The Normandy's stealth drive may have served you well on Cor Mali but I'd rather not have you run the risk of being detected more times than you have to. Besides, if you scanned the planet several days before the invasion, the information would've lost it's value by the time we were ready."

"Understood. I assume that Remus will be the rally point for the invasion?" Jane asked.

"It will be," Anderson asked. "The system has a larger than average defense fleet. They'll be able to spare more than a few ships."

"I'll contact Victus as soon as I get a chance and tell him to send his fleet there," Sparatus said.

"And I'll let them know that he's coming," Anderson said before looking at Jane. "Also, have you managed to get the information out of Fist that we were looking for?"

"He says that he was only a salesman, that he needs to get in contact with the Shadow Broker to get the information," Jane said. "And in order to do that he needs to bounce a message off of multiple people until it reaches the top of the chain of command. He said it'll probably take days to get it."

"Well, I have a feeling that the information that he has might very well connect to the Krogan," Anderson said, "so contact me as soon as you get it. In the meantime I imagine that your crew is going stir crazy from all the time they've been crammed into the ship heading to Cor Mali, staying there and heading back. So, once you get to Remus I want them to all be granted shore leave until the fleet is ready for the invasion. They'll need the rest."

"I agree sir, I was considering doing the same thing," Jane said.

"Also, Coalition officials will be meeting you there to take Andrew Hawkins into custody," Anderson said. "I'm not exactly an advocate of the death penalty, but I do think that there are a few people who deserve it. Considering he destroyed the lives of tens of thousands of people, I think that he deserves it than most, and odds are he'll get it."

"What about his wife?" Jane asked.

"She's not as certain. It's not clear how involved she was in her husband's schemes, although her being aware of them paints her as a likely accomplice. I'd say fifteen years as a bare minimum, maybe more."

"I have a request from one of my crew mates, she wants to charge her with an additional charge," Jane said.

"What would that be?" Anderson asked.

"The third degree murder of Andrew Hawkins Jr.," Jane said.

"We do have records of Andrew having a son, but he was filed as missing. What evidence do you have to support this claim?" Anderson asked.

"She was his sister. She saw it happen," Jane said.

"Sister? I have a Norman Hawkins on your crew log but nothing about a-"

"Admiral, I'll explain later," Jane said. "Just...just please see if you can dig up any evidence to help make this charge stick."

A small light lit up behind Anderson's eyes. "All right, I'll see what I can do. But I'm expecting a full report on the meaning of this within the next 24 hours."

"Understood sir," Jane said. "Is that all?"

"It is. I'll have fresh provisions waiting for you at Remus," Anderson said. "Also I thought you might want to know that the Exulan ambassador met with the Council earlier today, and things went rather well."

"We are debating whether uplifting the Exulans would be a wise move or not," Tevos said. "We have agreed to cooperate with the Coalition on this matter, sending teams to their homeworld to analyze the current situation. It appears that it's ecosystem has recovered from the destruction that their nuclear war caused and there appears to be peace in some regions of the planet, although minor wars have been known to break out in other sections of the planet."

"I'll be sure to let Opifex know that, he'll be happy to hear it," Jane said.

"The Coalition has considered taking on the Exulans as a client species considering that their homeworld is practically on our doorstep," Anderson said. "It's amazing what you can miss in the vastness of space. But there are some people that oppose the idea, many of them in the Coalition and the Council. But I'll spare you the details for a later time. Good luck Captain." And with that, the holograms disappeared."

"Be a shame if the Council went around and neutered the Exulans once they weren't useful anymore," Wrex grunted. "Never thought I be going home with a couple hundred thousand soldiers intending to take the planet by force."

"Wrex, if you feel morally conflicted by this, I'd understand if you want to-" Jane began.

"Forget it. My brother needs a good kick in the ass and I'm more than happy to be the one that delivers it," Wrex said. "But with the Genophage this will most likely cripple the Krogan species one way or another. Even if we don't attack right now Wreav will get too many people killed. The best chance for my race to survive is to hit hard and fast, stop this idiotic crusade before it even starts."

He let out a sigh. "The worst part of this whole mess is that if we weren't infected with the genophage we'd be able to shrug it off...and this is going to convince the entire galaxy that the Krogan need to be kept in check with it."

"Wrex I-" Jane began.

"Don't worry about it. Maybe after this I'll finally be able to get them to listen," Wrex said. "Get them to focus on breeding. Krogan respect strength, so if I can kill Wreav personally I may be able to take control of Urdnot back, get everyone in line."

"You'd kill your own brother?" John asked.

"He's dead no matter what happens," Wrex said grimly. "His death might as well benefit the Krogan race in some way. Pardon me." And with that, Wrex turned and left the room.

"I think we should go check up on him," Liara said, looking at Garrus with concern. "Going to war with his entire race and his brother-"

"On it," Garrus said. "Pardon us Captain." Both he and Liara ran out of the room, after Wrex.

"Damn it," Jane said, sitting down in a chair and leaning forward, heads in her hands.

"Everything ok?" John asked, looking at her.

"No, no everything isn't ok," Jane said, sighing. "Two of my crew members have extreme mental trauma, one of them has lost a limb, another one lost an eye, one of them is going to be forced to kill a family member in the next few days and one of them went on a killing spree." She gently lowered her hands. "It feels like ever since we've started looking for Saren everything has been eating away at this crew. The tension's been building and now the cracks are starting to show. I don't even want to think about what else is going to happen to them before all of this is over."

"Hey," John said, putting a hand on his sister's shoulder. "You've gotten us through all of this, and you got us through all of it alive."

"He's right you know," Ashley said. "It's a miracle that none of us have died so far. You've done a lot to do this for us."

"People are alive, but damaged," Jane said.

"Wounds heal over time," Ashley said. "Death is permanent."

"None of us have died," John said.

"Yet," Jane said. "It feels like a miracle that none of us have. It feels too good to be true. Like a bubble waiting to be popped. And we're about to take part in an invasion of one of the most deadly planets in the galaxy. I'm scared. What if someone dies? Commanding a frigate that has an element of surprise that no one else can match has spoiled me. I haven't had to face the reality that so many other commanders have to face. I feel like reality is about to come crashing down on me."

"Don't say that," John said. "Give it everything that you've got. If anyone can get us all through Tuchanka it's you. You've taken us up against Asari, Rachni, Geth and the Enclave. What's some Krogan using outdated tech going to do to us?"

"I don't know John," Jane said.

"Look, you need to calm down," Ashley said.

"She's right Jane," John said. "You were always the serious one. You were always working non-stop, double checking and triple checking everything. You know why I act goofy so often? Because you never lightened up and I wanted to cheer you up. And frankly if I got a smile out of you every once in awhile, it was worth it."

Jane looked up at John, a small smile on her face. "You mean that?"

"I mean it," he replied.

"Ok that does it," Ashley said. "Ma'am, requesting permission that you join us on Remus for down time."

Jane let out a short laugh. "Permission granted Chief. To be honest I think I'm gonna need it. This feels a little overdue."

XXXXX

Nora couldn't help but feel tired as she stepped off of the Normandy's elevator onto the third deck, a bottle of whiskey in her right hand. "God damn it," she whispered, stepping off of the elevator.

"Norman?" Nora looked to the side to see Adam approaching her from the mess hall, wearing a tank top and sweat pants, his bayonets in sheaths slung over his back. There was an open bottle of Nuka-Cola in his hand "I'm sorry, I mean Nora. Are you all right?"

"Word spreads fast around here huh?" she asked bitterly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend," Adam said. "I just wanted to make sure that you were ok. I heard about what happened down on the surface. Is it true that you killed a man with your bare hands?"

"Yeah I did!" Nora shouted, glaring at Adam. "I nearly put bullets in my parents heads too, what about it?"

"Nora...do you remember what I did back on Demeter?" Adam asked. "Do you remember what I did to that cult?"

"You killed all of them," Nora said, looking at him with confusion. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Kill them? I wasn't that merciful," he said, looking down in shame. "I slaughtered them. Mutilated them. I wanted them to feel pain. I was just so angry, I just wanted to keep hurting them, doing every last depraved thing that my mind could think of until my body collapsed from exhaustion." He looked up at Nora. "Is that what you wanted to do to your father?"

Nora paused for a second before answering. "More or less."

"Why didn't you?"

"I don't know," Nora said. "It's just...I feel tired. Right now I feel more tired than I ever remember. Sheryl just said something to me that got me thinking. Adam, would you say that you feel guilty about what you did to that cult?"

"Yes," he said. "What I did there was disgusting."

"You see, I'm not that ashamed of myself," Nora said. "On Cor Mali I shot an Enclave spy in his genitals while I was interrogating him then blew his damn brains out. And I had a smile on my face the entire time. I didn't feel sorry for what I did to him. I still don't. But now I feel bad about the way I feel."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"I don't feel bad about what I've done, but I'm starting to feel bad that I don't feel bad about what I've done. If that makes any fucking sense," she said, sounding irritated. "I'm sorry, I'm not making a lot of sense."

"Don't apologize," Adam said, smiling warmly. "You're recognizing that you're not perfect and that you have flaws. That won't automatically make things better, but it is the first and major most step."

"Making things better," Nora said. "I'm not sure that's possible Adam. I think I might be a little too far gone."

"Of course you're not. The fact that you're showing concern over your the way you've been acting is proof enough that you're not just some heartless monster who kills for enjoyment. We all stumble and fall, but not all of us admit that we do and find the strength to pick ourselves back up. I stumbled and fell back at that church on Demeter, but I realized that I did and picked myself back up. Considering how long this has been going on for you, it'll take awhile and it'll be hard, but you'll be able to pick yourself up again."

"Well, I'm going to be getting a lot of chances to do that," Nora said. "I'm off the active combat roster until further notice, and the Captain is organizing meetings between me and Kelly. We start tomorrow."

"That's good. I heard that she was able to help Volker a lot," Adam said. "But it looks like tonight you have different plans in mind," he said, looking down at the bottle Nora was holding.

"Yeah," she said. "Is this a problem."

"I don't mean to judge," Adam said, looking slightly uncomfortable, "but drinking right now doesn't seem like the healthiest response. Indulging in alcohol to forget just isn't a good habit to form." He reached out with the bottle of Nuka-Cola. "I haven't drunk it yet. Drink this if you feel like you need to drink something sweet and cold."

"I appreciate the offer, but Roger and Sheryl are waiting for me, they'd said that they meet me in starboard observation. I don't want to drink to get rid of bad memories. I want to drink to make good ones with them. So thanks, but keep the cola."

"All right, just be responsible with that stuff," Adam said.

"You're kind of a prude, you know that?"

Adam chuckled. "Side effect of being a priest. Also, thanks for not taking the cola, it's my last one." He took a sip. "Need to get a couple more crates the next time we're in port. Well, I just got done exercising, I need to lie down. Take care of yourself Nora."

"You too," she said as Adam walked off. Nora took a deep breath as the door to the starboard observation deck slid open. Both Roger and Sheryl were sitting on the sofa present and looking out into space, but turned around as she walked in. "You all right?" Roger asked.

"I think so," Nora whispered. "Oh, by the way Cornelia gave me this," she said, holding up the bottle of whisky, sitting down between the two of them before placing it on the table. "She told me to only drink it if was sharing it with the two of you. And frankly I need to drink something cold right now."

"All right," Roger said, getting up and walking to a small slot in the wall were a handful of glasses were, along with a water dispenser. "It's been awhile since I've done some shots," he said, walking back with three small glasses and laying them out on the table, Nora sitting down between him and Sheryl. "So, is what you said over the COM unit true?"

"Yup, you guys are gonna have to make due without me in the field for awhile," Nora said, pulling the cork out of the bottle and pouring the bright golden liquid into the glasses. "The Captain said that she was concerned about my mental state. Still, at least she had the courtesy to look like she actually was worried about me and didn't just treat me like a time bomb, so I find it kinda hard to be mad at her." She grabbed one of the glasses and tilted her head back, downing the shot in one go.

"It's probably for the best really," Sheryl said, pulling down the wrappings around her face as she picked up a shot glass. She gave it a small sniff. "What is this stuff?"

"I think it's Asari brew," Roger said, sipping from his own shot glass. "Not bad," he said, polishing it off.

"Yeah, maybe it is," Nora said bitterly. "Don't need to go nuts and blast some VIP in the head because I had an episode."

"Don't talk about yourself like that!" Sheryl said, driving her elbow into Nora's stomach and actually causing the taller woman to double over slightly.

"The Hell Sheryl!?" Nora demanded. "That hurt!"

"You're not some damn psychopath inches away from murdering someone at every second! You're Nora Hawkins and you're a good person, and if I have to beat that fact into your head I'll damn well do it!" Looking down at her shot glass, she lifted it up and drained it.

"You know Sheryl, your bedside manner could use some work," Roger said, picking up the bottle of whiskey and pouring a fresh round for the three of them. "But she is right Nora, you really are a good person. Sure, there's a bit of wear and tear to you, but I'm glad you've got my back out there."

Nora sighed as she downed another shot before slumping back into the couch, her hand diving into her pocket. "Can I tell you guys something?"

"What?" Sheryl asked emptying her glass again before pouring herself a refill.

"Having you guys here helps more than you could imagine," Nora said. "Just having someone that I can talk to about this stuff really feels like it's taking a weight off of my shoulders. I feel better than I have done in a long time." She pulled out her lighter and lit a cigarette, taking a puff. "I still don't feel that great after what happened down there, but right now? I feel more relaxed than I have in a long time."

"Glad to be a help," Roger said, draining his glass. "Hey, mind if I have one of those?"

"Help yourself," Nora said, offering Roger the open box of cigarettes. "Don't get too used to mooching off me though, these things are expensive. They're the genetically engineered ones," she said as Roger took one, holding it out towards Nora's lighter.

"Those ones are twice as expensive as the regular ones right?" he asked as Nora held up the lighter, igniting the cigarette.

"They are, but considering that lung cancer would be pretty counter-productive in my career as a soldier, I'm glad that I've got something to smoke that is designed to not give me that," Nora said as Roger took a puff. "Now then, if I talk more about how I am in the head are you going to elbow me again Sheryl?"

"Only if you blow it out of proportion," the Alaskan said, draining another shot. Her cheeks were becoming noticeably flushed.

"I'm not all right in the head, I realize that now," Nora said. "I still can't bring myself to feel sorry for the people that I've killed. I'm still glad that their gone. But I just don't want to be like this anymore. I just, I don't know, want to go back to the way things were before all this shit happened to me. While my brother was still alive." She looked at Sheryl, who was in the middle of taking another drink. "You're right Sheryl, he wouldn't want me like this."

"Damn straight," Sheryl said, giving a slight hiccup, her voice slurred. "And you should be damned proud of yourself for realizing and admitting that."

"I'm not going to stop being a soldier," Nora said. "There are still more people out there that need a good bullet in the head than I can care to count, but I don't want to do it because I get a sick kick out of it anymore. I want to do it because it's a dirty job, but it's a dirty job that needs to be done."

"I can respect that," Roger said, gently patting Nora on the shoulder as she took a drag on her cigarette.

"I'm glad that you think so," Nora said. "Like I said, you have no idea how much the two of you being here helps. Thank you."

"Oh stop being all mushy," Sheryl said, downing another drink, her voice now heavily slurred. "We-we're your friends. We're here cus we care about you. You don't need to convince us that we marched into your father's camp."

"I...wait what?" Nora asked, sitting up in her seat and looking at Sheryl.

"I said we...kick the asses of the moon men," Sheryl grumbled. As she did, she slowly tumbled forward, her head landing on Nora's lap, her eyes drooping shut.

"What the Hell?" Nora said as Roger grabbed the bottle of whisky and gave it a sniff.

"Doesn't smell too strong," he said, looking at Sheryl. "She passed out after just a couple of shots. Damn, thought that she would be better at holding her drink."

"She is pretty small," Nora said, looking at her as she took a drag on her cigarette before stubbing it out in an ash tray. "Can't be more than five feet and a couple of inches."

"Think you're being a little generous with the inches there," Roger said. "But hey it makes sense. If what I've read about Alaska is anywhere near true, her diet there probably consisted of meat and whatever dull, tasteless plants she could find. It's not surprising that her growth got stunted."

"So, should I get her to bed?" Nora asked.

"Nah, screw it," Roger said, taking a puff. "I'm sure the Captain won't mind us napping in here for the night. It's not like we have any combat missions in the morning." He held up the bottle. "Another drink?"

"Sure," she said, holding up her glass as Roger poured another shot for her and for himself. A smile spread across Nora's face as she lifted her glass up. "Thanks for being here for me Roger."

"Don't mention it. I know what it feels like to be abandoned, I wasn't about to let you go through that."

"Thank you." She gave a slight smirk. "Bet I can last longer than you can."

"Oh really?" Roger said. "How much we talking here?"

"Hm...five hundred credits?"

"You're on bitch," Roger said, both of them lifting their glasses to their mouthes.

XXXXX

Author's Note: One person commented that he would like to see things slow down and have a little humor added in. That's pretty much what the next few chapters are going to be. Time for both the characters and the reader to sit back, catch their breath, and have a good laugh. Hope you enjoy it.


End file.
